Install Ubuntu alongside Windows 8.1 doesn't work

Question

Today I wanted to install Linux Ubuntu 14.04 on my laptop alongside with Windows 8.1. I created a bootable USB in order to install Ubuntu and it worked ok. But after booting from USB and selecting install Ubuntu option i found that there was no option "Install Ubuntu alongside Windows 8.1" as it was in the past versions. Therefore i selected "something else" option. I installed Ubuntu but now I can't select to boot either on Windows or on Linux. The laptop starts directy on Linux.

How can I manage this situation?

Answer 1

Disable secure boot in BIOS. try installing Boot repair in your Ubuntu. Boot Repair is a tool for re-installing Grub2 that will attempt to automatically add entries for other operating systems it detects.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
sudo sed 's/trusty/saucy/g' -i /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yannubuntu-boot-repair-trusty.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair
sudo boot-repair &

That will install Boot repair tool in your system. Then run it with recommended settings. That will do.

Answer 2

I've finally succeeded in making both Linux and Windows working. I think that there is a problem with Ubuntu 14.04 beaucase it doesn't not provide the possibility to install OS alongside Windows (at least in my case). In the end I installed Ubuntu 13.04. Thanks for your help!

Answer 3

it's normal, after you installed Linux on the same HDD with an existing Windows install, the bootloader (which is stored in MBR) is replaced with the one that Linux uses.

you'll have to put other 3rd party bootloader which can boot both, or modify the existing Linux bootloader to add Windows partition in list (i don't remember if 8.1 can't boot without it's own bootloader, but XP can).

Answer 4

Google suggests it's common to have a problem with dual-booting Windows 8 with GRUB, including the GRUB menu not showing Windows, or the Windows entry not working.

A common workaround is to use the firmware boot menu to select the OS. By rights the firmware should have a boot menu, although it is known to be omitted on some computers. (Firmware is a generic term that covers both EFI and old-style BIOS. Though what I'm writing relies on you using EFI specifically. There is no such thing as EFI BIOS).

Your computer may show "press X key" (DEL, F12, F2, ESC) briefly during boot. Or you can look up your model of computer. What is your model of computer? On Sony's discontinued VAIO line, there is even a dedicated button labelled "assist", which boots to EFI setup.

The firmware boot menu may be inside the firmware config. Or you may have two different "press X key", with one dedicated to the boot menu.

If you haven't already, PLEASE make sure you disable "Fast Startup" in Windows 8 once you have it working. This should be mentioned in your OS's install instructions.

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One other option that gets mentioned is to install the rEFInd boot menu and have it detect both OS.

Another is Boot Repair, which can allegedly add a GRUB entry for Windows 8 in Ubuntu 12.04. However my guess is Ubuntu 14.04 is supposed to be able to do this itself. My experience of Boot Repair is that it's somewhat trigger-happy and can corrupt a working EFI boot. Therefore I would want to back up the EFI directory in advance, and make sure I had a working boot disc to both restore the EFI directory, and re-install an EFI boot entry from linux/grub.

Answer 5

I had this issue trying to install Linux Mint alongside Windows 10.

The reason was that my windows 10 partition was UEFI, and I booted the bootable usb drive in legacy mode. In this configuration, Linux doesnt recognize the UEFI Windows partition.

The solution was to boot on the bootlable usb drive as UEFI (There are two distinct boot items in the bios).