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I am currently trying to install Ubuntu 14.04 on a Sony Vaio that came pre-installed with Windows 8 in (I understand) UEFI mode. And I am experiencing the dual-boot hell. I already tried most of the suggestions in the exhaustive Installing Ubuntu Alongside a Pre-Installed Windows with UEFI guide as well as Ubuntu installations when using UEFI, but I still experience issues so please do NOT mark the current question as duplicate.

These are the steps that I already did:

  1. Use a 64-bit 14.04
  2. In the BIOS I could NOT find nor disable QuickBoot/FastBoot and Intel Smart Response Technology (SRT). But I did disable FastStartup in Windows 8.
  3. In BIOS I disabled SecureBoot.
  4. I installed 14.04 in UEFI mode (the /etc/fstab contains the UEFI partition) by using manual partitioning on the GPT hard-drive. I reduced the size of the Windows 8 partition from within Windows 8, as recommended.
  5. After the installation I noticed dual-booting issues, so attempted to use boot-repair (following this guide). But it only ended in an error and didn't fix much.

Issue:

Windows 8 always boots fine. When somehow I manage to get to the grub screen then choosing Ubuntu or Windows 8 will result in either OS booting just fine. So dual-booting sort of works. However, most of the times the Vaio will simply boot to Windows 8 after a shutdown or restart.

To get to the grub screen reliably, I am currently using the following awkward workaround:

  • While holding the SHIFT key, I click on Restart within Windows-8: enter image description here
  • When the menu below appears, I select Use a device: enter image description here
  • Then I select Ubuntu: enter image description here

Afterwards the GRUB menu appears and I can boot Ubuntu. For this to work I had to enable External Device Boot in BIOS and set in the Boot priority that the External Device (1) should be before the Internal HDD (2).

Question:

  • How can I fix the dual-boot issues on the laptop? I would like to be able to get straight to the GRUB screen whenever I restart the computer, either from Windows 8 or from Ubuntu.
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landroni
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  • A related question with hints of Vaio firmware issues: http://askubuntu.com/questions/360285/13-10-on-vaio-pro-with-uefi – landroni May 08 '14 at 03:58
  • This is what (finally!) worked for me: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2227580&p=13057416#post13057416 simple and elegant – Henk Jun 24 '14 at 08:46
  • Sometimes sony vaios with two graphic cards have problem with ubuntu, I usually can only use with stamina mode –  Aug 16 '14 at 13:38
  • If you have a new question, please ask it by clicking the Ask Question button. Include a link to this question if it helps provide context. – Charles Green Aug 16 '14 at 16:14

4 Answers4

4

One Sony user posted this:

The trick was to manually copy the ubuntu Boot directory in place of the \EFI\Boot Directory, and rename shimx64.efi to \EFI\Boot\bootx64.efi (not \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi )

Boot-Repairs fix is the rename of bootmgfw.efi, which has to be redone if Windows updates its files. And then can only boot Windows from grub menu.

Some other options:

Alternative to Boot-Repairs rename of shim. Some systems work better to register grub/shim from inside Windows - for those that keep resetting Windows as default

Grub not showing on startup for Windows 8.1 Ubuntu 13.10 Dual boot

bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi

https://coderwall.com/p/vfyqkg

Some install rEFInd which seems to be another workaround.

http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/index.html

http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/secureboot.html

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oldfred
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  • Thank you so much! Your first trick worked perfectly for me (, after several failed attempt with boot-repair... NB: I'm not using a dual boot, I only have Ubuntu installed. So I can't tell for a dual boot system. – Pierre-Antoine Oct 08 '14 at 11:54
  • Updated version: http://askubuntu.com/questions/486752/dual-boot-win-8-ubuntu-loads-only-win/486789#486789 If only booting Ubuntu you can create /EFI/Microsoft/Boot folder and copy grub or shim into that folder and rename it to bootmfgw.efi. Then system thinks it is booting Windows and just boots Ubuntu. And without Windows you will not have conflicts with Windows overwriting the bootmfgw.efi file, but on major grub updates may have to refresh the copy of grub you renamed as bootmfgw.efi. – oldfred Oct 08 '14 at 15:47
  • Addendum: it worked perfectlt with Ubuntu, but then I wanted to install Gnome-Ubuntu and I ran into another problem. Solution: I had to manually set the 'boot' flag on the EFI partition (using gparted, but other tools would probably work). – Pierre-Antoine Oct 08 '14 at 19:05
  • Well, as it ain't broke, I won't fix it! :) But thanks for the heads up. – Pierre-Antoine Oct 08 '14 at 19:06
1

I had the same issue here. To fix, try the steps below:

  1. Disable secure boot, fastboot, etc... (you have already done that);
  2. When installing Ubuntu, choose manual partitioning and create the partitions as follows:
    1. An ext4 partition for system and home (if you want). Mount point: /
    2. A swap partition. I normally use 50% of available RAM;
    3. A ext2 partition for boot. I think 400mb is enough. Mount point: /boot;
  3. Install Ubuntu, but do not restart after the installation finishes.
  4. Install gparted: sudo apt-get install gparted
  5. Open gparted. Select your disk and then the boot (ext2) partition. Right click on /boot partition, select manage flags and enable bios_grub flag. Apply change and close gparted.
  6. Install boot-repair like this link and execute it normally using recommended settings.

If everything is right, boot-repair will find your Windows 8 and will configure grub for you. Now, you can reboot.

Hope it helps.

humungs
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0

Try this. I had the same problem with Ubuntu 14.04 and Windows 7 and that worked just fine for me.

Ragnar
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If a boot device option does not appear for your device: Check the options in the firmware menus to enable or disable BIOS-compatibility mode.

To use BIOS-compatibility mode, check for options in the firmware menus to disable UEFI SecureBoot features.

For older PCs (Windows® 7-era or earlier), look for options to Boot from file, and browse to the \EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI file on that device.

stright from MS WEBSITE

z atef
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