updating the GRUB bootloader on EFI systems while upgrading

[Ranjan Maitra]

According to https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/upgrading-fedora-offline/ systems with the BIOS firmware have the GRUB RPM packages updated. However, the installed or embedded bootloaders are never updated automatically.

It is my understanding that my GRUB2 is installed on UEFI systems. What do I do about these systems?

Many thanks and best wishes,
Ranjan

[Marco Moock]

Am 15.04.2025 um 13:25:14 Uhr schrieb Ranjan Maitra via users:
> According to
> https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/upgrading-fedora-offline/
> systems with the BIOS firmware have the GRUB RPM packages updated.
> However, the installed or embedded bootloaders are never updated
> automatically.

The UEFI firmware is being provided by the system/mainboard
manufacturer.

fwupd provides a way to update the UEFI if the vendor supports it.
> It is my understanding that my GRUB2 is installed on UEFI systems.

In most cases it is, as it also provides an EFI bootloader that can
boot Linux. Even if there are ways to boot the Linux kernel directly
from the UEFI, most operating systems ship a boot loader like GRUB2.
This package will be updated by dnf.
You can check dnf for grub-efi, e.g. grub2-efi-x64.
> What do I do about these systems?

Upgrade them via dnf.
Upgrade your system firmware by fwupd if supported, if not, check the
vendor's website for the update files (some enable loading them from a
USB thumb disk or even the internet).

[Ranjan Maitra]

Thanks for your response!

On Tue Apr15'25 09:07:27PM, Marco Moock wrote:
> From: Marco Moock 
> Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2025 21:07:27 +0200
> To: [e-mail]
> Reply-To: Community support for Fedora users 
> Subject: Re: updating the GRUB bootloader on EFI systems while upgrading
>
> Am 15.04.2025 um 13:25:14 Uhr schrieb Ranjan Maitra via users:
> > According to
> > https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/upgrading-fedora-offline/
> > systems with the BIOS firmware have the GRUB RPM packages updated.
> > However, the installed or embedded bootloaders are never updated
> > automatically.
>
> The UEFI firmware is being provided by the system/mainboard
> manufacturer.
>
> fwupd provides a way to update the UEFI if the vendor supports it.

I do have fwupd installed:

$ sudo fwupd
 sudo: fwupd: command not found

However:

$ sudo dnf install fwupd
 Updating and loading repositories:
 Repositories loaded.
 Package "fwupd-2.0.8-1.fc42.x86_64" is already installed.

Nothing to do.

Why do I get fwupd not found?

Btw, mine is a Dell system (Precision 7920).
> > It is my understanding that my GRUB2 is installed on UEFI systems.
>
> In most cases it is, as it also provides an EFI bootloader that can
> boot Linux. Even if there are ways to boot the Linux kernel directly
> from the UEFI, most operating systems ship a boot loader like GRUB2.
> This package will be updated by dnf.
> You can check dnf for grub-efi, e.g. grub2-efi-x64.
> > What do I do about these systems?
>
> Upgrade them via dnf.
> Upgrade your system firmware by fwupd if supported, if not, check the
> vendor's website for the update files (some enable loading them from a
> USB thumb disk or even the internet).

Thanks! I do have grub2-efi-x64 installed.

$ sudo dnf install grub2-efi
 Updating and loading repositories:
 Repositories loaded.
 Package "grub2-efi-ia32-1:2.12-28.fc42.x86_64" is already installed.
 Package "grub2-efi-x64-1:2.12-28.fc42.x86_64" is already installed.

Nothing to do.

Not sure if I need grub2-efi-ia32 but I can not seem to remove it.

Many thanks again, and best wishes,
Ranjan

[greg]

> Why do I get fwupd not found?

The commands to use - as root - are:
# fwupdmgr get-updates
If updates are available for any devices on the system, they'll be displayed.
# fwupdmgr update
This will download and apply all updates for your system.

(Taken from
/usr/share/doc/fwupd/README.md)

Also to see the available in the fwupd package documentation, run:
$ rpm -qid fwupd

greg

[Ranjan Maitra]

On Wed Apr16'25 12:20:56AM, greg wrote:
> From: greg 
> Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:20:56 +0200
> To: Community support for Fedora users 
> Reply-To: Community support for Fedora users 
> Subject: Re: updating the GRUB bootloader on EFI systems while upgrading
> > Why do I get fwupd not found?
>
> The commands to use - as root - are:
> # fwupdmgr get-updates
> If updates are available for any devices on the system, they'll be displayed.
> # fwupdmgr update
> This will download and apply all updates for your system.

Thanks! But I get fwupd: command not found.

Is that not different from an update not found?

Thanks,
Ranjan

[Patrick O'Callaghan]

On Tue, 2025-04-15 at 18:00 -0500, Ranjan Maitra via users wrote:
> Thanks! But I get fwupd: command not found.
>
> Is that not different from an update not found?

