I am having issues after a new Manjaro install seeing my Windows 10 partition in Grub. I have updated grub multiple times with no luck. I believe I have messed up the Windows boot loader and am wondering if I can fix it using Grub.
Backstory…
I was previously using a dual-boot with Windows and Debian. I wanted to move away from Debian and get on Manjaro. I removed the Debian partition that also held Grub before fixing the Windows boot loader (stupid I know…). I now have Manjaro installed with Grub successfully, but still can’t see Windows in the selection menu. Any suggestions? I can post any output necessary.
My understanding of boot loading is pretty poor so I appreciate you laying that out for me. So basically what I am gathering here is that something needs to be reinstalled… I’m assuming the only way to fix this would be re-installing Windows?
Technically you dont have to do anything and can just boot in legacy mode and manually select windoze.
But yes … for more seamless operation … you probably want the 2 things to match.
I generally prefer/advise U/EFI on anything modern enough to use it.
But in any case … you can either reinstall linux and make sure to boot/install in legacy/bios mode.
Or you can reinstall windoze in UEFI mode.
Or, as mentioned, you can just change your dualboot startup habits and otherwise do nothing.
(oh yeah … plus some other partition/layout tips as mentioned by @megavolt below)
So, I tried switching to Legacy settings in Bios and was still unable to boot into Windows. I am going to try to get an iso working and attempt a recovery. I have a feeling though I’m going to have to to some re-installs here…
Thanks again for your help… I was still unable to get into Windows, I am going to try a manual repair first and then come back to them being in separate modes, likely installing Manjaro into BIOS mode.
test -d /sys/firmware/efi && echo efi || echo bios
efi
So I’m going to try re-installing Manjaro in bios mode per your reccomendations… Should I also put the boot loader on the drive with Windows on it? Do you think this could help or no?
When you boot the live ISO for installation make sure to select the BIOS/legacy entry, the (unwanted) UEFI entry has “UEFI” in the name.
The bootloader should be placed in the MBR of the disk you install Manjaro. You don’t need a /boot partition. If you are interested in the details:
I would recommend you to create an extended partition on the disk you intend to reinstall Manjaro as it allows you to use more than four logical partitions. All the partitioning is best done upfront for example with Gparted which is a tool usually existing on some live ISOs. https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Partitioning_Overview_and_Existing_Partition_Tables
When Manjaro is installed you only need to run
sudo update-grub
and it will produce a grub boot menu entry for your Windoze install so that you can select which OS to boot when the grub boot menu is shown. If the menu is not shown some changes in /etc/default/grub might be needed, in this case, please post this file.
Quick question… The guide I was using asked to place GRUB on / instead of the MBR of the drive. I’m going to go ahead and do what you suggested though. In what cases would you want to use / instead of the MBR out of curiousity?