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As far as i understand ubuntu don't install grub during install

I have 1 ssd and 1 hdd, i want to install ubuntu to ssd and install windows 10 to hdd. I DO NOT WANT THEM ON SAME DRIVE

if i unplug the ssd and install windows to hdd then plug it back ssd cable and install ubuntu to ssd will it work considering grub installs automatically?

Indrid Cold
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  • Also I didn't understand the very first sentence — why would Ubuntu not install Grub during install? When would it install Grub otherwise? – Hi-Angel Jun 06 '17 at 18:43
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    If you separately install, you have to run this for grub to find Windows. sudo update-grub. But grub only boots Windows installed in same boot mode, so both must be UEFI or both must be BIOS. And how you boot install media UEFI or BIOS is how it installs for both Windows & Ubuntu. And if Windows 8 or 10 it cannot have fast boot on or be hibernated. http://askubuntu.com/questions/145902/unable-to-mount-windows-ntfs-filesystem-due-to-hibernation – oldfred Jun 06 '17 at 19:31

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It's your BIOS/UEFI configuration decides which physical device to boot from. So you don't have to unplug drives for installation or later. To switch between systems simply choose in BIOS/UEFI setup whether to boot from ssd or hdd.

That said, you might want to unplug hdd with Windows for Ubuntu installation if you don't want Grub menu to have an entry to boot Windows, though I see no harm in this.

UPD: as pointed out in comments, Ubuntu installer ATM has a bug forcing Grub to be installed to whatever drive seen as /dev/sda. You can reinstall it later with grub-install command, but still you end up with excess Grub on sda. If it annoys you, you indeed can unplug the second drive for Ubuntu installation, and don't forget to add yourself to the bugreport.

Hi-Angel
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  • Assuming a UEFI install of Windows, unplugging the drive will ensure that the Ubuntu installer is forced to put grub totally on the Ubuntu disk, and ensures nothing gets written into the Windows EFI partition. After the install, booting from the Ubuntu disk, you can always run update-grub to add windows to the Ubuntu grub boot. – ubfan1 Jun 06 '17 at 19:44
  • @ubfan1 I must say I don't have a practical experience with EFI partitions. But I don't see a reason why would installer put a bootloader to a drive different from the one its installing to. Imagine a PC with 9 physical drives having a Windows installations, and a 10-th drive where you installing Ubuntu. Where should installer put a bootloader as not to the 10-th disk? – Hi-Angel Jun 06 '17 at 20:00
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    Grub only installs by default to drive seen as sda. Add your name to bug report. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/1414124 – oldfred Jun 06 '17 at 21:01