I've been experimenting with Linux on my laptop and now I've decided to try it on my main PC too. My setup includes two drives: my primary drive has Windows 11 installed, and there's an older drive I took from another machine that has Windows 10 on it. I recently tried to install a Linux distro called Bazzite on the second drive and selected the option to use the entire drive, thinking it would only affect that drive. However, after installation, my original Windows 11 drive doesn't show up as a bootable option in the BIOS anymore. I can still access the drive's files and it recognizes the Windows data on it, but I'm not sure if I can boot back into Windows or not. Is there still a chance to access my Windows drive with some tweaks?
5 Answers
Have you tried disconnecting the second drive? Sometimes the boot options can get messed up, and removing the additional drive might allow you to boot directly into Windows.
It sounds like your Windows installation is intact, but maybe the Windows bootloader got overwritten during the installation. Check out that link from Google to see if it can help you restore it.
I looked at the link, but I tried the suggested fix using Linux and it didn't work for me.
Check out our wiki on migration—it has a ton of useful tips! Always remember to be cautious with root access and make sure to verify checksums for your downloads. Good luck!
I empathize with you! I experienced something similar when trying to dual boot. I had to live boot to get GRUB to work, and eventually had to reinstall Windows. It's a hassle, but you might need a similar approach.
Boot into your Linux system and try running `sudo update-grub` in the terminal. It might detect your Windows partition and add it back to the boot menu.
I tried that command, but it came back saying 'command not found'.
I disconnected it and only got taken to the BIOS. No luck there.