Scenario
Recently I build up my own desktop and decided to install as first OS Windows 8 (why did I do that...) as always I have both, Ubuntu and Windows, I though that installing Windows first would be better to check if my video card was working properly as drivers works better in Windows.
Problem
The problem is that when I installed Ubuntu after restarting the PC I won't be prompted to choose an OS, it simply starts Windows 8. Then I read about Windows 8 installation and found out that it uses UEFI boot as there is a partition created by Windows that is EFI.
Then I tried to install Ubuntu EFI although I got the very same situation. After that I did a last try making things manually by selecting the partition that Windows created as EFI partition, although the installation couldn't proceed because it didn't identified the EFI partition as an EFI partition.
What I want
I wonder if I delete the partition that Windows created as EFI and let Ubuntu create it's own EFI in the place will things work?
But if that isn't possible I don't want Windows 8 anymore in my PC, I will stick with 7 and Ubuntu, but as I don't know a lot about UEFI stuff I am wondering if I just make a backup partition for my important files in NTFS system and delete all the rest and then install Ubuntu and after Windows 7 it will work.
Because I don't know if Windows 8 configurations into the UEFI BIOS will remain after deleting it from the HDD and it will prevent me from installing other OS'es and then I will be with no computer at all.
In addition I would like to have Ubuntu and Windows 7 installed both as EFI systems if possible cause as far as I know it improves security (correct me if I am wrong) and my motherboard doesn't support Secure Boot it has any option about that in the BIOS and I ran Confirm-SecureBootUEFI command in Windows that returned that my system doesn't support Secure Boot.
My PC Specs
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) (CML8GX3M2A1333C9)
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 (GV-R797OC-3GD)
Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core (BX80637I53570)
GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H Dual-UEFI LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX (GA-B75M-D3H)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" (ST31000524AS)
Additional Info
As suggested by user Rod Smith I ran Boot Info Script in the live usb of raring daily build, the content of the file RESULTS.txt is here:
Boot Info Script 0.61 [1 April 2012]
============================= Boot Info Summary: ===============================
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda.
=> Syslinux MBR (4.04 and higher) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb.
sda1: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD
sda2: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /bootmgr /Windows/System32/winload.exe
sda3: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 13.04
Boot files: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab
sda4: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: vfat
Boot sector type: SYSLINUX 4.04 2011-04-18
Boot sector info: Syslinux looks at sector 1628296 of /dev/sdb1 for its
second stage. SYSLINUX is installed in the directory.
The integrity check of the ADV area failed. No errors
found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /syslinux/syslinux.cfg
/efi/BOOT/grubx64.efi /ldlinux.sys
============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================
Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System
/dev/sda1 * 2,048 718,847 716,800 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda2 718,848 921,599,999 920,881,152 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda3 921,600,000 1,945,693,749 1,024,093,750 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 1,945,694,208 1,953,523,711 7,829,504 82 Linux swap / Solaris
Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sdb: 4051 MB, 4051697152 bytes
125 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1021 cylinders, total 7913471 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 62 7,912,749 7,912,688 b W95 FAT32
"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________
Device UUID TYPE LABEL
/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 4664C9EB64C9DE35 ntfs Reservado pelo Sistema
/dev/sda2 8A46D14C46D13A21 ntfs
/dev/sda3 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09 ext4
/dev/sda4 d5f3ad90-fa34-4a62-9adc-efc3fdd3bfce swap
/dev/sdb1 B656-E464 vfat MYLINUXLIVE
================================ Mount points: =================================
Device Mount_Point Type Options
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sda2 /media/ubuntu/8A46D14C46D13A21 fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,default_permissions,blksize=4096)
/dev/sdb1 /cdrom vfat (ro,noatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
=========================== sda3/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
set have_grubenv=true
load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi
export menuentry_id_option
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
}
function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
function load_video {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
}
if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
font=unicode
else
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos3'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos3 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos3 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos3 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
fi
font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi
if loadfont $font ; then
set gfxmode=auto
load_video
insmod gfxterm
set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
set lang=pt_BR
insmod gettext
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
if background_color 44,0,30; then
clear
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
function gfxmode {
set gfxpayload="${1}"
if [ "${1}" = "keep" ]; then
set vt_handoff=vt.handoff=7
else
