September 8, 2025•5 min read

Technical Blog 1: BIOS Issues and Ubuntu

A short dive into firmware–OS interactions, community-led troubleshooting, and a practical checklist for navigating BIOS/UEFI hiccups on Ubuntu.

Every week, I try to learn something new in the tech space and share my perspective. This week I explored the Ubuntu Community Discourse and was drawn to a post titled"Issues with motherboard BIOS issues appearing on Ubuntu". The original poster described a frustrating experience on a new ASRock motherboard: stuck in manufacturing mode, hardware security checks failing, and kernel update attempts introducing “bad shim signature” errors, even after OS reinstalls and firmware updates.

What made the discussion fascinating (and a bit daunting) is how quickly troubleshooting becomes layered when hardware, firmware, and the OS intersect. Suggestions spanned UEFI and Secure Boot toggles, vendor firmware tools, and the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS). It was a reminder that progress often requires patience, methodical testing, and sometimes imperfect workarounds, like disabling Secure Boot temporarily or reverting kernels.

Why BIOS + Ubuntu Gets Tricky

Secure Boot & Shim

Signature verification can break boot flows when firmware, shim, or kernels get out of sync.

Vendor Firmware

Motherboard tools and LVFS coexist; ordering and versions matter more than we think.

UEFI Settings

Manufacturing mode, TPM, and PK/KEK/DB entries can create failure modes that look like OS bugs.

A Practical Troubleshooting Checklist

Not exhaustive, but a helpful path before deep kernel surgery:

Confirm UEFI boot (not legacy/CSM), and note Secure Boot state. If errors mention signatures, test with Secure Boot temporarily disabled.
Update motherboard firmware via vendor utility or LVFS where supported; reboot after each update.
If stuck in manufacturing mode, review vendor docs for clearing it (PK/KEK/DB enrollment) or resetting keys to factory defaults.
Reinstall Ubuntu using the latest ISO; verify the installer’s shim matches firmware expectations.
Avoid hopping kernels too quickly; test the current GA kernel before trying mainline.
Document each change. If you fix it, leave notes for your future self, and the community.

Community, Curiosity, and Caution

Reading through the replies energized me, I enjoy learning the hardware side of Linux. It also reinforced a healthy respect for the layers beneath modern, user-friendly distros. Forums like Ubuntu Discourse demystify a lot with lived experience, yet it’s easy to see how firmware issues intimidate newcomers.

The most encouraging part? Communities of helpful people exist, and they make experimentation less scary. Paraphrasing an old idea: Welcome to Life Linux, it’s a big boat with a lot of holes, but we’re all in it together.