Question Linux not booting after BIOS update(Qflash) but windows boots up without problems.

[goobert123]

[NEW UPDATE at the bottom]

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 AERO G (rev. 1.0)
CPU: Intel i9 13900K
GPU: Gigabyte RTX 4080 16GB GAMING OC

Previous BIOS version: F8
Current BIOS version: F12e (latest, on their support page for the mobo)

Bootloader: GRUB
OS1: Windows 11 (separate nvme drive)
OS2: Arch Linux (separate nvme drive)

SECURE BOOT STATUS: OFF

Steps before symptoms:

1. I downloaded the update off the mobo support page
2. Extracted the contents of compressed folder
3. Copied the contents of the extracted folder to a flashdrive(fat32 formatted)
4. Restarted the PC, went into BIOS -> Q flash utility
5. Started the process of flashing
6. It completed without any errors(as presented)
7. The PC rebooted three times before it booted up 'regularly'-i.e displayed the motherboard logo and loaded GRUB (I don't know if 'reboot' is the correct term here but it's apparently how gigabyte motherboards behave when flashed)
8. The first thing I tried was to boot into Arch linux (regular linux kernel not LTS)

^tldr - no errors presented when I updated BIOS, BIOS successful update confirmed(by loading new BIOS and observing changes)​

Symptoms after updating BIOS and first boot since-

1. I pressed 'Enter' key when 'Arch Linux linux' kernel was highlighterd in GRUB
2. It began booting as usual
3. When it asked me to enter the password for my encrypted volume(encrypted LVM), as I began typing it in, the system 'shuts off'- I hear a relay type switching sound and reboots. This sound is sometimes heard when I power off the computer or after exiting BIOS. I believe it is the powersupply making the sound and not the motherboard but I don't know.
4. I tried to boot arch linux again, same result
5. Tried booting into the linux-zen kernel I installed earlier as a backup and same -> switching noise -> system reboot
6. When I selected Windows 11 in GRUB, it booted up, I was able to log into Windows, no reebots.

^tldr - PC boots up GRUB just fine but fails to load Arch linux- linux kernel (or) linux-zen kernel. It boots into Windows 11 without problems but whenever I try booting into arch linux, it reboots after arch begins loading, usually at the part where it prompts me to enter my password to decrypt the encrypted LVM that contains /home and/ root, but sometimes it won't even reach the password prompt to decrypt.​

Note that on my primary monitor, I am plugged into the GPU's display port all this time, my second monitor is plugged into the GPU's HDMI port.

To troubleshoot the reboot problem, I looked online for solutions and found answers to 'similar' issues on reddit and arch linux forums that said GRUB has to be reinstalled after BIOS update(sometimes). The only way to do this was to use an installation media and chroot into the current installation and rebuild GRUB.

So I attempted to chroot using the arch live installation media:

1. Inserted the Arch linux installation media to a USB port
2. Powered on the PC
3. Pressed the F12 key to choose the boot media
4. Selected the flashdrive that contained the arch linux installation media
5. I was presented with the options to load the arch installation environment
6. Pressed 'enter' on Install Arch Linux option to access the terminal
7. It began loading the installation environment as usual, no errors
8. As it was loading the environment, my PC abruptly rebooted(with the same switching sound), again
9. So I am also unable to load the installation media. Only Windows boots, Arch won't boot, the Arch installation environment won't boot

^tldr - Won't let me load into the installation environment to be able to chroot either. As the installation environment begins loading, there is an abrupt reboot.​

Then I read something online that suggested that it may be a GPU problem. And I may have to reinstall the GPU drivers for linux.

1. I switched the graphics to Integrated graphics on the BIOS
2. Powered off
3. Disconnected my monitors from the GPU, connected them to the motherboard(for integrated graphics)
4. Tried to boot arch again, same result i.e abrupt reboot
5. Tried to boot Arch installation media to chroot, same result, abrupt reboot

As a final attempt to load anything but Windows 11, with my monitors still connected to the IntegratedGPU, I tried to boot up an Ubuntu live ISO(installation media) to try and rule out GPU issues. However, it ended with the same result, reboot.

​

^tldr - After switching to IntegratedGPU on BIOS settings and plugging my monitors into the motherboard's display outputs, I tried to load Arch linux as usual, the installation environment to chroot and even a live Ubuntu iso on another flashdrive. But it failed the same way(abrupt reboot).​

​

There is a chance some BIOS settings may have been reset causing this issue. But secure boot was off before BIOS update and it's still off. The only thing I noticed was my my RAM's clockspeed was not correct. I re-enabled XMP and this was fixed. I hadn't disabled XMP since first building this PC. And also I enabled XMP only after I tried everything above. Same problem exist though, after re-enabling it.

This is where the extent of my expertise ends. I am savvy enough to use and configure linux as an amateur user but I'm lost here as how to continue troubleshooting this issue. I don't even mind reinstalling Arch, the problem is, even the installation media won't load. So no more dual-boot? I'm not okay with that.

If you have any questions on something I may have missed in my explanation, please ask. I appreciate any/all help to diagnose this problem. Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDIT: I got it to boot Arch after adding
acpi=off
to the kernel parameters on grub. My display manager loaded(ly display manager) but when I tried to log in, I was met with a blank screen. I believe I may need to rebuild the nvidia driver. So I switched to a tty to check if everything else was fine and my CPU fans started ramping up gradually. I got a bit spooked since I turned off ACPI. I didn't want my CPU to combust so I quickly powered off my machine.

So now I know it's the power management that is causing the problem. It looks like I may have to roll back the BIOS firmware either way since I don't want to mess with ACPI. I have also created a ticket with gigabyte support just in case.

~~~~~~
EDIT: I got it to boot arch after adding
acpi=off to the kernel parameters on grub. My display manager loaded(ly display manager) but when I tried to log in, I was met with a blank screen. I believe I may need to rebuild the nvidia driver. So I switched to a tty to check if everything else was fine and my CPU fans started ramping up gradually. I got a bit spooked since I turned off ACPI. I didn't want my CPU to combust so I quickly powered off my machine.

So now I know it's the power management that is causing the problem. It looks like I may have to roll back the BIOS firmware either way since I don't want to mess with ACPI. I have also created a ticket with gigabyte support just in case.