Please help with Ubuntu GRUB killed by Windows on dual boot (I hate Windows 🤬)

[khurtsiya]

Hello!

[This is my post from Reddit, where I did not receive much help.]

This might get a bit emotional, but I really hate Windows! It's only installed on my computer for occasionally playing Civilization, Rust, or DayZ. However, even that doesn't stop it from wasting my time and nerves to the maximum.

So, the characters in this story: me, my computer, Ubuntu, Windows, ChatGPT 4, ChatGPT 3.5.

Background: Since I've encountered Windows not playing nice with other OSes on the same machine before, I knew that I needed to install Windows first, then Ubuntu, to have the option to choose the OS at boot. I have 2 M.2 SSDs. I installed Windows on the first one, then Ubuntu on the second one. Everything worked perfectly. But it turned out my knowledge of Windows' treachery was not complete. One fine day, after successfully finishing a game of Civilization with a victory, I decided to shut down the computer, and of course, Windows couldn't resist the opportunity to update itself. Everything went fine. But the next day, when I wanted to boot into Ubuntu to work, it turned out that Windows, even after updating, killed the bootloader. I was furious. I thought that by correctly installing the systems, I had freed myself from these worries. It was naive.

I lack the knowledge to quickly fix the bootloader. I turned to the internet, read several articles, and tried to copy-paste commands, but quickly concluded that the general scheme wouldn't work for me. I decided to turn to AI. On the first day, things seemed to be going well; I booted from the Ubuntu Live USB, copy-pasted chat commands, and provided the output for control. Everything seemed to finish without errors, but upon rebooting, nothing had changed. I saw "Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key" again.

I decided to try again the next day. Today, with renewed vigor and hope, I embarked on the battle. Again, I carefully executed chat commands, everything was going fine until I hit the request limit for ChatGPT 4. I had to switch to 3.5, and it turned the process into a nightmare. It stopped checking errors properly and gave scattered ideas. It all ended with suggesting creating an additional partition for the bootloader, and objections like "it used to work fine without it" didn't bother it.

In the end, I realized that I can't handle it without community help. And for these two days, I simply don't have the nerves, considering that I wasted two days just because Windows doesn't play nice with other OSes. And this is coming from someone who has been behind a computer for 20 years. What about newcomers?

I ask for help with my problem. Here's how I described it to the chat:

I am in BIOS. I have these options. Boot mode select: LEGACY + UEFY. Boot option #1: Hard Disk: Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB (this is my Ubuntu). Boot Options #2: Windows Boot Manager (Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB) - this is a separate SSD with Windows. I installed them in this order: 1. Windows, 2. Ubuntu (which created a menu where I can select which OS to boot). But after Windows update, it broke my menu. After I did all above, I still have this error while loading from Ubuntu SSD: Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key.

Thank you to everyone who managed to read to the end!

What has been done:

Used Boot Repair with no luck.

Step 1: Verify Disk Partitioning and Boot Configuration

Step 2: Determine Boot Mode

Step 3: Check GRUB Configuration and Bootloader Installation

Actually I forgot I can share chat URL, You can see prompts and terminal outputs there:

https://chat.openai.com/share/47ffc0...6-63f6a6eb2876

[Rubi1200]

The quickest and easiest solution to try and figure out what is going on would be to use a liveUSB with a current version of Ubuntu and boot the computer. Select the option to Try Ubuntu.

Then, follow the instructions to run the boot info script in my signature.

Please note: do not try and repair.

Choose the option to create a summary report and to create a pastebin link.

You can then post that link back here for people to analyze the results and make suggestions on how to fix the situation.

[khurtsiya]

I will do it. Meanwhile, may be report from Boot Repair will have needed info?

https://pastebin.com/yDpiB2Y8

[dragonfly41]

Interesting story.
Recent suggestions above might sort out your issues. But.

Let me start with your efforts to get advice from ChatGPT. I do supplement my own development research by letting AI agents take on the drudgery of searching for relevant sources. But the lesson I have learned is to be crystal clear in the prompts you submit. This new art is dubbed “prompt engineering”.

