Recovery and troubleshooting
The boot menu
Section titled “The boot menu”Luft’s boot menu stays hidden. Hold any key while the computer starts to show it. It lists:
- the newest version of Luft, and below it Rescue
- Previous versions, to start the one before the last update
- Windows and other systems on the computer
- Firmware settings, when the firmware supports it
From a running Luft, holding Alt in the Restart dialog shows Boot Options, which restarts into the menu.
Something broke after an update
Section titled “Something broke after an update”- If the new version doesn’t reach the login screen in three tries, Luft goes back to the version that last worked by itself, and says so before the login screen.
- If it starts but something’s wrong, go back in Settings, under Updates, Go back to the previous version, or pick the previous version in the boot menu.
Your files and settings stay as they are either way. See How updates work.
Rescue
Section titled “Rescue”Rescue, under the newest version in the boot menu, starts a minimal system with messages on screen. It asks for the disk’s recovery key or passphrase, since the TPM never unlocks the disk in Rescue, then opens a root shell.
The disk asks for its recovery key
Section titled “The disk asks for its recovery key”An encrypted disk normally unlocks by itself with the TPM. It asks for the recovery key when the way the computer starts has changed, such as Secure Boot being turned off, keys being added to or removed from the firmware, or another boot loader starting Luft. The prompt says why it’s asking.
Type the 64-character recovery key you saved; it’s in groups of eight, made of letters that type the same on almost every keyboard. Once the desktop is up, Settings, under Security, offers to link the TPM again so it unlocks by itself next time.
The screen stays dark from a USB stick
Section titled “The screen stays dark from a USB stick”Hold Esc while the stick starts and choose Luft with basic graphics. It uses the firmware’s screen, which is slower but enough to install. Installing picks the right graphics driver for the computer.
The firmware forgot its settings
Section titled “The firmware forgot its settings”| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The computer starts but the boot entry for Luft is gone | Nothing. The firmware’s fallback starts Luft, and Luft puts its entry back |
| Verification failed: (0x1A) Security Violation | The firmware’s keys were reset. On the blue screen, choose Enroll key from disk, then the EFI partition, EFI, luft, luft.cer, Continue, Yes and Reboot. The disk unlocks by itself again afterwards |
The graphics stopped responding
Section titled “The graphics stopped responding”When the graphics card hangs entirely, Luft restarts cleanly and explains what happened at the next start, with suggestions for the computer. Settings lists these under About, Recent problems. See NVIDIA graphics for a common cause on NVIDIA cards.
An app misbehaves
Section titled “An app misbehaves”Barometer (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) ends or force quits it.