Any and all help would be so greatly appreciated. I’ve been battling with my laptop to be able to dual-boot Ubuntu Cinnamon and Windows 10 for about four days now. I’ve probably gone down five or six different rabbit-holes of troubleshooting, GRUB command-line fun, reinstalling and updating the BIOS, trying and failing to deal with VMX and locked NVram. As of now, my system boot-loops and fails to run Windows, but paradoxically I am able to get Ubuntu running, which is what I am using now.

I’ll try to provide as much relevant information here as I can:

  • Device: HP ZBook 17, gen 6
  • Primary OS: Windows 10 Home
  • Linux distro: Ubuntu Cinnamon 23.10
  • Ubuntu location: /dev/sda3
  • grub-install --version = 2.12~rc1-10ubuntu4
  • boot-repair Boot-info summary: https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/rxZ3D5GtpP/
  • I’m more than happy to provide more information as it’s requested.

As of now, I am unable to run Windows through the BIOS. If I run via the dedicated SSD as I normally do, it boot-loops, and if I try to go through any other drives it just tells me I need to install an OS. I am currently able to run Ubuntu, but only by going through the following process:

  1. Startup menu
  2. Boot configuration
  3. Boot from EFI > Ubuntu > shimx64.efi
  • mateomaui@reddthat.comEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    Sorry this isn’t an answer to the question, only a general reminder for whoever needs it to always create a disk image backup beforehand using Macrium Reflect or similar, so you can rollback nightmares like this.

    • Classy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      0·
      10 months ago

      Listen to what this person has to say, you people! I ignored multiple recommendations across probably ten different webpages to create a backup disk and I could have walked a lot of this back and started over, at the very least. FWIW, I’m sure that whatever is going on now is not irreparably broken, but certainly I could have saved myself some headaches.

      • mateomaui@reddthat.comEnglish
        0·
        10 months ago

        Again, sorry I cannot offer a solution. I’m sure it can be fixed, I’ve just never had to figure it out.

  • TheCMK@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    10 months ago

    Imo at this point you’re better off just nuking everything (after you backed up your important files) and reinstalling with the following process:

    • Install windows, with the linux drive removed
    • Plug linux drive back and install ubuntu on it (make sure you select the right drive in the installer) If you do this ubuntu should automatically detect windows. If it doesn’t you should still be able to boot into either one of them using your device’s bios.
    • Classy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      0·
      10 months ago

      I am going with this game plan, courtesy of ChatGPT 4. It aligns very nicely with my goals and the steps involved also seem to coincide nicely with the suggestions made in this thread. Gives me a path forward, which is really what I need now.

      1. Backup Personal Files:

        • Access your Linux partition (A:).
        • Mount the Windows SSD (C:) and HDD (F:) within Linux.
        • Carefully check for any personal files on C: and copy them to F:. Verify that all important data is on F:.

      2. Create a Full Backup of F:

        • Connect an external storage device with sufficient space.
        • Create a full backup of your HDD (F:) to this external device. This is crucial to prevent data loss.

      3. Verify Backup Integrity:

        • Ensure that the backup on the external storage is complete and the files are accessible.

      4. Prepare for OS Installation:

        • Download the latest Linux Cinnamon 23.10 ISO.
        • Create a bootable USB drive with this ISO using a tool like Rufus or Etcher.

      5. Remove HDD:

        • Power down your PC.
        • Physically remove the HDD (F:) to ensure it remains untouched during the OS installation.

      6. Boot from Linux USB Drive:

        • Insert the bootable Linux USB drive.
        • Access BIOS/UEFI and set the USB drive as the primary boot device.

      7. Install Linux Cinnamon on SSD:

        • Proceed with the Linux installation on the SSD (formerly C:).
        • During installation, select the option to format and use the entire SSD. This will erase Windows 10 and all data on it.

      8. Post-Installation Checks:

        • After installation, boot into Linux Cinnamon.
        • Check that all hardware components are recognized and functioning.

      9. Reinstall HDD:

        • Power down your PC.
        • Reinstall the HDD (F:).

      10. Mount and Access HDD in Linux:

        • Boot into Linux.
        • Mount the HDD (F:). You may need to install additional drivers or file system utilities depending on its format.

      11. Data Restoration or Access:

        • If required, restore the personal files from the external backup to HDD (F:).
        • Alternatively, if the HDD is accessible without issues, use it as is for storage.

      12. Install Necessary Software:

        • Install any Linux-compatible software that you need.

      13. Final System Checks:

        • Ensure everything is working as expected.
        • Make any necessary adjustments in system settings, drivers, or configurations.

      14. Create a New System Backup:

        • Once everything is set up, consider creating a new system image backup.
  • Caravaggio@feddit.nl
    0·
    10 months ago

    What was your starting point? Having Windows on the machine already and installing Ubuntu on top of it? (that would be commonly regarded as the ‘correct’ order) If not, and you can afford to scrap everything, that’s what I’d go for. If yes, and it’s Ubuntu that’s messing up your dual boot, I’d see if Windows can be restored after removing Ubuntu, and then try a different distro (I’d go with Mint Cinnamon, it normally provides smooth install experience).

