Newly installed Kubuntu boots to Windows instead

[pwabrahams]

I just finished installing Kubuntu 12.04.1 on my laptop, which already had Windows 7 installed. The Windows boot partition is sda1; the Kubuntu boot partition is (or is supposed to be) sda6. The installation had a couple of minor burps that I didn't worry about. But now, when I reboot, I get into Windows rather than Kubuntu. I was expecting to see the Grub2 screen, offering me a choice of systems to boot to. I think I can get into Kubuntu by booting into SuperGrub, but I shouldn't have to. What might have gone wrong?

[jrog]

I just finished installing Kubuntu 12.04.1 on my laptop, which already had Windows 7 installed. The Windows boot partition is sda1; the Kubuntu boot partition is (or is supposed to be) sda6. The installation had a couple of minor burps that I didn't worry about. But now, when I reboot, I get into Windows rather than Kubuntu. I was expecting to see the Grub2 screen, offering me a choice of systems to boot to. I think I can get into Kubuntu by booting into SuperGrub, but I shouldn't have to. What might have gone wrong?

Is this a newer machine? You say that /dev/sda1 is the "Windows boot partition;" does that mean that there is a separate small partition for booting at the front of the drive? I'm asking because I'm wondering if your problem is (U)EFI-related. This is a typical symptom of such cases.

[pwabrahams]

Yes, it's a new machine -- a Lenevo Z580. It came with 4 primary partitions, so I had to go through some gyrations to make a partition available for Linux. Right now the configuration is:

sda1 Windows boot
sda2 Windows C:
sda3 Extended
sda4 Windows recovery (I think)
sda5 Windows D:
sda6 Kubuntu /
sda7 Kubuntu /home
sda8 Linux swap

I don't know anything about (U)EFI -- that's not the kind of information that laptop makers provide to buyers.

Now I'm wondering -- am I going to wreck something if I install Grub using grub-install?

[Bashing-om]

pwabrahams; Hi !

It does appear that sda1 (as stated windows boot ) is UEFI, and that does present a problem, that is surmountable, to install grub properly. A bit more effort on your part.

Here are the relevant links with background info to resolve:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p... & UEFI advise
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1974392
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2064761
https://gitorious.org/tianocore_uefi...s/pageshttp://

To verify UEFI:
You can find out by typing "bcdedit" in a Windows Administrator Command Prompt window and looking for the "path" line in the "Windows Boot Loader" section. If this line refers to winload.efi, then you're booted in EFI mode; if it refers to winload.exe, then you've booted in BIOS mode.

HTH <==BDQ

[pwabrahams]

The instructions at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFIBooting are for Ubuntu, not Kubuntu. They involve a "boot repair" step that doesn't seem to exist (or at least I can't find it) after the reboot of Kubuntu.

[Wim Sturkenboom]

If I understand it correctly, you can install (temporarily) bootrepair while using the liveCD.

If you have used a liveUSB with persistence, it can be permanently installed on the liveUSB.

[jrog]

If I understand it correctly, you can install (temporarily) bootrepair while using the liveCD.

If you have used a liveUSB with persistence, it can be permanently installed on the liveUSB.

This is correct, though I believe that installing Boot Repair while using the LiveCD requires adding a PPA. An alternative is downloading the Ubuntu Secure Remix LiveCD and using that as a LiveCD; it comes with Boot Repair on it.

pwabrahams, based on the partitioning of your disk and the issue you are having, it is a virtual certainty that your computer is booting in (U)EFI mode. For help on resolving your issue, read this page (different from the one you linked earlier): https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

You will likely be able to resolve this by performing steps #1 and #4 at the beginning of that document. In short: burn the Ubuntu Secure Remix to a CD, use it as a LiveCD, and then do the rest of what is said in step #4. (Differences between Ubuntu and Kubuntu won't matter here; the LiveCD for Ubuntu Secure Remix will be used only to set up GRUB properly.)

[pwabrahams]

Those instructions leave out a critical step: how to start up a Ubuntu terminal if you're not familiar with Ubuntu. Ubuntu confronts you with an essentially featureless desktop, with no obvious way to bring up your chosen application. (That's part of why I prefer Kubuntu.)

[jrog]

Those instructions leave out a critical step: how to start up a Ubuntu terminal if you're not familiar with Ubuntu. Ubuntu confronts you with an essentially featureless desktop, with no obvious way to bring up your chosen application. (That's part of why I prefer Kubuntu.)

The instructions do show you how to start an Ubuntu terminal, though I suppose it's easy to miss: "open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T)."

EDIT: Also, to get to your applications in Ubuntu, you can generally click on the Ubuntu logo on the launcher (top left side of the screen) -- or hit your Windows key, if you have one -- and, when the Dash shows up (the window with the transparent blurred background), either type in what you're searching for or click the icon for Applications (the thing that looks like a ruler and a pencil and maybe a pen) and browse through them.

[pwabrahams]

Thanks to all for your help in making these instructions work in Kubuntu as well as in Ubuntu. I've edited the help page in the wiki (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UE...8%28UEFI%29%29 to reflect this extra information. Some of the participants in this conversation might want to look at my edits and improve (or correct) them further.