UEFI and dual-boot

[STiAT]

Hello,

I lately tried to install KUbuntu on a computer using UEFI instead of the classic BIOS. I can set my device to legacy boot, but afterwards Win7 denies being installed on that device.

Now, while the install worked, KUbuntu seems not to have recognized the Windows Installation for the bootloader. Thus, it just works booting KUbuntu now.

I've tried to set up the bootloader (grub in this case) to load the proper windows partition, but it does not seem to work at all.

When I press F12 (Boot Options on my device) during the UEFI phase, I can select "Windows Boot Manager" or "Ubuntu", so that way I still can boot into Windows.

Is there any way to get rid of this and the possibility to get Windows booting using Grub on a UEFI device? I have not found any installer being able to recognize Windows on UEFI though, but I've been following the instructions of the arch wiki how to set up grub for dual boot - which didn't work.

My disk is setup so the first and second partitions in the gpt are the windows partitions, the afterwards comes KUbuntu (I always tend to install Windows before Linux, since it's usually easier).

Any ideas or documentation you could point me to? Maybe my disk setup is somehow wrong too... but I couldn't confirm that yet, since both [can] boot .

[SteveRiley]

I lately tried to install KUbuntu on a computer using UEFI instead of the classic BIOS. I can set my device to legacy boot, but afterwards Win7 denies being installed on that device.

An existing Windows installed in UEFI mode can't boot if the computer is switched to BIOS emulation mode. I'm unaware of any safe workaround other than a reinstallation.

Now, while the install worked, KUbuntu seems not to have recognized the Windows Installation for the bootloader. Thus, it just works booting KUbuntu now.

I've tried to set up the bootloader (grub in this case) to load the proper windows partition, but it does not seem to work at all.

I'm curious -- what did you do, exactly?

In a related thread, I provided the steps required to get Windows 8 to boot via GRUB. It's possible that the same steps are required for Windows 7 on UEFI, although I have a suspicion that such manual configuration ought not to be necessary -- after all, Windows 7 on UEFI has been around for some time now.

Edit the file /etc/grub.d/40_custom. At the bottom of this file add:

menuentry "Windows 7" {
  search --set=root --file /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
  chainloader /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
}

Now edit the file /etc/default/grub. Find the two lines that begin with GRUB_HIDDEN and place a # in front of them.

Finally, run sudo update-grub.

When I press F12 (Boot Options on my device) during the UEFI phase, I can select "Windows Boot Manager" or "Ubuntu", so that way I still can boot into Windows.

Is there any way to get rid of this and the possibility to get Windows booting using Grub on a UEFI device? I have not found any installer being able to recognize Windows on UEFI though, but I've been following the instructions of the arch wiki how to set up grub for dual boot - which didn't work.

That's normal -- you're interacting with the UEFI boot manager here. IMHO, this is the cleanest mechanism for multi-booting a UEFI-based PC, and largely makes GRUB irrelevant. You might actually come to like this approach and, if so, you can uninstall GRUB completely. It's how I roll now. There's a bit of APT trickery you have to perform that will prevent updates from re-installing GRUB.

Create the file /etc/apt/preferences.d/no-boot-loaders. Paste the following into the file:

Package: grub*
Pin: version 0.0
Pin-Priority: -1

Package: lilo
Pin: version 0.0
Pin-Priority: -1

[STiAT]

Hi,

Thanks for the guide, worked perfectly well for me. The 40_custom was simply wrong.
I doubt I'll get used to pressing F12 at boot time . Have had that for 3 weeks now already, and don't get used to it.