    • Classy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      0·
      10 months ago

      I’m considering other options though I’ve enough Ubuntu so far. Fedora also looks nice. I’m a complete GNU/Linux novice but I can generally work around technical sides of programs relatively fine. I’m not sure why this issue is kicking my ass so much lol

  • Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    10 months ago

    I don’t fully understand how you are going about your installation. Are you attempting to install Windows 10, and Ubuntu onto different partitions on one drive, or each on a separate drive? Are you wanting to use grub to boot the OS of choice, or to choose the boot device from the BIOS boot device menu? In what order did you initially install the OS’s (Windows 10 first, then Ubuntu, or vice-versa)?

    • Classy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      0·
      10 months ago

      Dedicated SSD (C:) has Windows on it.

      Internal HDD has F: (storage) and a partition for Ubuntu, which is the A: drive in Windows and /dev/sda3 in Linux.

      I was originally hoping to do it this way and be able to dual boot them, but the more I think about it the more I feel that just going straight to Linux and biting the bullet would be better in the long run, and I can flash Windows if I really need it.

      I was trying to get GRUB to act as boot loader but for the longest time I couldn’t even get GRUB running, even with at least 5 different troubleshooting ideas. Then once it was running, I still couldn’t get it to mount the EFI. Then I started getting the boot loop issues and Windows OS stopped working, but I figured out how to get Linux desktop running via shimx64.efi in the BIOS boot loader.

      This computer is natively a Win 10 machine, and I was trying to add Linux to it.

      • Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        10 months ago

        I encourage you to read through this Archwiki page on dualbooting – it has a lot of very helpful information on the topic.

        I was originally hoping to do it this way and be able to dual boot them, but the more I think about it the more I feel that just going straight to Linux and biting the bullet would be better in the long run, and I can flash Windows if I really need it.

        It is certainly possible to dual boot (in my experience, with the occasional headache that you may, or may not be willing to deal with) Windows and Linux, but yes, the most reliable installation would be one, or the other.

        I was trying to get GRUB to act as boot loader but for the longest time I couldn’t even get GRUB running, even with at least 5 different troubleshooting ideas

        Hrm, I’m not sure how you are going about your installation procedure. You mentioned that you are installing Ubuntu, but Ubuntu should come with Grub pre packaged. Installing Ubuntu really only requires clicking a couple buttons in the install wizard.

        but I figured out how to get Linux desktop running via shimx64.efi in the BIOS boot loader.

        Im not really familiar with shim, but, from what I understand, it’s the loader for when you have secure boot enabled, but you should have that disabled.

    • Classy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      0·
      10 months ago

      I appreciate the elegance of your answer but it’s a bit lacking in detail. Are you saying that I should go with the nuclear option when installing Linux and remove the old files? I might just remove my HDD in that case and install Linux into the dedicated SSD.

      • beta_tester@lemmy.ml
        0·
        10 months ago

        Yes. Nuclear everything. Fuck grub.

        No idea who spreads the word of dual booting. I went into that trap as well. I’ve spent so much time on grub. Don’t waste your time. Even if you manage to fix it after hours, you are not better off than before. You will run into the same or another issue again. And you won’t remember what worked did before. Backup your stuff an run.

        Nowadays I use an atomic/immutable system but I wouldn’t do it on a traditional install differently.

        1. Install all packages as flatpak
        2. Server stuff is installed with podman (docker in the past)
        3. Whatever is not available as flatpak is installed via distrobox
        4. Install only base apps to the system itself
        • Classy@sh.itjust.worksOP
          0·
          10 months ago

          Thanks for the no-nonsense reply. I have been smelling a little bit of bullshit with the whole dual boot fiasco here for a bit. VMX not behaving, Windows’ VM utility not behaving, BIOS not behaving, it’s like goddamn if I type a command I wouldn’t mind if it stuck instead of seemingly getting thrown into a black hole.

          Going with your approach, I imagine if I pick a home distro and decide I want to move to another down the line the transition is far easier than this? Even if I am switching from say Ubuntu to Fedora?

          • beta_tester@lemmy.ml
            0·
            10 months ago

            If you keep all your personal files in your home directory and stay away from snaps and don’t switch desktop environments, i.e. stay with GNOME or KDE you can switch back and forth as you wish. There are minor “bugs”/issues when switching between DEs but nothing too serious. Best is to have a seperate partition for Home but that’s luxury. Choose one (bigger) distro. If you need to install another distro because a package is only available on that system, just use distrobox instead. Want to check out another distro? Use a vm. Don’t use a nieche distro as a beginner. Use a system that auto updates itself so that you will never interact with the system again.

            • Classy@sh.itjust.worksOP
              0·
              10 months ago

              I’ll have to spend some time backing up and moving some files around but I think this is how I’ll move forward. I think I’ll also find a cracked Win10 image and I’ll keep it on a thumb drive if ever i need to full on run the OS. I use a few proprietary software that universally get the JUST USE FOSS ALTERNATIVES argument from people not in the know.

          • Caravaggio@feddit.nl
            0·
            10 months ago

            I’ve been happily dualbooting Win10/Mint for years on the very machine I’m writing from. Zero issues with boots, GRUB, no need for flatpaks, both systems work fine, both configs heavily customized.

        • mateomaui@reddthat.comEnglish
          0·
          10 months ago

          Should definitely be mentioned that dual booting isn’t nearly the headache if you have separate drives and don’t try to have the boot loaders in the same partition. I have Win10 and its boot area on one ssd, and two distros of linux sharing the boot partition on the second ssd, and there’s been no issues. But there’s a good chance Windows boot gets screwed if you try to put it all on one disk.