Brief: Cannot access Linux in dual boot because system boots straight to Windows without showing the grub menu? Here is a possible fix for you.
Apr 16, 2013 GRUB for DOS is the dos extension of GRUB. It enables dos users to run the configuration console directly in real mode. The project also contains an utility called WINGRUB, an GUI intends to help configuring and installing GRUB in the WINDOWS environment. GNU GRUB is a Multiboot boot loader. It was derived from GRUB, the GRand Unified Bootloader, which was originally designed and implemented by Erich Stefan Boleyn. Briefly, a boot loader is the first software program that runs when a computer starts. Jan 30, 2018 GRUB (acronym GRand Unified Bootloader) is the bootloader which is used by many Linux distributions, such as the famous Ubuntu, to manage the operating systems installed on the computer. Grub2Win is an Open Source program to safely dual-boot Windows and Linux. The latest Beta is also available. Grub2Win boots native, Open Source GNU Grub. Everything is contained in a single 16 MB directory on your Windows C: drive. Grub2Win is an open source program to safely dual-boot Windows and Linux. Grub2Win boots native, open source GNU Grub. Everything is contained in a single 16 MB directory on your Windows C: drive. On EFI systems 4 small modules are installed to the EFI partition. Using the simple Windows GUI and instructions you can install Grub2Win quickly and safely. Aug 07, 2019 Grub Customizer in Ubuntu is the easiest way to change the boot order and to make Windows the default OS in a dual boot system. The easiest way to change boot order to make Windows default os in dual boot.
So, finally, I upgraded Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 last night. Since, I dual boot Windows 8.1 with Ubuntu, I was expecting to see the Grub menu at the boot so that I could choose the operating system of my choice. But the upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1 messed up the settings and it never showed Grub menu. It just kept booting into Windows 10 at each start up.
Frustrating, isn’t it? It seemed like as if there is no way to access Ubuntu at all. No! the Ubuntu install on the other partition was fine. It was just the UEFI settings that were different in the boot manager. I verified everything by accessing UEFI firmware settings in Windows 10.
If you too are unable to boot into Grub and rebooting Windows 10 repeatedly, I am going to present you the simple solution that worked for me.
Warning: Playing with your boot settings can leave your system messed up. I advise having a recovery disk or Windows installation disk with you to reverse boot settings. Keeping the Linux live USB can also help in many situations.
Fix Dual Boot system going booting straight to Windows
Though I am saying Windows 10, the steps are equally valid for Windows 8 and 8.1. Similarly, I am using Ubuntu in dual boot here but the trick applies to all other Linux distributions such as Linux Mint etc.
Step 1
In Windows, go to the menu.
Step 2
Search for Command Prompt, right click on it to run it as administrator.
Step 3
In here, copy paste the command below:
You don’t need to enter a password or anything like that. The command should run just fine given that your account has admin rights.
Step 4
Restart and you’ll be welcomed by the familiar Grub screen. I hope this quick tutorial helped you to fix the Grub issue.
Grub Rescue For Windows 7
It did not work?
If the above entry didn’t change anything, you can reverse it using the command below:
Even if the above command didn’t work, try the command below to set the boot back to Windows.
If you are not able to boot into Windows installation, plug in the Windows installation disk and there you’ll have access to the command prompt.
You can try some suggestions mentioned here to stop dual boot from booting straight into Windows.
If you see a “no boot found” error, you can try this or this solution.
This tutorial shows you how to easily change
Many people prefer to install Linux in dual boot mode with Windows. Some of them use Linux as their primary OS while some prefer Windows as their primary OS.
When you install Ubuntu or Linux Mint or elementary OS along with Windows in dual boot mode, Linux becomes the default OS. At the boot time, on the grub screen, if you do not choose Windows for login within 10 seconds (default Grub timeout), it boots up into the Linux.
This grub behavior creates problem if you prefer to have Windows as your primary OS. You have to wait till the computer boots up and stay close to your computer to choose Windows for login.
This is inconvenient, I can understand.
You can change the grub behavior to make Windows your default OS in dual boot by editing the grub configuration file. While this is my preferred way, I can understand that as a regular Windows user you might not want to use the command line and would prefer a tool with graphical user interface.
I was asked by a few readers to provide a tutorial on using a GUI tool to change the boot order to make Windows default OS instead of Linux. And hence, I came up with this article to show you how to change grub boot order in Linux.
Change Grub Boot Order with Grub Customizer
Startup Manager was the best GUI tool to configure grub. However, it has been discontinued. The void of Startup Manager is (somewhat) filled by Grub Customizer. While Startup Manager was just focused on giving you few options to configure the boot menu, Grub Customizer focuses on all the aspects of customizing Grub, and hence it is a little complicated for beginners.
Install Grub Customizer in Ubuntu-based distributions
I have used Ubuntu in this tutorial but you can use any other Linux distribution based on Ubuntu such as Linux Mint, elementary OS, Linux Lite etc. The tutorial should also work on all Ubuntu versions including 14.04, 16.04 and 18.04. All Windows versions including Windows 10, 8 and 7 should work fine.
Install Grub Customizer in Ubuntu using a PPA:
Grub Bootloader For Windows
How To Use Grub Customizer:
Once installed, search for Grub Customizer in the menu and open it.
It requires the admin password because you are dealing with an important configuration that requires root privileges. Enter your password.
Grub For Windows 10 Download
After that, you’ll see a screen where you can access the configuration. You can see that Windows lies at the bottom after so many Ubuntu options.
All you have to do is to move Windows over the first Ubuntu. You can use the arrow option from the top menu for this task.
Once done, you should have Windows on the top of this list. At this point, you should save this configuration.
This will edit the Grub menu and you can see the changed boot order at the next restart.
Bonus tip: Reduce the grub boot time
If you do not interact with the grub menu at the boot time, it takes 10 seconds to boot into the default operating system. You can use Grub Customizer and reduce this boot time to something of your choice like 3 seconds or 5 seconds.
You can do this from General Settings tab in Grub Customizer.
It’s an optional tip and will help you in reduce boot time (if you don’t manually press the enter key).
You can do some other grub customization as well with this wonderful tool.
I hope the tutorial helped you to change the grub boot order in Ubuntu and other Linux distribution and make Windows the default OS in your dual boot system. Grub Customizer is an amazingly simple tool for this task.
Questions, suggestions, a word of thanks are always welcome.