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I created a ext4 partition and with my secure boot disabled I installed Ubuntu 15.04 and now my computer directly opens Ubuntu when I turn on my laptop. I looked for the boot menu too but it didn't show my windows 8 operating system. What to do? I want my windows operating system back. I want my computer to ask which operating system to open when the computer starts. I seriously need help.

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  • Post the link to the Create BootInfo summary report. Is part of Boot-Repair: help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Info I recently installed to a Dell Inspiron 3647. I Turned off secure boot, kept UEFI on, turned off Winodws fast startup, used Windows to shrink the NTFS partition and rebooted so it could run chkdsk. Then used Something Else to install to unallocated space in UEFI boot mode. From UEFI or grub I can boot either system. Took longer to do the Windows repair flash drive, Dell recovery & full back than to Install Ubuntu.
    – oldfred
    May 5, 2015 at 3:57

4 Answers 4

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Try opening up the boot disk selector menu. As far as I am aware, most computers have an option to select which disk is used at boot, for example with Lenovo laptops, the onekey recovery button gives you an option for boot menu. If you see Ubuntu and your hard disk both, select the hard disk.

Depending on how your BIOS works, you may need to re-enable secure boot in order to get Windows. Just keep in mind you'll have to shut it off for Linux. This means that you will have to manually switch bios configuration every time you switch.

If you're lucky enough to have the option, try asking the BIOS to do both UEFI and Bios modes. On my Lenovo g580 you can even specify which you want checked first. Again, you may have to use the BIOS boot menu, but at the very least you can boot.

UEFI is a tricky subject for dual booting, and I still have yet to see reports of a decent one.

Good luck, you may need it.

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If your Windows partition is still there (it probably is), SuperGrub2 will be able to find it and fix a GRUB option for Windows.

After burning it and booting it, follow these instructions to detect all available OSs on your disk: http://www.supergrubdisk.org/wiki/SuperGRUB2Disk#Detect_any_OS

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  • This will only work with UEFI on. (As far as I am aware, Grub doesn't install efi support in Bios mode.
    – JimmyC866
    May 7, 2015 at 2:32
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I think you wiped out your entire disk during setup or somehow you need secure boot or windows boot loader to load windows 8. If you didn't, and/or if secure boot or windows boot loader isn't involved, then try installing GParted. If the partition is still there, then try looking into a volume. If it isn't there, like i said, you may have wiped out the disk.

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  • i thought to remove ubuntu and get back to my windows, so i deleted the partition where i had installed ubuntu using a bootable cd. And now my pc says the partition where windows was installed is locked. and says me to unlock it to use it, which i did n't do because i didn't have any OS. so i put back my bootable usb and installed ubuntu back. I have tried Gparted and this is what i got.
    – Prastab Dkl
    May 5, 2015 at 12:52
  • imageshack.com/a/img911/6616/6W48zA.png
    – Prastab Dkl
    May 5, 2015 at 12:52
  • in this sscreenshot you can see a 70 gb partition which used to be mine hard disk with windows. and ext4 is where i installed ubuntu. that's all i have got. please help me with this to get my both os working
    – Prastab Dkl
    May 5, 2015 at 12:54
  • Ah i see the problem now
    – A penguin
    May 6, 2015 at 5:17
  • You see that exclaimation point over there? That indicates there is a problem with the partition. Unfortunately, i dont know how to unlock it, and the only way to fix a partition with an exclaimation point is to format it, at least.
    – A penguin
    May 6, 2015 at 5:19
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Try updating the grub from the terminal.

Open up Ubuntu and open the terminal. Then type sudo update-grub and check the output if windows is detected and reboot.

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  • Unfortunately, this won't work. Update-grub is great if you are just missing a bootloader entry, say a copy of Windows XP. Windows 8 works differently: it requires UEFI at a minimum to boot on an OEM install. If Ubuntu were installed in UEFI mode, however, this may be all you need. I haven't used it in a while, I use Linux exclusively now with puppy Linux's legacy grub, but last I tried, grub2-mkconfig on openSUSE was the only one I tried that worked right.
    – JimmyC866
    May 7, 2015 at 2:29
  • Also it does this on install.
    – JimmyC866
    May 7, 2015 at 2:35

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