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I've fallen victim to windows' aggressive handling of boot-ups. I have Ubuntu and Windows 7 side by side on my PC, and after I started the upgrade to Windows 10, I couldn't boot to continue the upgrade. Booting results only in Grub rescue prompt.

I've tried using boot-repair with no results (http://paste.ubuntu.com/12243604/) and I tried repairing the MBR with windows 10 installation iso, and it still doesn't fix the problem.

Since then I tried fixing the problem manually by enabling EFI in BIOS and i tried running the command bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi in Windows 10 installer, but nothing have helped so far.

I've also been looking around in the grub rescue menu, and all partitions shows as msdos partitions. And I can't find any boot partition through ls (hdx,msdosx), since they all show as unknown filesystems.

Both OS are 64-bit, ubuntu version is 15.04.

SOLVED: I managed to solve this through the windows 10 startup USB. I went into the command prompt and wrote the following commands:

bootrec /RebuildBcd bootrec /fixMbr bootrec /fixboot Exit (src: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/repair-master-boot-record-mbr-windows)

That wasnt enough though, as I continued to fiddle with he troubleshooting menu in the windows 10 repair menu. I turned UEFI off and after some random fiddling and being stubborn, the upgrade process has resumed.

Do note that this nukes ubuntu from the boot order!

KhaaL
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3 Answers3

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I managed to solve this through the windows 10 startup USB. I went into the command prompt and wrote the following commands:

bootrec /RebuildBcd bootrec /fixMbr bootrec /fixboot Exit (src: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/repair-master-boot-record-mbr-windows)

That wasnt enough though, as I continued to fiddle with he troubleshooting menu in the windows 10 repair menu. I turned UEFI off and after some random fiddling and being stubborn, the upgrade process has resumed.

Do note that this nukes ubuntu from the boot order!

KhaaL
  • 151
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Part of the problem is that Windows 7 doesn't use UEFI, and Windows 10 certainly does.

The Windows 10 'install/upgrade' utility (I really hesitate to use that word) somehow tricks the PC/laptop into changing its behaviour 'during the install/re-boot process'. It also overrides the boot order, with the 'failsafe' "Press key to boot from CD/DVD" to fix its own mistakes.

That means you need a quite recent BIOS or .. (You already found out what!)

PS: It also means picking legacy boot, the correct boot order, etc. isn't necessarily going to help very much.

Your problems are:

  • You need to complete the 'upgrade' to gain the 'activated' Windows 10 license. The only shortcut here is buy a license, and just install Windows 10.
  • You likely need to not go back to a 'factory install' of Windows 7 (as supplied by vendor), then start over. If you had an OEM install, then that brand of installer DVD (obtained/borrowed from wherever) will get you back to installed/activated with Windows 7. Then hunt down any missing drivers (from PC vendor's website), and don't forget to get all Windows updates. Then try again.
  • However, after 'succeeding' you will still want to do a 'clean install' of Windows 10. So start by getting the ISO file and creating an install USB (using Rufus: https://rufus.akeo.ie/), for any upgrades or re-installs. Lastly, follow these instructions: Installing Ubuntu Alongside a Pre-Installed Windows with UEFI
Community
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david6
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Use Windows 10 in a Virtualbox environment if you have sufficient memory. Never use Windows as a your primary OS unless you absolutely have to. It is also a lot easier to backup your Windows 10 Virtualbox, all you have to do is copy a folder to an external drive. Furthermore, you can use your Windows 10 virtual machine on ANY computer with Virtualbox. Just my humble opinion.

GoOnGetErDone
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