Windows Boot Manager appears on GRUB but it does not work

Proshka

New Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
7
Reaction score
4
Credits
59
Hello,

I have a Dell Inspiron 7580 laptop with Windows 10. After installing Linux Mint 20 I lost access to Windows. The Windows Boot Manager appears on the GRUB's list of operative systems in the EFI drive but when selecting it I get a blue screen from Windows telling me that the boot device is not accesible.
I run Boot Repair to no avail. I also reinstalled and changed the GRUB to a different drive but no luck either.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Proshka
 


G'day @Proshka and welcome to linux.org, albeit under difficult circumstances. :)

I may or may not be the one to help you further (gotta go to the dentist soon, groan), but I'll ask a few questions in case someone else carries on.

I run Boot Repair to no avail.

  1. You get an opportunity with Boot Repair to save the output, which you could then link to here. Did you save it?If not, you could do so again and save and post
  2. If your Linux Mint is working OK, have you tried going to Terminal (shortcut Ctrl-Alt-t) and then typing and entering
  3. Code:
    sudo update-grub
    - requires your password. On completion, reboot the computer and tell us what happens
  4. Did you generate a Windows Recovery disk or USB before installing Linux (always a good idea), and/or save your Windows personal data?
  5. You mentioned another drive. We could do with knowing what your partition scheme is. If you do not have GParted installed yet, you could use GNOME's Disks and screenshot it for us. To use Disks, go to your Start Menu and type in disks
Subject to what you can tell us, from the above, we can look at other options if need be.

Cheers, and back when I can

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Hello Chris,

Thank you so much for your kind welcome.
I have attached the output from Boot Repair as well as a zip with Disks screenshots. I hope that the info in Spanish will not be essential.
After updating GRUB the situation has not changed. No Windows. By the way, I have been a happy Windows-free Linux user for about 15 years. I do not have any personal data on the Windows partition and I never cared for a recovery disk either. I thought that I would never use Windows again but unfortunately I have to run some software on it.
Thank you and good luck with the dentist.:)

Proshka
 

Attachments

  • Screenshots.zip
    988.2 KB · Views: 546
  • boot-repair log.txt
    17.3 KB · Views: 484
i think we can expand maybe and extra info might help Wiz when he returns.

First a debrief is always useful (just can't escape out of my character)

So looking very briefly at output its hinting at a uefi firmware motherboard . That means boot stuff would involve a circa 100mb EFI partition. You then tried to install grub , but that ended up being old style on the mbr partition.

If after your install you ran update-grub that would/should have added Windows to your menu.


So where you are now i will mention possible steps forward

1) Since you just installed Mint and haven't really used it; you could re-install make sure to the hd with EFI, run update grub and that should fix menu

2) get either of the OS Windows or Mint up and running and fix from there. As long as you don't go ahead and try anything else i think rEFIfnd on a usb stick should be able to use the files you still have and give you options to boot. You will have to dd this download to a usb stick https://sourceforge.net/projects/refind/files/0.12.0/refind-flashdrive-0.12.0.zip/download




3) you boot from a usb that has a useful live os on it. You mount the os onto the usb and via chown you evoke commands as if you had Mint on your HD running


I've tested rEFInd on my wifes laptop that had windows 10 and my slackware Linux and it can boot both.

Also a screen shot would really help im only realy any good at reading one line of text /code

so use gParted and take scree shot of both hd in your PC if possible using lice OS from usb. Also output :

sudo fdisk -l

and

sudo lsblk -o name,label,size,fstype,model
 
Last edited:
Have to sign off imminently. but thanks for the dental best wishes.

Andy is on a similar track to my thoughts, particularly with sudo fdisk -l

There is also a possibility that Windows Fast Start is on and that Windows Hibernation interfered.

@Proshka - are you able to start Windows from your "BIOS" (UEFI) Setup Utility? On a Dell, F2 or F12 at startup may give you an option to pick it out of the Boot Order.

Cheers for now

Wizard
 
Hi,
If after your install you ran update-grub that would/should have added Windows to your menu.
The only reference to Windows on the menu is Windows Boot Manager on /dev/nvme0n1p1.
1) Since you just installed Mint and haven't really used it; you could re-install make sure to the hd with EFI, run update grub and that should fix menu
Actually I have been using Mint for about one year. First I installed Kubuntu (I don't remember which version) alongside Windows. Dual boot worked flawlessly. As there were some issues with the graphics I unistalled Kubuntu and shifted to Mint. That first installation make Windows inaccessible so I wiped out everything and restored the system to the original settings. I installed Mint and since then Windows did not work anymore.
2) get either of the OS Windows or Mint up and running and fix from there. As long as you don't go ahead and try anything else i think rEFIfnd on a usb stick should be able to use the files you still have and give you options to boot.
OK, I'll try it.
3) you boot from a usb that has a useful live os on it. You mount the os onto the usb and via chown you evoke commands as if you had Mint on your HD running
Understood. Which commands should I use?
Also a screen shot would really help im only realy any good at reading one line of text /code so use gParted and take scree shot of both hd in your PC if possible using lice OS from usb.
I have attached a screenshot for each partition including their mounting points.
Also output :
sudo fdisk -l

and

sudo lsblk -o name,label,size,fstype,model
Also attached.
Thank you.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshots.zip
    988.2 KB · Views: 475
  • Fdisk & lsblk.txt
    1.7 KB · Views: 402
OK, and do I take it that

The only reference to Windows on the menu is Windows Boot Manager on /dev/nvme0n1p1.

