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Thread: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

  1. #1
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    Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    My apologies if this has been addressed. If so please point me to the correct posts. I have been reading until I am cross-eyed.

    I just got a Dell Inspiron 660s and wanted to dual boot with ubuntu. First go round, I ended up erasing windows and had to ask Dell for the recovery media disk (thankfully it worked to reinstall windows). After a few failed attempts to get both Windows and Ubuntu installed, I believe I have them in place after following this post as closely as possible http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2108450 , Note: when I first restarted, I saw GRUB with both ubuntu and windows listed and following what this post said, I booted to windows. I haven't seen the GRUB screen since (and it now only boots to windows). I have used the boot repair utility and first it told me that the boot files are far from the start of the disk and I may want to create a /boot partition (ext 4 >200MB, start of disk) so I did that even after getting a warning about moving the start sector of windows (no issues with booting into windows after that) This is a picture of Gparted's screen: (I do not know why they all say /boot now unless it has something to do with boot repair.)
    Screenshot from 2013-03-29 15:44:58.png

    Now the boot repair utility is giving me messages and I don't know what to do...

    It first tells me that EFI is detected and to check my options. So clicking on advanced options this is what I get:
    Screenshot from 2013-03-29 15:01:40.pngScreenshot from 2013-03-29 15:02:05.pngScreenshot from 2013-03-29 15:36:17.png
    I see that "secure boot" is checked in the third picture, but when I uncheck (I do not want secure boot, correct?) it it has a "edit grub configuration file" button and I don't know what I should change in there (if I should be messing with any of it).

    Please note that when I created the /boot partition it was in sda5 and I was sure it said efi as well, however now of course it does not say that. When I click apply (with settings as shown), I get this:
    Screenshot from 2013-03-29 15:25:26.png
    After running this script in terminal, it tells me "Grub is still present. Please try again." If I change the boot partition to sda5, I get a message: GPT detected. Please creat a BIOS-Boot partition (>1MB, unformated file system, bios_grub flag). This can be performed via tools such as Gparted. Then try again. Alternatively, you can retry after activatiing the [Separate /boot/efi partition:] option.

    I also read this morning that the efi should be fat32 (which it is in sda1), so should I combine sda5 with sda1 so it's big enough (as I was instructed to make it bigger than 200MB)? At this point, I know I am going in circles, so any direction would be GREATLY appreciated.

  2. #2
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    Re: Help with Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    Not sure you need the separate /boot. We used to see the issue a lot with BIOS boot, large drives, and older versions of grub. I always thought it was a BIOS issue, but it may have been a grub bug. One grub bug was fixed on very large >500GB root drives. Boot-Repair still flags it as an issue, but only if you cannot boot and get grub errors usually grub rescue> in BIOS boot is it then needed. Not sure if we have ever needed it with UEFI boot or not? But now that you have it, it should not matter.
    But if you moved NTFS partition, it should have run chkdsk on reboot? It always has to run repairs after any change to size.

    You (and all of us) have issues on whether in BIOS mode or UEFI mode and they are a lot different.
    In UEFI mode, you only boot from efi partition. In gpt partitioning, the efi partition is the only partition with the boot flag. Gparted used boot flag to mean the efi partition in gpt, and it really means a lot different thing in MBR(msdos) partitioning.
    If booting Ubuntu in BIOS mode you need the bios_grub partition. I only have BIOS but use gpt and have 1MB unformatted partition with the bios_grub flag. But you do not need a bios_grub partition if in UEFI boot mode.

    So use gparted to remove boot flag from your sda5. Did you reinstall or move boot files to sda5? Not sure if Boot-Repair would have done that for you or not?

    New UEFI systems sometimes just work, some have issues, and some just about do not want to work.
    The ones that work will install Ubuntu and boot both Windows & Ubuntu with secure boot on or off.
    Many only boot Windows with secure boot on, and with grub'2 shim file that has the Microsoft secure boot key Ubuntu will also boot.
    But some have modified UEFI to only boot the Windows efi file in secure boot mode. In those cases Boot-Repair renames grub2's shim to the Windows file name and you actually boot into grub. Grub then chains back to Windows to boot. These usually need secure boot on.

