Some more info in the hope it helps the developers to make sense of this issue:-
I managed to restore the "Boot via CD/DVD" option by shorting the said CL1 and CL2 pins. However this did not restore my BIOS/UEFI firmware access. I was just able to use the 'Boot via CD/DVD' and 'Boot via USB HDD' options. Using the former, I installed Linux Mint 14. Deleted the EFI system partition and installed grub-pc to handle the boot loading process. Later used the manufacturer's BIOS Flash via FreeDOS to flash my firmware and get back firmware access. Windows 8.1 preview arrived and I wanted to check it out so went ahead and grabbed the ISO. Since Windows doesn't allow BIOS mode installation on a GPT disk, I had to go for a UEFI mode installation. This went as expected and removed the grub loader. However the firmware access was still there. Installing UEFI Windows just added a 'Windows Boot loader' in the firmware's boot menu and put it on top. I was still able to choose boot via CD or USB. Put in the Ubuntu Live CD and booted through that to restore access to Ubuntu/Mint. Installed Boot-Repair and used the 'Recommended Repair' approach. Now since there is a EFI System Partition (Windows created this) and UEFI mode OSes (Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu), I guess, Boot-Repair figured out that grub-efi needs to be installed. Followed instructions shown by Boot-Repair and the summary is present here - http://paste.ubuntu.com/5873309/ I was asked to disable 'Secure Boot' from my firmware on restart but as earlier, I lost firmware access again. I guess, grub-efi failed somewhere and I was being taken directly to the grub menu with no way to enter my firmware and switch off Secure Boot. Since I have a working Windows, I booted into it via grub and flashed my BIOS again to get back firmware access. I stumbled upon the utility - rEFInd Boot Manager by Roderick W. Smith here - http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/ and using the instructions for Windows (http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/installing.html#windows), I installed it and now have a working system with access to all OSes (Windows 8.1, Ubuntu and Mint) along with my BIOS/UEFI firmware access as well (restored via flashing). When my Windows 8.1 preview expires, I will have some work to do probably but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. To Developers:- Just holler if you need me to run any tests or provide more info. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1082418 Title: Ubuntu UEFI install locks out UEFI firmware (~bios) access To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/1082418/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