... that clicking on that had no effect, or if any, what was it? That is the standard entry that Windows is supposed to tun from, and should be the same as what you had for Kubuntu.

Wiz
 
OK, and do I take it that



... that clicking on that had no effect, or if any, what was it? That is the standard entry that Windows is supposed to tun from, and should be the same as what you had for Kubuntu.

Wiz
After about 30 seconds I get the attached message, the laptop reboots and GRUB launches Mint.
 

Attachments

  • Windows error.jpg
    Windows error.jpg
    3 MB · Views: 468
Actully I have been using Mint for about one year. First I installed Kubuntu (I don't remember which version) alongside Windows. Dual boot worked flawlessly. As there were some issues with the graphics I unistalled Kubuntu and shifted to Mint.
Not related to the problem but, KDE's compositor can be very buggy and that's probably what caused your graphics issues.

As for Windows, I'm beginning to think that Windows could have been rendered unusable somewhere in your setup process. Try going into the BIOS boot menu and picking the Windows Boot Manager from there and see if it works. If not, chances are that it's not an issue with GRUB but with Windows itself. For me, GRUB usually works with Windows out of the box, so it would most certainly be a surprise to me if GRUB was the culprit.

EDIT: sorry, I looked over the thread a second time and I see you've already tried this. I'm absolutely certain now that Windows is broken. Get a Windows USB and you can try running some repairs on it, but to my knowledge windows repair tools are kind of ineffective. If you have to, reinstall Windows. I had this happen to me not long ago
 
I'm absolutely certain now that Windows is broken. Get a Windows USB and you can try running some repairs on it, but to my knowledge windows repair tools are kind of ineffective.
I agree with you. Interestingly, I just managed to run the Dell Recovery OS utility from BIOS and it says everything is fine. A false negative maybe?
 

Attachments

  • Dell utility.jpeg
    Dell utility.jpeg
    80.3 KB · Views: 339
Proshka just take a gander at this article and see how similar it might be

https://askubuntu.com/questions/115...ice-after-dual-boot-ubuntu-18-04-installation

I took the code from your BSOD error screenshot and Googled

windows stopcode error inaccessible boot device "linux"

I am not sure where the RAID reference fits in but you may be able to tell from your BIOS.

@bonkmaykr

Never will forget the day I left Windows for good.

September 2014 for me, and welcome to linux.org :)

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Try rebooting the computer and toggle F12 after rhe Dell splash screen. This will bring up the UEFI selection. Highlight Windows boot manager and select. If Windows boots up now, you may have Bit Locker turned on ( if windows 10 ). Hope this helps.
 
@steve01832 , thanks for the thought, but see #7 - already tried :)

Wiz
 
At #9 your saying you can get Mint up and running is that correct ?

A bit odd (at least to me ) it looks like partition 9 is some sort of grub.

But from your output the Toshiba 500g( /dev/nvme0n1 ) is the one with the gpt label and efi. So if can can get Mint up you could see what happens using :



sudo grub-install /dev/nvme0n1

then sudo update-grub

[To see if Windows could be booted rEFInd might show that ]

2) get either of the OS Windows or Mint up and running and fix from there. As long as you don't go ahead and try anything else i think rEFIfnd on a usb stick should be able to use the files you still have and give you options to boot.
OK, I'll try it.

any joy ?
 

Attachments

  • refind-flashdrive-0.12.0.zip
    1.9 MB · Views: 383
inside zip is an img file

dd command to usb would be something like:
Code:
dd if = path/to/refind-flashdrive-0.12.0.img   of = /dev/sdb
 
Proshka just take a gander at this article and see how similar it might be

https://askubuntu.com/questions/115...ice-after-dual-boot-ubuntu-18-04-installation

I took the code from your BSOD error screenshot and Googled

windows stopcode error inaccessible boot device "linux"

I am not sure where the RAID reference fits in but you may be able to tell from your BIOS.

The method explained in the article solved my problem. It was a play between AHCI (Linux but no Windows) and RAID (Windows but no Linux). Now I have a GRUB with both of them up and running.
A big thanks to you and all the people who contributed to this thread. Very much obliged. Cheers!

Proshka
 
That's great news, Proshka :)

Enjoy your Linux, and consider swinging over to Member Introductions and telling us a little of the Proshka story. There, you will meet some more of The Gang.

That's when you are not playing with your new setup, of course :p

Wiz
 

Members online


Top