0

Is it even possible to install Ubuntu 14.04 alongside Win8 OEM on this laptop?

When I set UEFI hybrid and disable SafeBoot I'am able to boot from DVD with Ubuntu, and install, but I haven't found a way to boot to grub (grub2). Only Win starts. Here are options from my BIOS (EFI?) settings:

http://pl.tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2rxb0ps&s=8#.U7Pp9FHHI6I

Which one could be for booting to linux?

I tried using EasyBSD - it seems to work, and adds an option to Win bootmanager, but selecting Linux ends with restart and an error just after it...

http://pl.tinypic.com/view.php?pic=10gd3eu&s=8#.U7PqsVHHI6I

Please, help!

Would downgrading to win7 (or install win8 box) in legacy mode be an option for me?

1 Answer 1

0

Forget EasyBCD; the last I heard, it was useless for dual-booting on EFI-based computers, and so is a dead end.

Some HPs have badly broken EFIs that will boot only the EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi or EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi files. There's a possibility that a firmware update is available that will fix the problem, so go looking for that first. (HP will probably call it a "BIOS update," although it's not really a BIOS.) If that fails, you've got to use an ugly hack to get Linux to boot: Move the Microsoft boot loader from EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi to some other name and move GRUB, rEFInd, or some other Linux-aware boot manager to that name. Depending on the boot manager you choose, you may need to explicitly reconfigure it to chainload to the Windows boot loader if you want to dual-boot. See here for a more thorough description of this issue with respect to rEFInd; the same principles apply to GRUB. The Boot Repair utility can do this automatically for GRUB, but you'll probably have to check an option on the Advanced tab.

If the computer is new, I recommend another approach: Return it to the store for a refund. Only when manufacturers start seeing returns for their defective firmware will they put effort into fixing them.

2
  • Hi, thanks for your suggetsion. I tried several times with boot repair using different oprions, but still with no succes. Booting to Ubuntu via chosing efi file would be perfectly acceptable for me, but I can't get acces to EFI partition, even in linux live mode... Why it is so? Every time after restart I see win starting, I am broken... Jul 7, 2014 at 7:54
  • I found how to manage files on EFI partition. But where to find grub efi file? Jul 7, 2014 at 9:46

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .