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I was trying to install linux Ubuntu version 12.04 alongside Windows 8 on my Toshiba Satellite but when I restart I can't find the place to switch between the windows and Ubuntu. I have tried using Linux in Oracle Virtualbox and it did well but when I restarted my laptop it didn't show any signs of changing to the Linux OS. the laptop when opened boots direct to windows 8

ghostharon
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  • Why are you installing 12.04? 14.04 is the current LTS version, and 15.10 is the latest non-LTS version. – John Scott Jan 02 '16 at 19:17
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    @FuzzyToothpaste 12.04 is LTS too, it still has nearly two years of support left. – Mark Kirby Jan 02 '16 at 21:21
  • Don't post comments as answer, here is Ghost Harons comment for others as it will get removed "

    thanks for that but what i think i forgot to say is that it boots directly to windows 8 so how can i change it in order for me to use ubuntu while my other family members still use the windows"

     – Mark Kirby Jan 03 '16 at 09:49
  • I know it's still supported, but only for security updates. It's getting no more bug fixes (except for security bugs), and you would be much likely to have this problem. Although it's technically still supported, I see no reason why you would want to install it. There's nothing 12.04 has that 14.04 doesn't. – John Scott Jan 03 '16 at 14:31

3 Answers3

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You didn't tell us if you can boot into Ubuntu or Windows, so I'm considering you can use Ubuntu. Try to be more specific next time.

Boot into Ubuntu. Open a terminal window (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run the following commands:

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub/

Find the two lines that begin with GRUB_HIDDEN and put a # in front of both of them. Find GRUB_TIMEOUT and change its value to 10. Make sure GRUB_DEFAULT is also set to 10. Save the file and exit. Again in the terminal run:

sudo update-grub

Reboot and you should see the GRUB menu. You should be able to select Windows from there.

muru
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Eduardo Cola
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If you can't access Windows 8 nor Ubuntu you'll probably need to reinstall the the GRUB bootloader because it it is possible that it has been wiped.

To reinstall GRUB, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall $(aptitude search '~i!~M' -F '%p' | grep grub)
John Scott
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wie5Ooma
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  • That does not provide a full answer. You should explain step by step how to reinstall GRUB. – Eduardo Cola Jan 02 '16 at 19:00
  • Yes it does. The question was about being unable to find the GRUB menu so telling to probably reinstall IF (and only if) it is missing is an answer to the question. If asker doesn't know how to do a reinstall of the GRUB menu he/she can elaborate or modify the question. – wie5Ooma Jan 02 '16 at 19:05
  • It doesn't. Because of reasons. – Eduardo Cola Jan 02 '16 at 19:10
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Based on your comment (that you should add to your question, not as an answer), you can use a live Ubuntu use and boot-repair to fix grub.

First get a live USB drive or DVD (the one you used to install Ubuntu or see this), now boot this and choose try ubuntu.

Press CTRL+ALT+T for a terminal and run these commands to install boot-repair

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair

Now run it

boot-repair

Just follow the instructions CAREFULLY and this will repair your boot loader, now reboot and you should see grub.

As your question is a bit unclear and you mention virtualbox, I must point out that a Virtualbox install won't show at boot, you must run it in Virtualbox once the OS has booted.

Boot-repair documentation

Mark Kirby
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  • If this helped you and as you ar rep 1 user, please click the check mark on the let to say thanks and let other easily find this information. – Mark Kirby Jan 03 '16 at 09:43