Solved 8.1/Ubuntu dual boot GRUB query

whs said:

For loading Ubuntu, you need the Grub. If you want to het rid of Grub, you will have to get rid of Ubuntu too.

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Gaz said:

whs said:

For loading Ubuntu, you need the Grub. If you want to het rid of Grub, you will have to get rid of Ubuntu too.

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My bad, poorly worded question.

Yeah, I know that grub is required. I meant that I'd like Windows to provide me with the blue screen to select an operating system (defaulting to Windows 8 after 15 seconds if nothing is pressed) and then, if I were to select Ubuntu, it'd go through into grub from there.

It's just an aesthetics thing that I'd like. I managed it before on the same machine before with a Kubuntu/Windows 7 dual boot before I wiped the drive to upgrade to Windows 8, but I've forgotten what I did.

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jimbo45 said:

Hi there

Oh no you don't have to get rid of Ubuntu or use Easybcd either!!!!

You can install UBUNTU (or pretty well any other Linux) so the BOOT (or GRUB (now GRUB2) installs on any partition or HDD.

The main problem with some of the Automatic Installers is that if you have a UEFI system then at install time GRUB (now GRUB2) will be installed on the internal boot HDD -- it actually doesn't have to be but that's the price one pays for the general "dumbing down" of everything. You Can (and I'd advise it in any case) install a NON UEFI version of most Linux distros even on a UEFI system and you don't have to switch off UEFI in the BIOS either.

I've got here a link to a post I made a while ago explaining how you could create a totally bootable Linux system from an EXTERNAL HDD and run a Windows VM as well without any change whatsoever to your main HDD. You could use this also for an internal HDD and use the BIOS menu to choose what HDD to boot.

http://www.eightforums.com/installa...make-portable-windows-system-any-version.html

Follow the logic through (works for most distros) and also how to remove GRUB from your main boot HDD.

Cheers
jimbo

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Gaz said:

Okay, nice one, thanks - I've had a fiddle with EasyBcd and I'm halfway there; I've got windows controlling the mbr with a windows boot black screen when I turn on the PC which gives me the option of selecting 8.1 or Ubuntu. If I select Ubuntu, it proceeds to grub as it was before so it's nearly what I'd like.

What do I do from here to enable the Windows 8 baby blue screen of selecting operating systems?

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Superfly said:

Run bcdboot %windir% from command prompt to get boot menu GUI

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