[SOLVED] No grub on dual boot install, straight to Windows 10 (Lenovo T440s)

[bvbvbv]

Hi all, I've searched on the forum and more broadly and tried a number of proposed solutions for this issue but nothing seems to work so far!

Formatted my drive today, fresh Windows 10 install, followed by a fresh Linux Mint install of the latest distro. No grub and just boots straight to Windows 10.

From reading online I suspected a BIOS issue. Have attempted multiple changes within the BIOS and reinstalls and no luck. Have tried the following:

1) Making a USB install within a live legacy instance, as Windows 10 is Legacy BIOS, and not UEFI.

2) Various BIOS changes, current BIOS settings are as follows (seems these were recommended in other threads, though I have tried many other combinations)
Legacy Only
CSM - Yes
Security Chip Disabled
Secure Boot Disabled

3) Have switched off fast boot within windows and done a reinstall

4) Followed the instructions here > https://linuxmint-installation-guide.re ... iboot.html
and got the following error message:
mint@mint:~$ sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sda5
Installing for i386-pc platform.
grub-install: warning: File system `ext2' doesn't support embedding.
grub-install: warning: Embedding is not possible. GRUB can only be installed in this setup by using blocklists. However, blocklists are UNRELIABLE and their use is discouraged..
grub-install: error: will not proceed with blocklists.

Any help greatly appreciated as I'm drawing a blank - also am somewhat a beginner at addressing these types of issues.

[mohican]

Hi there,
it is unusual to have Windows 10 in legacy mode rather than UEFI.

Since you are in BIOS legacy mode, there are two ways to boot :
way 1. grub is installed on your linux root partition (e.g. in /dev/sda2), you use the Windows boot loader (you can configure it directly or with EasyBCD https://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/ )

way 2. grub is installed on the MBR of the disk (e.g. in /dev/sda) , grub is then automatically loaded and should allow to boot on Windows.

The choice between the two ways is made when you install Linux, you specify where it will install grub.

So the question is what location did you specify for grub to be installed on ?

Hope this helps.

[bvbvbv]

Thank you for your advice! I just solved this.

The issue was with how the drive was formatted as EXT2 and once reformatted to EXT4 and reinstalled it worked!

[bvbvbv]

Thank you for your advice! I just solved this.

The issue was with how the drive was formatted as EXT2 and once reformatted to EXT4 and reinstalled it worked!

[nithinte]

Best and easiest way is to Install Hasleo EasyUEFI.

Open it and choose Manage EFI Boot Option

Highlight Windows Boot Manager

Then disable it (There is an enable disable button)

That is it. Restart and check for yourself.

It will aways show the grub.