set vt_handoff=
fi
}
if [ "${recordfail}" != 1 ]; then
if [ -e ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt ]; then
if hwmatch ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt 3; then
if [ ${match} = 0 ]; then
set linux_gfx_mode=keep
else
set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
else
set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
else
set linux_gfx_mode=keep
fi
else
set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
export linux_gfx_mode
menuentry 'Ubuntu' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09' {
recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos3'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos3 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos3 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos3 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
fi
linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic root=UUID=3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09 ro quiet splash $vt_handoff
initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic
}
submenu 'Opções avançadas para Ubuntu' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09' {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, com Linux 3.8.0-19-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.8.0-19-generic-advanced-3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09' {
recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos3'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos3 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos3 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos3 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
fi
echo 'Carregando Linux 3.8.0-19-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic root=UUID=3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09 ro quiet splash $vt_handoff
echo 'Carregando ramdisk inicial ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, com Linux 3.8.0-19-generic (modo de recuperação)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.8.0-19-generic-recovery-3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09' {
recordfail
load_video
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,msdos3'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos3 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos3 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos3 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09
fi
echo 'Carregando Linux 3.8.0-19-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic root=UUID=3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09 ro recovery nomodeset
echo 'Carregando ramdisk inicial ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic
}
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry 'Windows 8 (loader) (em /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-4664C9EB64C9DE35' {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1 4664C9EB64C9DE35
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 4664C9EB64C9DE35
fi
drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=============================== sda3/etc/fstab: ================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda3 during installation
UUID=3372315d-d1df-4670-bcbb-4a4ab5548b09 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sda4 during installation
UUID=d5f3ad90-fa34-4a62-9adc-efc3fdd3bfce none swap sw 0 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=================== sda3: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
= boot/grub/grub.cfg 1
= boot/initrd.img-3.8.0-19-generic 1
= boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-19-generic 1
= initrd.img 1
= vmlinuz 1
=========================== sdb1/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
if loadfont /boot/grub/font.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=auto
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod gfxterm
terminal_output gfxterm
fi
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
menuentry "Try Ubuntu without installing" {
set gfxpayload=keep
linux /casper/vmlinuz.efi file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper quiet splash --
initrd /casper/initrd.lz
}
menuentry "Install Ubuntu" {
set gfxpayload=keep
linux /casper/vmlinuz.efi file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper only-ubiquity quiet splash --
initrd /casper/initrd.lz
}
menuentry "OEM install (for manufacturers)" {
set gfxpayload=keep
linux /casper/vmlinuz.efi file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper only-ubiquity quiet splash oem-config/enable=true --
initrd /casper/initrd.lz
}
menuentry "Check disc for defects" {
set gfxpayload=keep
linux /casper/vmlinuz.efi boot=casper integrity-check quiet splash --
initrd /casper/initrd.lz
}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
========================= sdb1/syslinux/syslinux.cfg: ==========================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# D-I config version 2.0
include menu.cfg
default vesamenu.c32
prompt 0
timeout 50
ui gfxboot bootlogo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=================== sdb1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
?? = ?? boot/grub/grub.cfg 1
================= sdb1: Location of files loaded by Syslinux: ==================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
?? = ?? ldlinux.sys 1
?? = ?? syslinux/chain.c32 1
?? = ?? syslinux/gfxboot.c32 1
?? = ?? syslinux/syslinux.cfg 1
?? = ?? syslinux/vesamenu.c32 1
============== sdb1: Version of COM32(R) files used by Syslinux: ===============
syslinux/chain.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx)
syslinux/gfxboot.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx)
syslinux/vesamenu.c32 : COM32R module (v4.xx)
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
awk: cmd. line:36: Math support is not compiled in
/home/ubuntu/Documents/bootinfoscript: line 1646: [: 2.73495e+09: integer expression expected
No volume groups found
RESULTS.txt. Post a link to this file here; it contains vital diagnostic information that's necessary to do more than speculate about causes. – Rod Smith Apr 20 '13 at 18:25