Installing Ubuntu from USB in legacy mode

[bernardlxy]

you are trying to dual boot correct?

Yeah that's right

[RobGoss]

Try using USB installer to create your bootable USB https://www.pendrivelinux.com/univer...easy-as-1-2-3/

If you can boot Windows and it loads you can install Ubuntu the same way, if your machine is in Legacy which I'm assuming it is because you can boot in to Windows then just boot the maching, hit F12 then run the live desktops to see how everything works

If all is OK just proceed with the installation, you will have the option to choose to install alongside Windows, if you choose this option the installer will do everything for you including assigning disk space for the new partition

Most people like to choose their own partition disk space. Make sure you have a full backup of your Windows partition just in case some goes worng

[CatKiller]

if your machine is in Legacy which I'm assuming it is because you can boot in to Windows

Not necessarily. It depends on the mode of the device that was used to install it, at the time that it was installed. My install uses BIOS rather than UEFI because the card reader I used to install it only booted in Legacy mode. If I were to reinstall today it would be in UEFI mode because I now have a thumb drive that can boot as a UEFI device.

You can still boot a UEFI-capable device in Legacy mode, though, as a boot option, which is what the OP should do if he wants everything to continue working.

Edit: Actually, that was what the OP asked how to do in the very first post, so I'll elaborate. Going into the BIOS, when I select the boot order, the first option is for [UEFI]name-of-my-thumb-drive, but I can select a different entry whose tag I can't currently remember because I'm no longer in the BIOS. Selecting that would let me install as a Legacy device.

Reinstalling Windows as a UEFI-aware OS is another option. Possibly because it was originally Windows 7 is the reason it's still Legacy even with the upgrade.

[RobGoss]

Catkiller, Good points that is correct, the OP would have to access the BIOS to see what mode the machine is booting in then install Ubuntu in the same mode

[bernardlxy]

Try using USB installer to create your bootable USB https://www.pendrivelinux.com/univer...easy-as-1-2-3/

If you can boot Windows and it loads you can install Ubuntu the same way, if your machine is in Legacy which I'm assuming it is because you can boot in to Windows then just boot the maching, hit F12 then run the live desktops to see how everything works

Problem is after using the link above to write the Ubuntu image to the USB, I no longer see my USB appearing on the boot menu. It just doesn't recognise my USB where else previously, my USB was listed under UEFI, now there's just no UEFI boot option and the USB isn't listed under the Legacy boot option either

Edit: Actually, that was what the OP asked how to do in the very first post, so I'll elaborate. Going into the BIOS, when I select the boot order, the first option is for [UEFI]name-of-my-thumb-drive, but I can select a different entry whose tag I can't currently remember because I'm no longer in the BIOS. Selecting that would let me install as a Legacy device.

Reinstalling Windows as a UEFI-aware OS is another option. Possibly because it was originally Windows 7 is the reason it's still Legacy even with the upgrade.

Reinstalling Windows is not something I'm very keen on doing.

As for the boot order, I have seen screenshots of others wheres there's an option for UEFI USB and just USB(Legacy) but mine just has the option of the UEFI

[CatKiller]

Reinstalling Windows is not something I'm very keen on doing.

As for the boot order, I have seen screenshots of others wheres there's an option for UEFI USB and just USB(Legacy) but mine just has the option of the UEFI

That's a pain. Can you get hold of something that isn't capable of booting in UEFI mode? Ubuntu should still install fine. In my case, it was a USB SD card reader. Otherwise, this page suggests that it may be possible to install Ubuntu in UEFI mode alongside your existing Windows install and then change it to Legacy mode afterwards. It's not something that I've ever tried.

Back up your Windows install, regardless of what you do next.

[RobGoss]

Have you accessed your BIOS to see if Windows is in fact installed in Legacy / UEFI mode?

I know having to reinstall Windows will be a pain but unless Windows is installed in UEFI it may be the only option to get this dual boot up and running

As I mentioned I had one of my machines which had windows installation in Legacy mode then I installed Ubuntu in UEFI so when I wanted to boot in to Windows I had to change the boot options to start Windows, still it was all that bad because I didn't really use Windows

[bernardlxy]

Can you get hold of something that isn't capable of booting in UEFI mode? Ubuntu should still install fine. In my case, it was a USB SD card reader. Otherwise, this page suggests that it may be possible to install Ubuntu in UEFI mode alongside your existing Windows install and then change it to Legacy mode afterwards.

I'll take a look and see what I can do about that. In the meantime, any ideas on why this is happening? I've been scouring the web for 2 weeks but couldn't find a proper answer

[CatKiller]

I'll take a look and see what I can do about that. In the meantime, any ideas on why this is happening? I've been scouring the web for 2 weeks but couldn't find a proper answer

That bit is quite straightforward: for some reason, your Windows install was done using Legacy BIOS; possibly because it was Windows 7 initially. UEFI is quite recent, after all.

The reason you can't mix-and-match is because bootstrapping is actually a hard problem to solve. Once there was a solution that worked, no one messed with it for the longest time - until there were enough new features in the replacement to be worth the effort and pain.

I don't know for sure why your chipset won't let you boot your thumbdrive in Legacy mode; probably cost. Either to the chipset maker or to the thumbdrive maker.

EDIT: I haven't used Windows for over a decade, but it's also apparently possible to convert Windows 10 from Legacy BIOS to UEFI without data loss.

[yancek]

As for the boot order, I have seen screenshots of others wheres there's an option for UEFI USB and just USB(Legacy) but mine just has the option of the UEFI

That seems very strange since you originally had an older MBR install which was the default for windows 7 and that would be a Legacy install. You probably need to explore the BIOS setup options a little more closely rather than the boot options. The Ubuntu iso should be able to boot either, it did when I booted to install and from what I remember it was the different settings in the BIOS which made the difference.