Cannot install Mint Linux on SSHD with Windows 10 as Multiboot

[Batata]

Hello all
Fed up of Windows, I decided to install Mint Linux on my laptop with 4 GB RAM. I have a 1 TB SSHD running windows 10. I watched the video how to install Linux as multiboot on windows PC and completed all the steps.

The installation was OK but when I rebooted, I found no entry in the bootloader to run Linux. I saw the entry in bcdedit.exe but not sure how to get it to the bootloader.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

 

[atanere]

Hi @Batata, and welcome! This is a fairly common problem, and there are at least a couple of ways to fix it.

1. Go into your BIOS/UEFI setup and find the Boot Options. You may see Windows Boot Manager or OS Boot Manager, or maybe both. Check these settings and you may find an entry for Ubuntu... this is Linux Mint. Use F5/F6 to move items up or down so that Ubuntu is the first entry. Save changes and reboot.

2. If the above doesn't work, you can use bcdedit as Administrator in Windows. Maybe you would prefer this method as you are already familiar with bcdedit. This article gives the details and the simple command to make your system boot on grub: https://itsfoss.com/no-grub-windows-linux/

I hope one of these will get you going!

Cheers

 

[Batata]

Pressing F5/F6 is of no use because there is no entry to move up or down in boot loader. I added an entry for linux using easybcd but when I select the entry in boot manager it leads to Grub Rescue.

The link you gave works for UEFI and not for BIOS, which my laptop has. Any other link will be appreciated.

 

[atanere]

Microsoft has required manufacturers to use UEFI motherboards since just before the release of Windows 8.... but this firmware chip is still frequently called "BIOS". Is your computer older than that?

Though you may have a UEFI motherboard, you may have changed the settings so that it is in "BIOS mode," also called "Legacy mode," also called "CSM," and maybe called by other names besides.

I am not familiar with easybcd or other third party boot managers. But Linux Mint is fully UEFI compatible, so if your motherboard does have UEFI, and if you will restore that operation, I think you will be able to get the GRUB to boot properly without the need for easybcd.

Cheers

 

[Batata]

I tried UEFI but Windows won't install on GPT partition. Secondly, boot entries go blank in the BIOS and on reboot there is just a pointer/cursor blinking. I can only work on BIOS right now.

Currently I am writing from liveboot of Mint.

 

[Deleted member 35560]

How did you install Mint ? Did you change the settings to Legacy or keep the UEFI ? When you enter your bios do you see it displayed there as being installed? If it is when you start you need to press F12 or another key which gives you the boot menu. If it is not there then it has not installed correctly. You may find this guide easy to follow as it has pictures with it https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/mint-install - I wrote this when I came across and found it the easiest way of doing it - YOU MUST HAVE THE ISO FOR MINT IN - EITHER THE CD OR USB FOR IT TO WORK
1) In windows 10 go to recovery
2) Advanced Start up which tells you restart from a USB or CD
3) Press the restart and let windows restart
4) On the choose an option choose blue screen use a device then on the next screen choose cd
Windows will then close down and the the cd will load to the live Mint
Choose to install there and then Install along side Windows Boot manage. Just follow the easy options as they go along and before you know it you'll have Mint installed along side Windows.
When Mint boots up before the desk top comes into place you have the option to either boot into Mint of Windows . I chose Windows first to check that was okay which it was and then restarted to Mint and that works fine as well.

I know this works as I did it - After I was happy with Mint I just took Windows off for good

Hope one of these things work for you - let us know

 

[Batata]

I had chosen the option of installing alongside windows, the first time around. It met the same fate of not getting linux on boot loader.

Next time when I tried to install linux again, the first option was greyed out and I had to choose the last option, doing it manually. I had watched the video and hence completed all steps as outlined there. Yet the result was same.

 

[Batata]

I feel the problem exists with my SSHD because earlier, before I purchased this disk, Mint installed without a hitch, on the same laptop. If you have some info on this aspect, I will appreciate it. I have searched all over, but have not found one adverse comment on SSHD. Looks it is my bad

 

[Deleted member 35560]

I feel the problem exists with my SSHD because earlier, before I purchased this disk, Mint installed without a hitch, on the same laptop. If you have some info on this aspect, I will appreciate it. I have searched all over, but have not found one adverse comment on SSHD. Looks it is my bad

Have you tried the steps I suggested above? If Mint is installed then it will show that when you try to install again. If it is not there it hasn't. The trouble with Hybrid drives is that it they will (if I remember correctly) try to install onto the SSD part and then to install into a different part the HDD you have to align it to do so, by changing the letters

 

[Batata]

The trouble with Hybrid drives is that it they will (if I remember correctly) try to install onto the SSD part and then to install into a different part the HDD you have to align it to do so, by changing the letters

I will try working on the instructions now.

However, I feel the hybrid drive problem is behaving exactly as you said. If you can recollect the link I would like to read because your words "... you have to align it to do so, by changing the letters" is not coming to me properly.

