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I recently dual booted Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS on my Asus fx503 laptop. My windows is installed on a 128 GB SSD and Ubuntu is installed on HDD. If I update Windows, will it hamper Ubuntu or GRUB bootloader or Windows? Everything is working fine till now

newcat1000
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Indrasish Kundu
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2 Answers2

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I have dual booted my Windows 10 and Ubuntu since about 3 years. Till now I haven't faced any kind of issues in updating both. Also, these OSes will update independently, i.e. Windows updates will not affect Ubuntu and Ubuntu updates will not affect Windows. However, I'll suggest you two things:

  1. Unlike Ubuntu, some Windows updates need multiple startup which sometimes become frustrating to select Windows again and again on GRUB menu. So, I suggest you make Windows as your default entry (for example, Ubuntu is the default entry in GRUB boot loader). For that, read How do I set Windows to boot as the default in the boot loader?. Don't worry it will boot into Windows only when the specific timestamp has passed and you haven't changed the choice.

  2. Sometimes Windows updates replace GRUB boot loader with Windows boot loader. In that case you will need a boot repair. For that read How to install the Boot-Repair tool in an Ubuntu live disc?

For any other problems you face with Ubuntu in future, AU is always here to help you out :)

Kulfy
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  • I'll have to slightly disagree with you... Windows MAJOR updates CAN effect Ubuntu, by either rewriting the boot loader to only load Windows, OR to wipe the Ubuntu partition on MBR disks. Fixes are available, but they're not easy. Boot Repair won't fix it. – heynnema Jan 06 '19 at 23:45
  • @heynnema I agree Windows replaces default bootloader which I already mentioned in point 2. Generally that is solved by a boot-repair. However in some cases bcdedit is required. Also, regarding wiping of Ubuntu partition, I haven't experienced such problem so far. – Kulfy Jan 07 '19 at 07:23
  • @Kulfy It only seems to occur on MBR disks. – heynnema Jan 07 '19 at 14:55
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The MAJOR Windows updates (Anniversary and Creators) can do two things...

  • they can replace GRUB with a Windows bootloader, and boot directly into Windows, and you'll need to use bcdedit in Windows to set it right.

  • they can WIPE Ubuntu partition on MBR disks. Technically it changes the ext4 partition to some other format, thereby rendering it gone. Testdisk CAN be used to bring it back, but it's NOT an easy task.

heynnema
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