0

Greetings to everybody,

not sure if anyone had the same issue previously, but could not find any similar (or i wasnt that patient to search :) and in that matter i apologize if am making duplicate post.

Am new to Ubuntu, but am finding it very amusing, useful and user friendly, and most likely way more secure and stable for the tasks i have. I was so excited that I made all my machines (private ones & company's) with dual boot until i get 100% comfort with Ubuntu 14.04 and figure out the way how to swap completely no matter i have critical apps that run on Windows only atm.

I had no issues until i got a laptop coming with Ubuntu by default. It is single hard drive and single ext4 partition of 500GB. I was forced to shrink 200GB out of the hard drive and make it NTFS to be able to install Win8.1 and run some apps under Win. Virtual box was not the option!

Now after i installed Win8.1 on 2nd partition, i cant boot my machine into Ubuntu. When tried with Ubuntu CD i see only option to erase previous Ubuntu and install new one. Not that i had any crucial files to lose, but i spent like couple of months customizing my Ubuntu desktop to suite me almost perfectly!

Any chance to make my machine asking me which OS to boot (meaning to install GRUB only) or i need to overwrite my existing Ubuntu with new one?

Thx for reading and apologies if making the post long enough to bleed your eyes :) If anyone had made the same "caca" please help me how to dump it.

Thx again

Sladjan
  • 1
  • 1

3 Answers3

1

I had a similar problem with an HP Probook but my problem was that HP had hardwired the computer to always boot into Windows. However, the following fixes might still work for you:

1. My first fix was to use a rEFInd bootable cd, and it should find all of the OS's on your computer and allow you to boot into them. You can download the rEFInd iso image here.

2. My second fix was to press Escape on startup and then F9 to access the Boot Device Options. Then I selected Customize Boot Options to find the OS systems.

3. A permanent fix I used was to go into the Bios menu and change the boot path to the Grub file. If you want to try this, please reply so I can provide more detailed instructions.

These fixes helped me, but you probably have a different problem since your computer had Ubuntu installed by default.

lumidify
  • 11
  • 2
1

When you install Windows, it always takes over the boot manager for the drive. Because of this, it's usually recommended that you install Windows first, then Linux, since Grub usually picks up on the Windows install and automatically sets up your boot menu.

Not to fear though, you can recover your Ubuntu partition and set up true dual-boot without much effort.

Here's the easiest way:

  1. Insert your Ubuntu CD, reboot your computer and set it to boot from CD in the BIOS and boot into a live session. You can also use a LiveUSB if you have created one in the past.
  2. Click "Install" and then "Boot-Repair."
  3. Click "Recommended Repair."
  4. Now reboot your system. The usual GRUB boot menu should appear. If it does not, hold Left Shift while booting. You will be able to choose between Ubuntu and Windows.

If that doesn't seem to work, you may need to work through the Grub2 recovery guide found here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/Installing#Reinstalling_GRUB_2

Source: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows

Matt Hamann
  • 143
  • 1
  • 6
0

The Ubuntu web site has the fix.

GRUB2 is the boot manager installed in Ubuntu by default. This means Ubuntu is independent and avoids any need for writing to other operating systems. To accomplish this, the only thing in your computer outside of Ubuntu that needs to be changed is a small code in the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the hard disk (which is booted by the BIOS). The MBR code is changed to point to the boot loader in Ubuntu. You will be presented with a list of operating systems and you can choose one to boot. If you do nothing Ubuntu will boot after a ten second countdown. If you select Windows then GRUB will chain-load Windows for you at the Windows boot sector, which is the first sector of the Windows partition.

A fast fix is with Ubuntu Boot Repair. A small program that scans the drive for bootable partitions and loads them into GRUB2.

LDC3
  • 526
  • 3
  • 7