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I know there are approximately a million variants of this question, but please hear me out!

I have a Windows 10 Pro machine, upgraded from a Windows 7 Pro pre-install; both booted in UEFI mode. I can't find confirmation I can use Boot-Repair to fix my attempt to do a dual-boot installation of Ubuntu 16.04.3 in this situation.

I believe I made the common mistake of installing Ubuntu in Legacy (BIOS) mode during an attempt to install a dual-boot. Windows 10 boots as normal, and there does not appear to be any way to boot into Ubuntu.

I know the general recommendation is to use Boot-Repair to convert Ubuntu from Legacy to UEFI boot mode. But I've done a lot of research and there are contradicting answers about whether Boot-Repair is compatible with Windows 10 machines previously upgraded from Windows 7, as opposed to Windows 10 pre-installations. Also nearly all related advice involves a different mix of Ubuntu and Windows versions.

QUESTIONS:

  1. Will Boot-Repair work with Windows 10 upgrades from Windows 7 pre-installations, both in UEFI mode?
  2. How can I verify that my issue is that I installed Ubuntu in Legacy, rather than something else?
  3. If I can't use Boot-Repair then what should I do?
  4. Would it be easier to uninstall Ubuntu and start the process all over again? How would I do that?
  5. Bonus: Does anyone have a link to very specific, detailed instructions for doing all this? Because all the information I've found is scattered across a lot of posts and websites and/or outdated.

HARDWARE AND INSTALLATION DETAILS

  • Using a Lenovo T460. Upgraded to Windows 10 (and later Creator's Update) via Microsoft's upgrade program provided online.
  • Verified computer is currently booting in UEFI through Windows's System Information tool.
  • Fast Startup and Secure Boot were disabled.
  • Installed 16.04.3 via live-USB. Used customization option to create partition. It seemed to install as normal until I restarted the computer and tried to get into Ubuntu.
  • I think the installation didn't work because I can't find any option to boot to Ubuntu, whether through interrupting the normal boot process via function keys or using Advanced Startup (accessed through Windows PC settings).
  • I assume I installed in Legacy mode because I did not realize I was supposed to use UEFI until I started looking for reasons I couldn't boot to Ubuntu.
  • When I go into Disk Management (see photo), I see a random 1 MB partition (red) and two partitions (purple) that add up to the size of the partition I allocated for Ubuntu. I don't know what's up with that.
JemJem
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  • Just reinstall Ubuntu in UEFI mode. – You'reAGitForNotUsingGit Sep 08 '17 at 18:41
  • How do I do the reinstall though? Don't I need to delete the existing installation (if there?) off the partition first? – JemJem Sep 08 '17 at 18:42
  • Well, you can delete all three of the Ubuntu partitions, and don't worry about nuking GRUB from the MBR, it's not doing any harm there. – You'reAGitForNotUsingGit Sep 08 '17 at 18:44
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    FYI though - Windows 10 has a reputation for screwing up dual-boots after installing Windows updates – You'reAGitForNotUsingGit Sep 08 '17 at 18:45
  • Is the 1 MB partition the third Ubuntu partition? Or is it something else? Full disclosure: when I first rebooted the computer only the 31 GB and 15 GB mystery partitions showed up. That 1 MB partition is a recent addition after another reboot. – JemJem Sep 08 '17 at 19:29
  • Your issue with most results is that almost all Windows 7 installs were/are BIOS/MBR. Only a few Windows 7 installs are UEFI. If you have gpt partitioning and ESP -- efi system partition (FAT32 with boot flag) then Windows must be UEFI. And then you only need to use Boot-Repairs advanced mode (when Ubuntu live installer is booted in UEFI mode) to totally uninstall/reinstall grub. If you elect to reinstall, only use Something Else and choose same / (root) partition. Be sure to boot in UEFI mode as that is how it installs. Windows 10 now adds another recovery partition after main install. – oldfred Sep 08 '17 at 19:48
  • @oldfred, I am pretty sure the pre-installed Windows 7 was in UEFI mode as I bought the laptop about a year ago and my understanding is that's how Lenovo was shipping everything out. My system is indeed GPT and that 100 MB partition is labeled as ESP.

    To clarify your statement:

    (A) It is OK for me to use Boot-Repair on a UEFI Win10 system upgraded from UEFI Win7, (B) I should use the Boot-Repair tool on the Ubuntu live-usb, not an independent Boot-Repair live-usb, and (C) when doing the repair, I should make sure to boot the Ubuntu live-usb in UEFI mode. Is this correct?

     – JemJem Sep 08 '17 at 22:16
  • Yes. Just make sure Windows 10 is not hibernated. Windows updates may turn it back on and updates can be in background. Then grub will not boot Windows, but you still can boot from UEFI boot menu. Some Lenovo need work arounds to boot ubuntu entry or fallback/hard drive entry. Also make sure you make a Windows 10 repair flash drive. Boot-Repair is mostly for Linux. http://askubuntu.com/questions/486752/dual-boot-win-8-ubuntu-loads-only-win/486789#486789 Also make sure you have AHCI on, you may need Windows AHCI driver installed first. – oldfred Sep 08 '17 at 23:09

0 Answers0