 

[Batata]

https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options

The above link shows something on Recovery, but in there it says you can reinstall windows. I don't know how to get to the Recovery under Windows 10. Can you explain it a bit?

 

[Deleted member 35560]

https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options

The above link shows something on Recovery, but in there it says you can reinstall windows. I don't know how to get to the Recovery under Windows 10. Can you explain it a bit?

You need to go to settings which is found on the start menu - then do as I said in the guide making sure that you have the mint install media ready when you chose the media cd or usb use that as you are not trying to get windows back, but install mint along side it - when it loads it will then boot into the live mint and you can install from there. This is from memory as it is so long since I did this - so others might be able to help more - than I can do

 

[Batata]

I tried everything as suggested but of no avail. Everything fails. Now I am downloading the boot-repair disk from sourceforge, because the SSHD is a bad purchase. My bad

 

[Batata]

Somehow Mint is installed as the boot repair disk showed where it was installed and I could not locate it earlier. I updated and after rebooting my laptop, again I get Grub rescue error.

the boot-repair disk report is attached here: http://paste.ubuntu.com/p/Nzw3JDGwWv/

 

[atanere]

My apologies... I missed the fact that this is a hybrid drive. I have never used one of those, only pure HDD and SSD, so if there is anything peculiar with SSHD, I am not aware of it.

Still, there may be a solution. But many things confuse me about the state of your computer, so I will just touch on some things.

1. In a dual-boot, there can be problems if one operating system is installed as a BIOS/MBR setup, and the other OS is installed as UEFI/GPT. With all the trouble you are having, this may have somehow happened.

I tried UEFI but Windows won't install on GPT partition

2. Windows 10 (64 bit) will definitely work with UEFI/GPT. I think the 32-bit version will also, but you'll have to tell us if this is the case. We will want to dig deeper if so.

Fed up of Windows, I decided to install Mint Linux on my laptop

3. This is drastic... but are you fed up enough to erase Windows completely? Mint really should install and run fine, even on a hybrid drive... I think. I would reset the BIOS back to factory defaults (which would put it back in UEFI mode) and let Mint install to the "entire disk"... in other words, let it install how it wants to.

If that's too drastic, I understand. It's often hard to commit to leave Windows. You might want to make a Recovery USB, if you haven't... most big computer companies supply a program that will let you do this. It puts you Windows factory install on a 32 GB flash drive, but does not have other files or programs that you have added. Having this Recovery USB gives you an easy option to restore Windows if you decide to erase it. You can also download Windows 10 direct from Microsoft as an .iso file that installs like Linux, but you need to be sure whether you have 32-bit or 64-bit so it will "activate" later with Microsoft.

We may can still get your current problem fixed too. It will just take more work to find the right steps. There are things that can be done from the grub rescue prompt that may help.

 

[wizardfromoz]

again I get Grub rescue error.

Exactimundo, and welcome to linux.org @Batata

I would have come in prior to Stan's (@atanere 's) last Post but had an errand to run first. I am from Australia.

This was the first time you had mentioned Grub Rescue, and for the most part, things are eminently salvageable from there.

Take a read of all of the following article, but the part you would focus on is the part that starts at "Booting from Grub-Rescue>"

https://www.linux.com/learn/how-rescue-non-booting-grub-2-linux

Although the article is 4 years old, it is still applicable.

If you care to try it, you may well get a good outcome, I have used its principles just recently with success

We'll tell you a little more if you give us a green light.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[Deleted member 35560]

My apologies... I missed the fact that this is a hybrid drive. I have never used one of those, only pure HDD and SSD, so if there is anything peculiar with SSHD, I am not aware of it.

Still, there may be a solution. But many things confuse me about the state of your computer, so I will just touch on some things.

1. In a dual-boot, there can be problems if one operating system is installed as a BIOS/MBR setup, and the other OS is installed as UEFI/GPT. With all the trouble you are having, this may have somehow happened.


2. Windows 10 (64 bit) will definitely work with UEFI/GPT. I think the 32-bit version will also, but you'll have to tell us if this is the case. We will want to dig deeper if so.


3. This is drastic... but are you fed up enough to erase Windows completely? Mint really should install and run fine, even on a hybrid drive... I think. I would reset the BIOS back to factory defaults (which would put it back in UEFI mode) and let Mint install to the "entire disk"... in other words, let it install how it wants to.

If that's too drastic, I understand. It's often hard to commit to leave Windows. You might want to make a Recovery USB, if you haven't... most big computer companies supply a program that will let you do this. It puts you Windows factory install on a 32 GB flash drive, but does not have other files or programs that you have added. Having this Recovery USB gives you an easy option to restore Windows if you decide to erase it. You can also download Windows 10 direct from Microsoft as an .iso file that installs like Linux, but you need to be sure whether you have 32-bit or 64-bit so it will "activate" later with Microsoft.

We may can still get your current problem fixed too. It will just take more work to find the right steps. There are things that can be done from the grub rescue prompt that may help.

To be honest I agree that if you are fed up with windows and are having so many problems then just do a clean install, if you want to keep the data you have from windows then transfer the files onto an external hdd and then you can load them onto Mint. If you still want to go down the route of having 10 along with Mint then do as the following suggest from Wiz.
I think now you have been given the best advice unless others come in have seen something different. I wish you luck following it and hope you let us know how you get along

 

[Batata]

There are reasons for my frustration with Windows (7/10). If an install gets corrupt, the RE says it cannot fix this computer automatically. My son uses windows hence I cannot totally erase it from my laptop.

We earlier planned to have two installs of windows, one for each, but SSHD does not allow. First install goes fine, second installs properly, but on reboot it fails to load. I thought the 8Gb cache kept installation files in memory, failed to write to proper partition and hence the result.

We collectively thought (though I was firm on having Linux for my web work) we should install Linux (the biggest distro) so that the cache now gets wiped with Linux and we can install 2nd windows easily. But with linux failing to start, we are stalled.

Moreover, after Linux boots somehow, on reboot Windows fails to start and we have to start Repair process, rebuilding the MBR and REBUILDBCD commands, which is painful. At least @atanere apologized for not noticing the SSHD, but till date, no one in windows forums said anything about the disk, nor the problems, so we have no idea how to proceed. No one accepts the fact that SSHD may be playing a role in this.

-----------
I will definitely read from the link given by @wizardfromoz. (How do I give you a green light?)

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Though I have used linux sparingly around a decade ago, I found the message from boot-repair disk terrible: there is only 3gb space on the disk, please remove some files to make space. I wonder how much space a boot-loader needs. Further, the boot-repair iso is over 700Mb, they could have included some disk utility, which shows all drives, like in windows, so that moving files is easy. Linux does not show file size, which is a drawback, when compared with windows. Right-clicking to see properties, then to see the size is unprofessional and time-consuming. Not everyone is well-versed in using file manager in Linux, to be precise.

 

[Deleted member 35560]

There are reasons for my frustration with Windows (7/10). If an install gets corrupt, the RE says it cannot fix this computer automatically. My son uses windows hence I cannot totally erase it from my laptop.

We earlier planned to have two installs of windows, one for each, but SSHD does not allow. First install goes fine, second installs properly, but on reboot it fails to load. I thought the 8Gb cache kept installation files in memory, failed to write to proper partition and hence the result.

We collectively thought (though I was firm on having Linux for my web work) we should install Linux (the biggest distro) so that the cache now gets wiped with Linux and we can install 2nd windows easily. But with linux failing to start, we are stalled.

Moreover, after Linux boots somehow, on reboot Windows fails to start and we have to start Repair process, rebuilding the MBR and REBUILDBCD commands, which is painful. At least @atanere apologized for not noticing the SSHD, but till date, no one in windows forums said anything about the disk, nor the problems, so we have no idea how to proceed. No one accepts the fact that SSHD may be playing a role in this.

-----------
I will definitely read from the link given by @wizardfromoz. (How do I give you a green light?)

-----------
Though I have used linux sparingly around a decade ago, I found the message from boot-repair disk terrible: there is only 3gb space on the disk, please remove some files to make space. I wonder how much space a boot-loader needs. Further, the boot-repair iso is over 700Mb, they could have included some disk utility, which shows all drives, like in windows, so that moving files is easy. Linux does not show file size, which is a drawback, when compared with windows. Right-clicking to see properties, then to see the size is unprofessional and time-consuming. Not everyone is well-versed in using file manager in Linux, to be precise.

I knew you were having problems with hybrid-drive - I have spoken with with my friend who is a Mircrosoft Valued Professional of 15 years standing and shown them what you have written and we both agreed that you should try these steps and that I should be as clear as possible for you. Once you have a good Windows Install everything else should fit into place and be easy to do. If windows fails to find a problem then then it is not a software problem - We both took it for granted that you had windows 10 on okay .
When you first boot up a Windows 10 PC it should recognize that there’s a problem and enter “automatic repair” mode. When it does, you’ll see the words "Preparing Automatic Repair” appear below the blue Windows logo.

If that doesn’t happen, but you do see the blue Windows logo, turn off your computer using the hard reset/power button. Keep turning the computer on and off until you see your PC booting into automatic repair. It should only take a few reboots.

Once automatic repair mode is ready, you’ll see the Automatic Repair screen. From here select Advanced options.

On the next screen, click Troubleshoot and then Advanced options once again.

You’ll see a screen with six options Chose start up repair Startup Repair is an automated program that will try to fix any problems it finds on the computer disk without any intervention from the user.

These steps which I have tried to make as clear as possible for you will repair the MBR without you having to do anything else - Once that is repaired everything else will be fine. If it is not then perhaps it is a hardware problem.

 

[Batata]

Thanks for your efforts.

BUT

Problem is after second install, Windows says cannot find winload.exe and F8 does not even work. I cannot go to advanced options to select startup repair. I have done this a dozen times. Probably the install messes up with drive letters or something because in BCD everything seems fine.

I cannot send a screen shot (if you know how I can capture it, tell me) of the problem I am facing.