Ubuntu – Ubuntu 14.04 single-boot with UEFI-mode enabled

14.04gptsecure-bootuefi

I recently purchased a Dell Vostro 5470 with a pre-installed Windows 8 OEM on a HDD 500GB. Now I'm trying to replace the HDD with a Sandisk SSD 240GB as my main disk (next step will be use the HDD with Win8 in a USB external case).

Here's the deal: I was able to install Ubuntu 14.04 in the SSD, however it can't boot with UEFI mode enabled since the installation with UEFI mode is not working (yes, I want it to work in UEFI mode, and I know it can).

I already followed the instructions to create a EFI partition: I created a GPT partition table along with a Fat32 partition, with EFI as label, and with the boot flag. Here's the output of parted -l

Model: ATA SanDisk SDSSDHII (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 240GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start   End     Size    File system     Name  Flags
 1      1049kB  2097kB  1049kB                        bios_grub
 2      2097kB  540MB   538MB   fat32                 boot
 3      540MB   59,6GB  59,1GB  ext4
 4      59,6GB  68,2GB  8591MB  linux-swap(v1)
 5      68,2GB  240GB   172GB   ext4

I run the Ubuntu installer, but it doesn't recognize as an EFI partition. Then, I proceed with installation and later try to use the boot-repair tool, however the option "separated /boot/efi partition" is never enabled.

How can I get this SSD running Ubuntu 14 with UEFI mode enabled?

Best Answer

If your motherboard fully supports UEFI mode, enable that. Then, make sure when selecting your flash drive, you boot into UEFI mode. To do this, I recommend using dd. To find your flash drive

sudo fdisk -l

Let's say it responds with 

/dev/sda
/dev/sda1
250 gb
/dev/sdb
/dev/sdb1
14.9 gb

Then you would

dd bs=4M if=/path/to/Ubuntu.iso of=/dev/sdb

To further clarify,
bs=4m Is the base size of four megabytes, a number that I found to be fast and stable with my devices.
if=/path/to/Ubuntu.iso Input file, and then the path to the file. (Right click the file, click copy, and click the terminal and select 'Paste filenames'
of=/dev/sdb Output file (usb stick, should be discovered with sudo fdisk -l and selected based on size)

After successful boot in UEFI mode, install and make a ~100 mb partition and make it an 'EFI boot partition'. That should be it.

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