$ rpm -qi fwupd
Name        : fwupd
Version     : 1.9.29
Release     : 1.fc41
Architecture: x86_64
Install Date: Thu 20 Mar 2025 09:57:33 GMT
Group       : Unspecified
Size        : 7858738
License     : LGPL-2.1-or-later
Signature   : RSA/SHA256, Tue 18 Mar 2025 09:20:18 GMT, Key ID
d0622462e99d6ad1
Source RPM  : fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.src.rpm
Build Date  : Tue 18 Mar 2025 08:37:41 GMT
Build Host  : bkernel02.iad2.fedoraproject.org
Packager    : Fedora Project
Vendor      : Fedora Project
URL         : https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd
Bug URL     : https://bugz.fedoraproject.org/fwupd
Summary     : Firmware update daemon
Description :
fwupd is a daemon to allow session software to update device firmware.

poc

[Ranjan Maitra]

On Wed Apr16'25 12:38:41AM, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> From: Patrick O'Callaghan 
> Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:38:41 +0100
> To: [e-mail]
> Reply-To: Community support for Fedora users 
> Subject: Re: updating the GRUB bootloader on EFI systems while upgrading
>
> On Tue, 2025-04-15 at 18:00 -0500, Ranjan Maitra via users wrote:
> > Thanks! But I get fwupd: command not found.
> >
> > Is that not different from an update not found?
>
> $ rpm -qi fwupd
> Name        : fwupd
> Version     : 1.9.29
> Release     : 1.fc41
> Architecture: x86_64
> Install Date: Thu 20 Mar 2025 09:57:33 GMT
> Group       : Unspecified
> Size        : 7858738
> License     : LGPL-2.1-or-later
> Signature   : RSA/SHA256, Tue 18 Mar 2025 09:20:18 GMT, Key ID
> d0622462e99d6ad1
> Source RPM  : fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.src.rpm
> Build Date  : Tue 18 Mar 2025 08:37:41 GMT
> Build Host  : bkernel02.iad2.fedoraproject.org
> Packager    : Fedora Project
> Vendor      : Fedora Project
> URL         : https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd
> Bug URL     : https://bugz.fedoraproject.org/fwupd
> Summary     : Firmware update daemon
> Description :
> fwupd is a daemon to allow session software to update device firmware.

Sorry, I guess I was not clear about this. When I do a

$ sudo fwupd
 sudo: fwupd: command not found

However, fwupd is installed. Why can it not be found?

$ sudo dnf install fwupd
 Updating and loading repositories:
 Repositories loaded.
 Package "fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.x86_64" is already installed.

Nothing to do.

Is the command called something else?

Many thanks, and best wishes,
Ranjan

[Patrick O'Callaghan]

On Tue, 2025-04-15 at 18:54 -0500, Ranjan Maitra via users wrote:
> On Wed Apr16'25 12:38:41AM, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> > From: Patrick O'Callaghan 
> > Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:38:41 +0100
> > To: [e-mail]
> > Reply-To: Community support for Fedora users 
> > Subject: Re: updating the GRUB bootloader on EFI systems while upgrading
> >
> > On Tue, 2025-04-15 at 18:00 -0500, Ranjan Maitra via users wrote:
> > > Thanks! But I get fwupd: command not found.
> > >
> > > Is that not different from an update not found?
> >
> > $ rpm -qi fwupd
> > Name        : fwupd
> > Version     : 1.9.29
> > Release     : 1.fc41
> > Architecture: x86_64
> > Install Date: Thu 20 Mar 2025 09:57:33 GMT
> > Group       : Unspecified
> > Size        : 7858738
> > License     : LGPL-2.1-or-later
> > Signature   : RSA/SHA256, Tue 18 Mar 2025 09:20:18 GMT, Key ID
> > d0622462e99d6ad1
> > Source RPM  : fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.src.rpm
> > Build Date  : Tue 18 Mar 2025 08:37:41 GMT
> > Build Host  : bkernel02.iad2.fedoraproject.org
> > Packager    : Fedora Project
> > Vendor      : Fedora Project
> > URL         : https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd
> > Bug URL     : https://bugz.fedoraproject.org/fwupd
> > Summary     : Firmware update daemon
> > Description :
> > fwupd is a daemon to allow session software to update device firmware.
>
> Sorry, I guess I was not clear about this. When I do a
>
> $ sudo fwupd
>  sudo: fwupd: command not found
>
> However, fwupd is installed. Why can it not be found?
>
> $ sudo dnf install fwupd
>  Updating and loading repositories:
>  Repositories loaded.
>  Package "fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.x86_64" is already installed.
>
> Nothing to do.
>
> Is the command called something else?

fwupd is the package name. The command is fwupdmgr, as mentioned in
Greg's answer earlier.

poc

[Ranjan Maitra]

