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Despite reading several askubuntu blogs related to this issue, I have been struggling for last 24 hours to solve this.

My current OS is windows 10 which has an EFI partition. I have a bootable USB from which I'm trying to install ubuntu 18.0.4

PC specification : 1TB HDD (100 GB unoccupied space) 256 SSD (80 GB Unoccupied space) Aim : Installing ubuntu with '/' under SSD. '/home' under HDD.

In the drive selection screen of Ubuntu installation, /dev/sda appears as HDD and /dev/sdb appears as SSD.

Installation fails with..

Unable to install GRUB in /dev/sda
Executing `grub-install /dev/sda` failed.
This is a fatal error.

This link talks about the same issue. But i'm unable to open a terminal while the installation is running.

I tried using the "Try Ubuntu" option and then proceeding to installation. Here i get the terminal. But then none of the commands as mentioned in this Question works on this terminal.

Also if i agree to proceed "continue without a bootloader" I'm completely out of reach of Ubuntu after the restart. There is no trace of it. In the BIOS setup, Bootsequence or anywhere.

Please help.

enter image description here

Disk set up:

enter image description here

Volume Types: enter image description here

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    Which options did you choose ? Install Alongside Windows 10 or Something else ? You can make a /boot partition with 1 or 2gb and then at the bottom select the partition where the bootloader will be installed..
    – kannzzmm2
    Jun 15, 2020 at 21:45
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    Are you using UEFI or Legacy BIOS? Please make sure that you use the same mode for both OS.
    – VidathD
    Jun 16, 2020 at 2:26
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    You're going to have to use the "Something Else" option instead of the guided install. You will be prompted to set up partitions manually and you will have to set boot flags (Double click on partitions to indicate where / and /home should go). There should also be a place to select the device that has your bootloader. This should be the same device where you have the EFI partition for both OS.
    – Nmath
    Jun 16, 2020 at 2:39
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    @kannzzmm2 I have used "Something else". Yes i did try creating a boot partition. and assigned that for (in the bottom of the drive selection part at the ubuntu installation).
    – Salih
    Jun 16, 2020 at 4:32
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    @Nmath My EFI is the third partition as i can see from the Disk management. Would that be the problem?
    – Salih
    Jun 16, 2020 at 4:35

2 Answers 2

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Seems like it's a EFI system so please boot ubuntu usb with EFI mode as well. When installing Ubuntu, please install the bootloader into EFI partition. enter image description here Tt's usually the second partition on your windows installed disk with a fat32 format, and if the EFI partition is created by windows it should has a "Windows Boot Manager" volume name.

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Dedicating a /boot partition should solve the problem because GRUB will be installed there.

I've set up an example to test and demonstrate how to do this using an SSD that has a fresh installation of Windows 10 "2004", leaving free space at the end for our Ubuntu installation. There's also a HDD which has free space at the end for your /home partition.

  • Before starting the installation, use the "Disks" application in the live session to make sure your space is available. Clean up any remnant partitions that might have been created by failed installation attempts. Take care not to accidentally delete EFI or any partitions related to your Windows install (MSR, recovery, system)

  • Launch the installer and choose the "Something Else" option when you get to it.

Set up your partitions manually:

Double click your pre-existing EFI partition and make sure that "EFI System Partition" is selected.

EFI Partition Screenshot

Create your boot partition and set the /boot mount point.

(/boot is also a home for kernel modules. Unless you like to keep lots of old kernel versions, a 500MB partition should be plenty.)

boot Partition Screenshot

Create your root partition and set the / mount point.

root Partition Screenshot

Create your home partition and set the /home mount point.

home Partition Screenshot

Device for boot loader installation:

Select the physical disk where your EFI partition is located. In this example it is /dev/sda NOTE: that it is not /dev/sda1, which is the EFI partition itself.

Click "Install Now" to continue with the guided installation.


When your BIOS boots to the physical volume with your EFI partition, GRUB should load and allow you to choose either Windows or Ubuntu.

If GRUB doesn't have Windows, boot into your newly installed Ubuntu (not the live session, and run the following commands:

sudo os-prober

(to verify that Ubuntu can find Windows)

sudo update-grub

(to update/repair the GRUB menu)


This answer has been tested using Ubuntu 20.04 installation media.

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  • The disk (disk 1 partition 3) that says EFI System Partition in Windows, is listed out in the Ubuntu installation as of the type 'fat32', unlike in your screen which it say 'efi'. Is it indicating something wrong here? Perhaps ubuntu version issue?
    – Salih
    Jun 16, 2020 at 7:26
  • Since it is listed out as 'fat32', i do not get the "Use-as: EFI System Partition" in the installation. I do see one "Reserved BIOS boot " option. But choosing that didn't succeed last time. although i can still try one more time.
    – Salih
    Jun 16, 2020 at 7:29
  • @salih Are you sure you've correctly identified your EFI partition? Can you add to your question a screenshot of your partitions in Disks? Are you certain that Windows is installed in UEFI? UEFI is the default, but you might have MBR if you have upgraded from an older version of Windows, or if UEFI was disabled in your BIOS, or if your disk is not formatted GPT.
    – Nmath
    Jun 16, 2020 at 7:47
  • I have added the screenshots of the disk and System information. BIOS mode is UEFI
    – Salih
    Jun 16, 2020 at 8:17

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