Installed Ubuntu 12.04 and have lost access to Windows 7.

[rikimaru90]

I installed it using the first option, install along side Windows. And I had 30GB of unallocated space on a separate hard drive than Windows.

Now when I choose the Windows boot I get something like 'Invalid EFI path.' I still need Windows because my family also use this PC.

http://paste.ubuntu.com/1202156/

And here is a screenshot of my partitions from gparted: http://i.imgur.com/orDnB.png

I just tried boot repair and got this: 'GPT detected. Please create a BIOS-Boot partition (>1MB, unformatted filesystem, bios_grub flag). This can be performed via tools such as Gparted. Then try again.Alternatively, you can retry after activating the [Separate /boot/efi partition:] option.'

Really need to sort this ASAP as my family use this PC and they are flipping out on me other this...

[darkod]

Do you know where is your win7 installation, on sda or sdb?

Looks like you might have win7 on the 1TB disk, but also it might be on the 2TB disk.

This looks to me like a mix up with the UEFI boot. If win7 is on sdb, it doesn't seem you were using UEFI, but you installed ubuntu in UEFI mode. Hence the confusion to boot windows now.

First start by explaining where is windows, then we will see.

[rikimaru90]

Windows is in sdb.

It is one big unpartitioned drive, in NTFS and flagged as 'boot'.

[darkod]

So, how come you seem to be booting with UEFI now and you were not earlier?

We know that you were not because sdb has msdos partition table and win7 can only work on gpt table with UEFI boot.

Did you change something in BIOS? Go into bios, and make sure you disable the UEFI boot if possible.

Since you have no data in the new ubuntu yet, it's not a problem to reinstall. Just note that sda is with gpt table and BEFORE you reinstall ubuntu you will have to create a small 1MiB partition with NO filesystem (DO NOT format it with anything) and the bios_grub flag. That is needed for grub2 on gpt disks.

So, look around for disabling UEFI boot, and if you need help about the bios_grub partition before you reinstall ubuntu, ask.

[rikimaru90]

I just went into BIOS and disabled UEFI boot, but it did not fix the problem.

I have not changed anything, do you think maybe Ubuntu did during install?

Someone before told me to make that 1mb partition, then try boot repair again. Do you think I should try that?

[darkod]

Hold on, don't worry about ubuntu now, and it has little to do with win7 not booting.

You still have windows bootloader on both disks, but one of them might be wrong. So, try to boot from sdb as first option, if it doesn't work, try from sda.

All win7 boot files look correct, and the bootloader is there.

If the computer is trying to boot in the standard bios mode, it should work, either from one disk or the other. Check that out first.

PS. I'll be offline few hours, if win7 starts working, it's up to you if you want to wait for detailed instructions how to reinstall ubuntu, or go with it. Maybe someone else will jump in too. Don't be too impatient, especially if win7 starts working, it's better to do things right, than fast.

[rikimaru90]

Ah okay, I can relax a little now, changing the boot priority to sdb completely bypasses the grub and boots into Windows.

So, I'd rather not uninstall Ubuntu and do everything again to be honest. I have already done so twice, as I installed it on Wubi, really liked it so I uninstalled and started again. Doing so again is an option, but one I'd rather avoid if possible. If not, I'll have to learn to do it right.

[darkod]

Small correction, you don't even have grub on any MBR. That was the UEFI boot manager giving you that error.

I didn't understand whether you want to continue with this installation, since it seems to me it was installed in UEFI mode and you don't boot in UEFI. So, I don't think you can count on using this installation.

If there is any important data there, you can boot into live mode with the cd and copy everything you need. After that I would delete all ubuntu partitions, then create the small 1MiB bios_grub partition, and then do the new installation.

[YannBuntu]

Hello

http://paste.ubuntu.com/1202156/

And here is a screenshot of my partitions from gparted: http://i.imgur.com/orDnB.png

I just tried boot repair and got this: 'GPT detected. Please create a BIOS-Boot partition (>1MB, unformatted filesystem, bios_grub flag). This can be performed via tools such as Gparted. Then try again.Alternatively, you can retry after activating the [Separate /boot/efi partition:] option.'

Your Windows is installed in Legacy (=non-EFI) mode, on a standard disk.
You installed Ubuntu on the other disk, which is GPT. Ubiquity (the Ubuntu installer) is not very clever, as it installed Ubuntu in EFI mode, when it should have installed it in Legacy mode.

What I would do:
1) disable EFI in your BIOS settings
2) via Gparted, delete your sda3 partition. Instead, create a BIOS-Boot partition (1MB, unformatted filesystem, bios_grub flag).
3) run Boot-Repair's Recommended repair, and indicate us the new URL that will appear please.

[rikimaru90]

Thanks, do you mean UEFI? In BIOS I have an option to disable it. What are the pros and cons of using UEFI? Am I missing out on anything by disabling it?