    More info on file renaming:
    Boot-Repair - Updated Jan 1, 2013 to not rename first time, but rename if first time Windows does not boot. Post 706 and 711
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...769482&page=71
    Boot-Repair copied /EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi to /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi (in case the BIOS is hard-coded to boot into /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi or secure boot signed GRUB file shimx64.efi.
    A user disabled secure boot, and unchecked it in boot-repair. It now bypasses Grub and goes straight in to Windows.
    Renamed files:
    /EFI/Boot/bkpbootx64.efi
    /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bkpbootmgfw.efi

    To perform this, just run Boot-Repair --> Adv options --> tick "Backup and rename EFI files" --> Apply
    Then reboot the PC to UEFI/BIOS and chose ubuntu, and please tell us what you observe.
    Please enable SecureBoot in your BIOS, then run Boot-Repair --> Advanced Options --> "GRUB options" tab --> tick "SecureBoot" --> Apply.
    To undo & to rename files to their original names, you just need to tick the "Restore EFI backups" option of Boot-Repair.

    May be best to just post the BootInfo report from Boot repair. It should just give a link to post.

    Post the link to the BootInfo report that this creates. Is part of Boot-Repair:
    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Info
    UEFI boot install & repair info - Regularly Updated :
    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
    Please use Thread Tools above first post to change to [Solved] when/if answered completely.

  3. #3
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    Re: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    Thank you oldfred for responding so quickly.

    I honestly don't think windows ran Chkdsk on it's own. I had run it JUST previous to creating the sda5 boot file (moving windows partition) because there was some issue when I reinstalled windows again. (Perhaps when I shrunk the windows partition, but I honestly can't remember). I have started windows numerous times and AFAIK a scan has not been run (but I will say, I don't usually sit in front of my computer while it warms up either.)

    I removed the boot flag from sda5...I installed the boot files (or perhaps thought I did) when I was making the partition. (You see I only know enough to be "dangerous"; I am still learning. )

    In boot-repair, I unchecked "secure boot" and left "backup and rename EFI files" checked. That (supposedly) fixed the boot menu(!!). and I was able to get into Ubuntu. YAY! I did get a message that said "Please do not forget to make your BIOS boot on sda1/EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi file" How do I do that? I did not see any listing of sda1 in my BIOS, just 1st boot being my optical disk, second being (now UEFI ubuntu). Is that what they are talking about? I then went into BIOS and changed it to secureboot and I got this error: "Secure boot violation Invalid signature detected. check secure boot policy in setup" Should I install ubuntu secure remix 64bit as stated near the end of this post: http://askubuntu.com/questions/20695...-boot-install? or can I leave secure boot unchecked and off in BIOS?

  4. #4
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    Re: Help with Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    Obviously something in your directions was to KEEP the GRUB menu showing up because now that I've restarted and picked windows, I no longer see the grub menu again. *sigh* Sorry to be so slow...

  5. #5
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    Re: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    I have both a boot repair info page from last night (still broken) http://paste.ubuntu.com/5656647/ and a fixed info page http://paste.ubuntu.com/5659020 I'm not sure if either one of those will help you help me at all...

  6. #6
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    Re: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    Something wrong with links.
    One is BIOS two drive system, the other one drive UEFI boot?
    UEFI boot install & repair info - Regularly Updated :
    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
    Please use Thread Tools above first post to change to [Solved] when/if answered completely.

  7. #7
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    Re: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    Hmm...Well, by "drive" you mean hard drive, right? I had my external drive hooked up at one point while messing with all of this, but I don't know how it would have been a BIOS and the other UEFI.
    I am going to go over your post from yesterday and see what happens. I probably missed something.

  8. #8
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    Re: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    I did notice something while in BIOS yesterday. I have a setting "Load Legacy OPROM" and it is enabled. I thought I remember reading about Legacy somewhere, but perhaps that was a different topic?...

  9. #9
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    Re: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    Post the link to another BootInfo report. Do not run repairs, just report.
    One of your previous links is in Polish? and the other English.
    UEFI boot install & repair info - Regularly Updated :
    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
    Please use Thread Tools above first post to change to [Solved] when/if answered completely.

  10. #10
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    Re: Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 dual install--boot repair issues

    That is very strange because I have no issues with Polish(?) when I click on either one. Here is the report today. Mind you, I didn't restart after running boot-repair this morning, so GRUB actually came up. Not sure if that is going to make a difference in this report.
    http://paste.ubuntu.com/5662455/
    Hopefully it's in English this time!

    Here is one after it would not boot into ubuntu (using live CD) (and after disabling BIOS Load Legacy OPROM http://paste.ubuntu.com/5662580/ Hoping it would make a difference, but it didn't.
    Last edited by munnster; March 30th, 2013 at 10:18 PM.

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