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Help with encrypting Kubuntu to seperate drive (dual-booting with Windows 10)

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    Help with encrypting Kubuntu to seperate drive (dual-booting with Windows 10)

    Hello.

    I'm quite new to Linux, and am looking to install Kubuntu with encryption to an unused drive seperate from my Windows 10 installation.
    I don't want to install it alongside, but on its own, dedicated drive.

    I have set the drive which I plan to install Kubuntu unto as the first priority in my UEFI, and want it to boot into the GRUB menu, so I can easily choose between the two OS'es.

    I've tried the "Erase Disk" option with encryption, but that just boots straight into Kubuntu and skips past the GRUB menu.
    I've tried "Manual Partitioning", but haven't been able to get it to work despite reading a bunch of different posts.

    How should I proceed?
    Thanks!

    #2
    If I understand correct you want the GRUB menu to show so you can select which system to boot up on. These instructions will do that. You would do well to also wait for senior members to comment on this subject.

    GRUB Menu will appear if you press and hold Shift during loading Grub, if you boot using BIOS. When your system boots using UEFI, press Esc.

    For permanent change you'll need to edit your /etc/default/grub file:
    In the terminal window. sudo nano /etc/default/grub​
    Enter your password and the grub will open then you can edit the changes.

    Place a # symbol at the start of line GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0 to comment it out. If that line doesn't exist, then you can comment out this line instead:
    # GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden, and then change GRUB_TIMEOUT=0 to GRUB_TIMEOUT=5, for instance, to give the grub menu a 5 second timeout before it automatically logs you in.

    Save changes and run sudo update-grub to apply changes.
    Last edited by TinyTim; Apr 09, 2025, 11:39 PM.

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      #3
      Please note that some things have changed recently so if one of the options I post below seems like it's not quite correct - post back and state what seems amiss and what you see on your system that's different. They also could vary slightly based on what version of Kubuntu you're using.

      There are a couple steps needed to get where I think you want to be. Those are:
      1. Expose the GRUB menu at boot time each time you boot so you can select either Windows or Linux at boot up.
      2. Get Windows to appear in the boot menu so you can do #1.
      #1: GRUB
      Using Kate, open the file /etc/default/grub You should see this at lines 7 and 8:
      Code:
      GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
      GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
      ​Edit these 2 lines to read this way:
      Code:
      GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu
      GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
      ​For the TIMEOUT value I used "5" for 5 seconds. This is how long the menu will appear before booting to the default. You can leave it zero to not boot automatically or pick a number of seconds you prefer.

      Now scroll down to line 19:
      Code:
      #GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
      and remove the hash ( # ) from the beginning of the line. This will allow GRUB to locate your Windows install.
      Now save the file (it will ask for your password) and close Kate.

      #2: Get Windows into the grub menu.

      I believe the current default installation of Kubuntu has the needed files activated for GRUB to detect other installations, so all you should have to do is update GRUB and Windows should appear. To do this, open Konsole and type
      Code:
      sudo update-grub
      It will again ask for your password. You should see some text scroll down in the Konsole window and there should be a line that says "found Windows 10 on..."

      From then on when you boot up you should see the GRUB menu and Windows will be available to select and boot to.

      Other changes you can consider is to change the boot default to Windows if you use it more then Linux or even change it to boot to the most recently boot line used previously. I.e. if you're using Windows and reboot, it will go back to Windows automatically. If you are using Linux and reboot, it will go back to Linux. You can also leave the timeout value at zero which will require you to select which menu entry to boot from.
      Last edited by oshunluvr; Apr 10, 2025, 05:10 AM.

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