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I am using a single-boot Ubuntu on a Lenovo Yoga C740 laptop and would like to install Windows 10 in place of Ubuntu. Consequently, I copied the files from the Windows ISO-file to my USB drive, following the steps here https://itsfoss.com/bootable-windows-usb-linux/.

However, I have a problem in booting from my USB drive, because I cannot get the boot menu visible. Okay, I think I got it once, but since I didn't happen to have my USB stick inserted at the moment, I was only able to select the normal boot from the boot menu. Later on I cannot remember what I exactly did to get the menu visible.

While using Windows, I used to get the boot menu visible by pressing F12 (and Fn simultaneously). Now while using Ubuntu I only might get some terminal window for a few seconds until it continues to the normal boot to start Ubuntu.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Lauri

Lauri Mat
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    This seems to be related to your BIOS settings and not to Ubuntu. Please, enter into your BIOS settings while the USB drive is plugged in and try to enable something like "boot from USB". – FedKad Oct 04 '20 at 09:04
  • I checked from BIOS that the USB boot is "Enabled". However, after exiting BIOS and pressing F12 I was finally able to enter the boot menu. Unluckily, even with my USB stick plugged in, the only option available was to click on Ubuntu (samsung, etc. text), with no USB alternative. So I clicked it and found myself again in the Ubuntu desktop. It seems like the device recognizes the USB stick in the desktop, so this makes it even more puzzling why it is not showing in the boot menu. – Lauri Mat Oct 04 '20 at 09:34
  • You should change boot priorities in the BIOS setup, giving precedence to USB and pushing down the hard disk. – FedKad Oct 04 '20 at 09:37
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    Does this answer your question? How can I create a Windows bootable USB stick using Ubuntu? – karel Oct 04 '20 at 09:42
  • The USB boot option is prioritized first in the BIOS boot menu. The normal boot on the list, titled something like EFI with the text Ubuntu (samsung, numbers etc.) was prioritized last on the BIOS boot menu and it doesn't even have the option of setting it enabled/disabled in the menu. Even so, the normal boot option is still the only option visible in the subsequent boot menu displaying by pressing F12. – Lauri Mat Oct 04 '20 at 09:56
  • I tried this with another USB stick that worked when I installed Ubuntu from USB stick to replace Windows. But now that I am installing Windows to replace Ubuntu this USB stick does not display either in the F12 boot menu. – Lauri Mat Oct 04 '20 at 10:00
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    I have tried quite a few methods of making a Windows installer USB from Ubuntu. So far mkusb-plug works best fro me: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1274878/make-windows-10-bootable-usb-in-ubuntu/1274975#1274975. I am currently trying to use mkusb-dus to make a Windows installer USB, it is a little bit simpler procedure.. I will report back if that works. – C.S.Cameron Oct 05 '20 at 05:59
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    My Windows install from a USB made using mkusb-dus worked perfect for me. There are a few less steps than when using mkusb-plug. – C.S.Cameron Oct 05 '20 at 08:12
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    You might need to enable CSM Compatibility in your BIOS. Either the install disk is not compatible with UEFI, or damaged. Also, you can't simply copy over Windows files, you need to download a Windows ISO file, and then write it to your USB disk with the dd command. The guide you linked is wrong - there is no need to format the USB disk and copying over the contents of the ISO, you can - but you have to select MBR, and FAT filesystem otherwise it won't work. But much better would be to sudo dd if=win10.iso of=/dev/sdc bs=4k (assuming /dev/sdc is your flash drive, if not you'll wipe something) – Dagelf Oct 05 '20 at 08:25

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Most modern computers with a UEFI BIOS will jump directly to the first installed boot loader, and not give you any time to choose an OS.

Make sure your boot device is plugged in - and bootable - meaning it just needs the right files on it - either a UEFI Boot file, in a FAT file system, or formatted with a legacy boot sector with boot files compatible with that boot sector. (Eg. in your case just a plain Windows install disk, on a medium that Windows has built in drivers for, and will be able to read once booted.)

With the drive inserted, there are two fool-proof ways to select your boot device:

Option 1: Enter the BIOS and select the boot device from there.

Most modern BIOSes let you select a boot device from its main page, by simply pressing ENTER on the relevant device.

You can also change the boot order here - but be sure to save your selection by pressing F10 or whatever the on-screen instructions say - otherwise any changes you made will just be ignored.

Option 2: Enable CSM Compatibility Mode

Most modern UEFI BIOSes, in order to speed up the boot process, don't usually load drivers to read USB devices and legacy boot sectors - and this has to be selected and enabled manually. Without this enabled, the BIOS won't even see USB devices during the boot process, and it will just load the OS that it is programmed to load without looking at anything else.

Option 3: Tap DEL INS F1 F2 F8 F10 F11 F12 or whatever the boot selection hotkey is

For most BIOSes you have to, from the moment you press the power button, repeatedly tap the correct boot selection key, for which there is no standard - and you can usually find it through a bit of patience and trial and error. Just tap one of the above keys repeatedly for at least 30 seconds after power up, and see what happens. If nothing happens, reboot and try the next key.

To make things simpler, many BIOSes have an option to wait a few seconds on boot-up - and to display the relevant keys - when you do get into the BIOS, take your time to look through all the settings, and I'm sure you will find it.

If it still doesn't work...

The drive you selected might just not be bootable, because it might be too old, too new, or just not formatted properly, or damaged. It can be painstaking and frustrating to get it right, so be very systematic and write down the steps you tried and what happened.

I noticed from the guide you linked that they say you can choose GPT or MBR. I can tell you now that GPT won't work, so reformat it and make sure you choose MBR. I also didn't see any recommended filesystem - but I can also tell you that anything other than FAT32, VFAT or FAT are unlikely to work either, and that those are the only filesystems I've seen UEFI support.

Dagelf
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    +1 for a good answer, but I have a comment about file systems. Most computers can boot both in BIOS mode and UEFI mode from a cloned linux iso file, where there is an iso9660 file system. Some (but far from all) computers can boot from an NTFS file system, for example with a Windows installer extracted from its iso file. I have also booted computers from a UDF file system (and of course Linux from a Linux ext file system in BIOS mode). Anyway, unless you know all the details, it is best to use a tool to create the USB boot drive, for example mkusb. – sudodus Oct 05 '20 at 09:00