Grub won't detect my Windows 7 Partition after migrating from HDD to SSD.

[clungzta]

Hi,
Ive been Dual-Booting Ubuntu 12.04 and Windows 8 for a few months now, I now use Ubuntu 90% of the time but I still need Windows for some unsupported Linux software.

I am fed up with the new Windows 8 GUI and am now reverting back to Windows 7 while upgrading to the SSD.

I did a clean DVD install of both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 12.04 on my SSD, while leaving the Windows 8 Partition as is, to transfer across important files.

Ive set Grub as the default bootloader, it detects my Windows 8 and Ubuntu partition's but not Windows 7. Any Ideas?


This is how my partitions are set up according to GParted:



Partiton

File System

Mount Point

Label

Size

What it Is



/dev/sda1

ntfs

/media/System

System

469.03GB

Windows 8 Partition



/dev/sda4

ext4

/home



30.97GB

Ubuntu Home Directory



/dev/sda2

ntfs

/media/Documents



1.32TB

Windows Documents



/dev/sda3

ntfs



System _Recovery

8.01GB

System Recovery tools



/dev/sdb1

ext4

/



13.97GB

Ubuntu Root



/dev/sdb2

extended





105.27GB

? I didn't assign this.



/dev/sdb5

linux-swap





953.0MB

Ubuntu Swap Partition



/dev/sdb6

ntfs

/media/SSD

SSD

104.34GB

Windows 7 Partition

[carl4926]

Is sda a GPT partition table
If so you need a bios_grub partition on sda if sda is to be the boot disk

[clungzta]

I only want sdb to be the boot disk, After i've salvaged all the old documents from Win 8 (/dev/sda1) I will be formatting and only using sdb (Ubuntu and Win 7) to boot.

[carl4926]

Then you need to enter the BIOS and change the HD boot order
If Ubuntu is a New install it may be easier to then install it again over the top of what you have. But try it without re-installing first. It's just that it may not like sdb becoming sda
I see you have / and /home on different HD's? So re-install will help all round when you assign the mount points in the advanced setup

[clungzta]

I have always had sdb as the default in the BIOS, I put my home directory on sda because when I remove Windows 8, I want all documents on HDD and operating systems on SSD for a quick boot. I might aswell just give it a clean Install and see how it goes.

Cheers.

[carl4926]

If you ever pull a SATA or power from a HD it can change the boot order - FYI
Double check because if sdb is first it should be sda in fdisk or parted

[Mark Phelps]

...I am fed up with the new Windows 8 GUI and am now reverting back to Windows 7 while upgrading to the SSD.

I don't like the Win8 GUI either -- which is why I installed the $5 Start8 app from Stardock --which gives me back the Win7 GUI complete with the old Start Menu and Win7-like desktop. Since you PAID for Win8, you might want to look at this option before you throw it away.

[darkod]

Have you tried selecting Win8 from the grub menu? Does it show then option for 7 and 8?

Windows will combine boot files if you have more than one version installed. So, by adding win7 without taking other steps first, you might have made it combine the boot files with the win8 files. In that case grub2 can see only one set of files, and will create one entry in the boot menu.

But that entry should give you options for both windows versions.

[oldfred]

If your new install of Windows combined boot files & BCD into the Windows 8 install, you may be able to repair (add boot files) to your Windows 7 install.

May be best to see what is where. Boot-Repair will not fix most Windows boot issues.

Post the link to the BootInfo report that this creates. Is part of Boot-Repair:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Info
Boot Repair -Also handles LVM, GPT, separate /boot and UEFI dual boot.:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair