How do I Dual Boot Windows 8 UEFI and Ubuntu 12.10?

Question

I have got a new Samsung Series 7 laptop with Windows 8 where I tried to install Ubuntu. It is a 64-Bit system which uses UEFI and has "Secure Boot" switched on in the BIOS by default. After I switched if off (and set it to "UEFI and CSM OS") I was able to install Ubuntu (Ubuntu 11.10, which recognized Windows as Windows Vista, although it is Windows 8), by booting from CD with Settings/Change PC Settings/General/Advanced Startup in Windows 8.

But after the installation and the restart of the machine somehow ignored Ubuntu and booted only Windows 8. Then I tried to reinstall Ubuntu 12.10. It still only boots Windows 8. Then I tried Boot Repair, which was not really helpful. Any ideas how I can create a dual boot system with Windows 8 and Ubuntu 12.10 ? Here is the link that Boot Repair generated: http://paste.ubuntu.com/1368624/ Is it necessary to create an extra EFI partition with GParted?

Solution 1

1. Boot on your Ubuntu-Secure disk
2. Choose "Try Ubuntu"
3. Connect internet

4. Open a terminal and type the following command (this will update Boot-Repair):

   sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair boot-sav
   

5. Run Boot-Repair, click Recommended Repair. Write on a paper the new URL that will appear.

6. Reboot the pc, you should get a GRUB menu with access to both Ubuntu and Windows. If any problem, indicate the new URL.

Solution 2

I have successfully achieved dual boot from installation on the primary hard drive with the following configuration and issues:

Hardware; August 2012 build HP Envy DV7 laptop, Windows 8, i5 Ivy Bridge, UEFI/Secure Boot. Linux: Ubuntu 12.10 x64 ISO.

In UEFI (F10 menu):

• •Disable Secure Boot. I could not achieve boot in any configuration with it on. • •UEFI boot scheme (not Legacy BIOS). I tried Legacy mode, and can boot from disk, but not from an installation on the hard drive. UEFI flies right by it during boot every way I tried with it on. In Ubuntu:

• •/Boot=EFI, /=EXT4, /Home=EXT4, SWAP=swap With this configuration I can boot with user intervention during the boot sequence: 1) Select F9 Boot options in UEFI (BIOS) 2) Select the now avialble Ubuntu 12.10 option and procede. 3) Immediately the Ubuntu boot option screen is now available. Select prefered option and procede. 4) I'm in.

If anyone following this thread comes up with a way for the Windows UEFI boot loader to recognize the /Boot partition automatically, please share. The above method is not that much of a pain, but an automatic boot whre windows recognizes Ubuntu as a boot option would be a somewhat more elegant affair. Also, I would much rather prefer to ahve Windows handle the primary boot sequence, and not grub, as a personal preference, so I can live with the above until other options are available.

...after I wrote this I see Rod Smith's page above. I am at work for a while but when I get a chance I will weed through that and see if I can try some things to achieve Windows automatic recognition. Thank you Rod Smith.

Gregg

Solution 3

If the boot repair tool that LovinBuntu describes doesn't work, be aware that you seem to have installed at least one (probably both) of your Ubuntus in BIOS/legacy mode, not in EFI mode. The solution is to install a Linux-aware boot loader in EFI mode. See this Web page of mine for more information on this topic. One relatively quick and easy solution is to install rEFInd from Windows. The last couple versions can boot BIOS/legacy OSes on most UEFI implementations, so once you've installed rEFInd, you should get an option to boot that BIOS/legacy version of GRUB you've got installed. With a little more work, you should also be able to boot Linux directly in EFI mode, which can be a little bit cleaner on your system.

Comments

[0x4a6f4672]

Yes, that solved it. Cumbersome procedure, but it works now!

[Scott Stensland]

if boot-repair is not found, open a new Terminal, then type: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update Press Enter Then type sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && (boot-repair &)`