And follow AI advice with care. ChatGPT advises to run bootrepair but if you search this forum you will find advice not to apply boot-repair - simply publish the URL to the report to allow experienced users to peruse (as above posts). Challenge ChatGPT advice.

That apart, the agent I am comfortable with is Phind.com. And do not be afraid to challenge it's advice.
However your prompt is poorly worded.
Your forum post is better worded.

Here is one prompt to try:

[PROMPT] This developer occassionally uses Windows and has installed Ubuntu in dual boot mode.
There are two M.2 SSD's. One contains Windows, the other contains Ubuntu.
Boot BIOS is set to Legacy.
Following a session with Windows, on shutting down Windows and observing Windows update, this developer could not boot into Ubuntu which previously worked without fault. Windows update had disrupted the grub.


[PROMPT]In a dual boot Windows and Ubuntu configuration, following a Windows update, analyse the error message: “Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key”.
Will installing rEFInd simplify the selection of Windows and Ubuntu in dual boot mode ? Boot-repair has not worked.


But another suggestion is to return to the hated Windows and download a 15days trial version of https://www.easyuei.com/index-us.html
This should sort your UEFI issues from within Windows.

But also concurrently install rEFInd as a supplementary boot loader. It works for me and I have multiple SSD's in external caddies in StarTech dual docking bay..
Windows is like a cuckoo in the nest. Throwing out other fledglings.


[POSTSCRIPT]
This is the killer message in your boot-repair report:-

• The firmware is EFI-compatible, but this live-session is in Legacy/BIOS/CSM mode (not in EFI mode).
  

[khurtsiya]

Thank you for replies! I will try this. But as it is non-free software - does it mean that I will be able to boot with it just for 15 days for free?

Also, I am not sure that Ubuntu installed in UEFI mode, because if I set in BIOS UEFI-only (instead of LEGACY+UEFI) - my SSD with Ubuntu disappears from boot priority list in BIOS.

I found in Wikipedia that

rEFInd is a boot manager for UEFI and EFI-based machines.[2][3] It can be used to boot multiple operating systems that are installed on a single non-volatile device. It also provides a way to launch UEFI applications.

Can this be a problem if I have systems on separate SSDs?

[khurtsiya]

The quickest and easiest solution to try and figure out what is going on would be to use a liveUSB with a current version of Ubuntu and boot the computer. Select the option to Try Ubuntu.

Then, follow the instructions to run the boot info script in my signature.

Please note: do not try and repair.

Choose the option to create a summary report and to create a pastebin link.

You can then post that link back here for people to analyze the results and make suggestions on how to fix the situation.

It seems that we are talking about the same software, so my report is actually what you asked for, correct?

[khurtsiya]

rEFInd seems to be exactly what I need, but I want to install it on Ubuntu, not on Windows. The thing is I can not boot Ubuntu in the first place.

[khurtsiya]

This is the killer message in your boot-repair report:-


The firmware is EFI-compatible, but this live-session is in Legacy/BIOS/CSM mode (not in EFI mode).

I am not native English speaker, so I do not get what this means, sorry...

[khurtsiya]

Ok, I just found that while trying to repair boot myself using ChatGPT I somehow changed Windows bootloader also if this makes sense. So whatever SSD I select I just see GNU GRUB version 2.06 grub> prompt...

What I can do from here? My last plan was to load Windows, install EasyUEI, load Ubuntu and install rEFInd. But now the only thing I see is this grub> prompt. I also can boot from Ubuntu LiveCD, but is installing rEFInd there makes sense?

[dragonfly41]

I also can boot from Ubuntu LiveCD, but is installing rEFInd there makes sense?

Yes, it makes sense and you can install rEFInd into either the Windows partition or the Ubuntu partition.

The EASYUEFI is a supplementary appoach to fix UEFI. Quite separate from rEFInd. Try rEFInd first.

Also when booting up hit F2 or it might be F10 to view your BIOS settings (which might have been changed) and ensure that UEFI is seleted, not Legacy. And select rEFInd as your priority boot loader.

After all this you can update Grub so you have two routes to startup. rEFInd is cleaner .. for me.