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I have a laptop with two HDDs. Ubuntu is on the SSD, and I want the Windows install on the HDD.

  • Relevant specs:

  • Kubuntu 18.10, installed with UEFI

  • SSD is encrypted LVM ext4.

  • I have partitioned a 150GB section of my second HDD, NTFS.

I have installed an ISO with woeUSB. My assumption is that I boot my live USB and choose the correct hard drive, then any time I boot up I would have the option between Ubuntu/Windows/USB/etc. Is there anything I should do or know that I am missing?

I am editing this to say that my process was much easier and possibly due in part to updates to how Linux and Windows are able to handle boot managing. I will try my best to recall what I did and re-edit with full info at a later time. I believe that due to differences in software, this is in fact not a duplicate.

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  • This seems like a question about how to install Windows more than about Ubuntu.
    – user535733
    Feb 6, 2019 at 23:39
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    Just make sure it installs in your already formatted NTFS partition. Typically Windows change the boot order to itself but it's OK and convenient (the installation takes a few reboots until finished, unlike Linux distros). Once done go to UEFI settings and set it back to Ubuntu. Boot Ubuntu and run sudo update-grub. Reboot and the Grub menu should appear with one option to boot Windows. With this out of the way, I agree with the previous comment: This has nothing to do with Ubuntu. For questions like this please post at superuser.com.
    – user880592
    Feb 7, 2019 at 0:51

2 Answers 2

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Just make sure it installs in your already formatted NTFS partition. Typically Windows changes the boot order to itself but it's OK and convenient (the installation takes a few reboots until finished, unlike Linux distros).

Once done go to UEFI settings and set it back to Ubuntu. Boot Ubuntu and run sudo update-grub. Reboot and the Grub menu should appear with one option to boot Windows.

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  • I was lucky to find a boot manager, rEFInd, that made this simple as pie. But thank you for the info, it would have been good to know had rEIFind not work.
    – avisitoritseems
    Feb 8, 2019 at 10:47
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This was very easy. I will update with more specific information at a later time for clarity and any mistakes.

Format a partition with GPT and a NTFS file system. Format a USB with FAT32 and a Windows ISO. Be mindful of using a maintained live USB creator (gparted or a distro based partition manager).

Install rEFInd, a boot manager that attempts to solve common issues with booting multiple systems. Use the PPA package for an easy installation, and select yes when prompted. This serves as a multi-tool; it installs EFI drivers for multiple file systems onto your current OS, is a EFI boot manager that can load Linux/MacOS/Windows, and carries options to fix them or load a previous version of Linux.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:rodsmith/refind
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install refind -f -y

Installing runs initramfs-tools for you, so when rebooting it will be a UEFI option; I changed boot order to rEFInd first. This gives me some time to choose which OS I want to use, with repair tools mainly for GRUB/MBR.

Enable USB virtualization to enable booting from USB if you haven't already. I had my Kubuntu installed as UEFI and have read (old) conflicting information on BIOS vs. UEFI manager, YMMW.

Boot via live USB, install, let Windows reboot and choose the Windows this time to finish installing. The process is complete now, I change boot order in BIOS to rEFInd for simplicity.

Note for myself

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