dual booting Ubuntu 13.04 and Windows 7

[Ric Moore]

On 05/27/2013 12:54 AM, Basil Chupin wrote:
> On 27/05/13 07:25, Gerhard Magnus wrote:
>> This may be helpful to anyone trying to dual boot Ubuntu 13.04 and
>> Windows 7, or even just to install Ubuntu 13.04 by itself on some
>> post-2010 machines. At least the details will end up on the Web for
>> someone having similar problems.
>>
>> I bought a new box with the Intel DB75EN motherboard that uses the
>> UEFI standard and DPT partitioning for the hard drives. I also bought
>> Windows 7 Home Premium and had it installed at the shop. My plan was
>> to dual boot Windows and Linux as I have successfully for the past
>> decade or so. (I still need Windows because some people I collaborate
>> with use Microsoft Word, and LibreOffice has never quite caught up
>> with it.)
>>
>> Back home, I was able to easily install Ubuntu 13.04. Upon restarting,
>> I was booted into Ubuntu without seeing a grub menu page.  After
>> shutting down, I did, however, find entries on the BIOS boot menu for
>> both Microsoft and Ubuntu, and by changing the boot order I was able
>> to boot successfully back into Windows.
>>
>> That was the last I saw of the Ubuntu installation for several days.
>> There was still no grub menu but now no reference to Ubuntu in the
>> BIOS boot list. And I could only boot into Windows 7.
>>
>> Although interesting and/or incredibly time wasting, none of the
>> threads I traced on the Web offering solutions to this problem were
>> useful in getting the Ubuntu OS back, let alone in allowing me to dual
>> boot Ubuntu 13.04 with Windows 7. The dual boot may even be impossible
>> with this post-2010 motherboard, fulfilling Microsoft's long-term
>> agenda to block Intel machines from running anything except Microsoft
>> products. Those people are so evil!
>>
>> After a lot of hacking through the underbrush that got me nowhere,
>> here's what ultimately worked:
>> (1) Select "Try Ubuntu" with the 64-bit Desktop Installation CD and
>> connect to the Internet.
>> (2) sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
>> (3) sudo apt-get update
>> (4) sudo apt-get install boot-repair
>> (5) Run boot-repair. Go to the "advanced" menu, and repair the MBR.
>> This is the crucial step.
>> (6) Install Ubuntu 13.04, being sure to use the option that erases the
>> entire disk.
>>
>> I think Windows 7 keeps writing over information in the MBR to prevent
>> the installation of any other OS. What I did completely nuked my
>> Windows OS, but at least I was able to install Ubuntu 13.04.
>>
>> One wonderful thing about computers and computer software is that what
>> little one knows is automatically leveraged into being able to do so
>> much more. I don't fully understand why this procedure worked (it's
>> not on the Web) and would appreciate any insights. I suspect the
>> problem is that the new DPT partitioning scheme uses the old-school
>> Master Book Record in very different ways. Can modern motherboards
>> work with, let alone boot from MBR-partitioned hard drives? Has anyone
>> actually been able to dual boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu 13.04 on a new
>> machine? (The threads on the Web start out so bravely and then seem to
>> peter out....)
>>
>> The long-time dealer (Computek in Portland, OR) who sold me the box
>> has delivered superior, long-lasting products, and when components
>> have invariably failed I've gotten great service, even on obsolete
>> machines. Unfortunately, he adamantly does not "do Linux" and the best
>> I can hope from him would be to get me back to where I started.  But
>> I'd rather eat the cost and use my Windows 7 disc as a coaster than go
>> through this again!
>
> I don't quite understand why you had such a hassle with dual-booting
> with Windows 7 and your preferred version of LInux, Ubuntu, installed.
>
> For Christmas I bought my wife a new computer (with an Intel mobo/cpu)
> which came pre-installed with Windows 7.
>
> The day it arrived I installed my preferred Linux distro (openSUSE),
> after making some room for it by shrinking the Windows' partition, and I
> can boot between the two systems with ease. (Windows, BTW, is only used
> to update the files on the Garmin sat nav unit I have.)

I think the OP has experienced the age-old problem of Windows claiming 
it's spot on the MBR as FIRST, if I'm reading correctly. You have to 
install Win first, Linux second. Not the other way around. It's always 
been thataway. :) Ric


-- 
My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say:
"There are two Great Sins in the world...
..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
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