Hey everyone! I've been trying to install Linux Mint, and while the installation process went smoothly, I ran into a problem during the drive partitioning step. I kept getting an error that the EFI partition couldn't be found, even though I'm pretty sure my system is set to Legacy and not UEFI. I went ahead and created an EFI bootloader partition anyway, and when I finished the installation, I opted for the 'something else' installation method to create separate partitions for the OS, swap, and the EFI bootloader. However, when it came to booting, I didn't see any dual boot option, and my computer just booted straight into Windows 10, which is installed on a separate disk. I checked the boot order, thinking I could prioritize GRUB over Windows, but the only boot option I see is 'notebook hard drive', which groups both disks together, making it impossible for me to change the boot order. I'm really not keen on reinstalling the OS, so I'm wondering if I should panic or if there's a way to fix this? By the way, using an old BIOS version is not helping!
1 Answer
It sounds frustrating! When installing on a separate disk, a good practice is to disconnect the Windows drive during the installation. After installing, you can reconnect it and use the one-time boot key (usually F12) to select the boot device. If you're still having trouble, you could try using a tool like Super Grub. Just burn it to a USB drive, boot from it, and it should let you choose between Windows and Linux, which will help confirm if both systems are working fine. From there, you'd just need to sort out the boot order.
I get that it sounds complicated, but if it boots with Super Grub, switching the drives might still revert the BIOS setting to prioritize Windows back again.