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I have a problem and this isn't really my area and am not able to find a good solution.

Basically I have two Hard Disks

  • 500 G
  • 1000 G

In the 500 G HDD > I have windows running

In the 1000 G HDD > I have Ubuntu running

A couple of days back, due to high voltage my SMPS sparked out. I took it to the service center and they changed my SMPS and updated BIOS.

From then on, BIOS doesn't boot into Ubuntu (1000 G HDD) and directly boots into WINDOWS (500 G HDD).

So far:

  • The 1000 G HDD is detected by the BIOS. I can see it in the BIOS settings. I can change the boot order between the TWO HDDs

  • Using F10 I tried to boot from the 1000 G HDD and instead got a PXE error. BIOS was not able to boot from 1000G and have tried to 'Boot from Network' resulting in the error. I Disabled the 'Boot from Network' option.

  • I even disconnected 500 G HDD and tried using only the 1000 G. It simply said "Reboot and Select proper Boot device"

  • When I boot into WINDOWS, under Disk Management, I can see that the 1000 G Hard Disk is in a Good State

  • Finally I borrowed a USB with Ubuntu and booted into it. It provided the option to TRY UBUNTU without actually installing it. I used that option - logged in - and was able to see all my DATA in the 1000 G HDD intact

  • I didn't partition my 1000 G HDD when I installed Ubuntu - so all my data lies in the single partition (nearly 400 G of DATA). Hence I'm not open for Re-installing the OS (And I also think it isn't needed).

It'd be of great help if someone can point me in the correct direction through which I can boot into UBUNTU without losing my DATA.

Krishnakumar
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    I'm not entirely sure if this will fix it, but if you haven't tried it yet you can try [boot-repair]( https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair). Boot from the live usb again, follow the 2nd option on the site to install it, and the recommended repair right underneath that. This tool has saved my ass a couple of times before. – Peetah Nov 15 '17 at 18:01
  • You will need to go into the advanced option to avoid wiping your Windows bootloader. – Andrew Shum Nov 15 '17 at 18:08
  • Adding to previous: expand "Advanced option", select tab "GRUB locations", choose "Install Grub into:", choose your Ubuntu partition. – Andrew Shum Nov 15 '17 at 18:18
  • @AndrewShum Without knowing whether the OSes were installed in UEFI or Legacy modes you shouldn't be giving that kind of advice (and it's wrong). Up next: –  Nov 16 '17 at 02:23
  • 1. **Legacy**: Only one bootloader can exist and it must be installed in the MBR of the drive with first priority in the boot order, **never in the Ubuntu's partition**, and, if dual booting then the original Windows bootloader has to be replaced by Grub which in turn chainloads to either the Ubuntu's or the other OS' partitions. 2. **(U)EFI**: Many bootloaders can coexist and all are installed in the ESP (EFI System Partition) which, again, is NOT the Ubuntu partition. –  Nov 16 '17 at 02:23
  • @Krishnakumar You can follow the instructions in answers to this question: https://askubuntu.com/questions/88384/how-can-i-repair-grub-how-to-get-ubuntu-back-after-installing-windows Please note I'm not saying it's the same situation (it isn't) but solutions are the same regardless. –  Nov 16 '17 at 03:16
  • @MichaelBay Thanks a lot for the response... I spent a lot of time to read about UEFI / Legacy and finally managed to isolate the issue. It was too simple. In my BIOS settings - under the BOOT Menu - UEFI Boot was disabled (possible because of the BIOS update) I just enabled it and it was Good – Krishnakumar Nov 16 '17 at 18:45
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    You're welcome and yes, now everything makes sense. Unlike Windows, Ubuntu can be installed in Legacy mode in a GPT drive (Windows requires GPT for UEFI and msdos/MBR for Legacy), provide it has also a small partition at the beginning for Grub, reason why Boot-Repair, at the time booting in Legacy mode, asked you to *create a BIOS-Boot partition*. –  Nov 16 '17 at 19:02

1 Answers1

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I found out the issue.

I tried boot-repair but it threw

GPT detected. Please create a BIOS-Boot partition

I searched again and read through a lot. Every discussion eventually ended up with Legacy / UEFI boot methods.

Finally, I saw that under the BIOS setting - under Boot Menu - UEFI Boot option was disabled. I enabled it again and it went through

Krishnakumar
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