On Wed Apr16'25 12:59:45AM, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> From: Patrick O'Callaghan 
> Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:59:45 +0100
> To: [e-mail]
> Reply-To: Community support for Fedora users 
> Subject: Re: updating the GRUB bootloader on EFI systems while upgrading
>
> On Tue, 2025-04-15 at 18:54 -0500, Ranjan Maitra via users wrote:
> > On Wed Apr16'25 12:38:41AM, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> > > From: Patrick O'Callaghan 
> > > Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:38:41 +0100
> > > To: [e-mail]
> > > Reply-To: Community support for Fedora users 
> > > Subject: Re: updating the GRUB bootloader on EFI systems while upgrading
> > >
> > > On Tue, 2025-04-15 at 18:00 -0500, Ranjan Maitra via users wrote:
> > > > Thanks! But I get fwupd: command not found.
> > > >
> > > > Is that not different from an update not found?
> > >
> > > $ rpm -qi fwupd
> > > Name        : fwupd
> > > Version     : 1.9.29
> > > Release     : 1.fc41
> > > Architecture: x86_64
> > > Install Date: Thu 20 Mar 2025 09:57:33 GMT
> > > Group       : Unspecified
> > > Size        : 7858738
> > > License     : LGPL-2.1-or-later
> > > Signature   : RSA/SHA256, Tue 18 Mar 2025 09:20:18 GMT, Key ID
> > > d0622462e99d6ad1
> > > Source RPM  : fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.src.rpm
> > > Build Date  : Tue 18 Mar 2025 08:37:41 GMT
> > > Build Host  : bkernel02.iad2.fedoraproject.org
> > > Packager    : Fedora Project
> > > Vendor      : Fedora Project
> > > URL         : https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd
> > > Bug URL     : https://bugz.fedoraproject.org/fwupd
> > > Summary     : Firmware update daemon
> > > Description :
> > > fwupd is a daemon to allow session software to update device firmware.
> >
> > Sorry, I guess I was not clear about this. When I do a
> >
> > $ sudo fwupd
> >  sudo: fwupd: command not found
> >
> > However, fwupd is installed. Why can it not be found?
> >
> > $ sudo dnf install fwupd
> >  Updating and loading repositories:
> >  Repositories loaded.
> >  Package "fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.x86_64" is already installed.
> >
> > Nothing to do.
> >
> > Is the command called something else?
>
> fwupd is the package name. The command is fwupdmgr, as mentioned in
> Greg's answer earlier.

Thanks very much for this! Sorry I missed that from Greg's answer earlier (and it was quite detailed).

Best wishes,
Ranjan
> poc
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[Barry Scott]

> On 16 Apr 2025, at 00:54, Ranjan Maitra via users  wrote:
>
> $ sudo fwupd
> sudo: fwupd: command not found
>
> However, fwupd is installed. Why can it not be found?
>
> $ sudo dnf install fwupd
> Updating and loading repositories:
> Repositories loaded.
> Package "fwupd-1.9.29-1.fc41.x86_64" is already installed.
>
> Nothing to do.
>
> Is the command called something else?

FYI: There a a number of ways to answer this question yourself.

1. ls /usr/bin/*fwupd*
2. rpm -ql fwupd

I use the rpm -ql frequently when I'm not sure what an RPM installed and where it put it.

Barry

[Ranjan Maitra]

> > Is the command called something else?
>
> FYI: There a a number of ways to answer this question yourself.
> ls /usr/bin/*fwupd*
> rpm -ql fwupd
>
> I use the rpm -ql frequently when I'm not sure what an RPM installed and where it put it.

Thanks very much for this information! It is indeed very useful.

Best wishes,
Ranjan

[Tim]

Ranjan Maitra:
> > It is my understanding that my GRUB2 is installed on UEFI systems.

Marco Moock:
> In most cases it is, as it also provides an EFI bootloader that can
> boot Linux. Even if there are ways to boot the Linux kernel directly
> from the UEFI, most operating systems ship a boot loader like GRUB2.

The GRUB menu gives you a variety of options about *how* you will boot
Linux (which kernel, rescue modes, etc).  UEFI will (usually) just give
you an option for which drive to boot an OS from.  For me that's the
hard drive with Fedora installed, or the DVD-ROM drive with an install
disc in it.  For other people, that can be a Windows or Fedora choice.

It would be possible to put a series of Linux booting options into
UEFI, but it *might* be hard to work out a way that a Fedora installer
could manage that for all the different PC hardware there is out there.
UEFI is supposed to be a standard, but we all know how manufacturers
love to to vary things for themselves.

[Barry]

> On 15 Apr 2025, at 19:59, Ranjan Maitra via users  wrote:
>
> However, the installed or embedded bootloaders are never updated automatically.

If you mean the fedora efi code; it is updated in /boot/efi when there is a change.
I have personally verified this works recently.

Barry