Laptop Dual Win10 boot problem

[yreb-qusw]

Hello, so I have win10 on the 1st 2 partitions of my SSD, and install
Qubes 3.2 onto the empty partition/s after the win10 installation.

However, looking in my InsydeH20 BIOS, I am given no option to select a
win10 vs. Qubes boot. Only "notebook HD", "USB" etc.

Perhaps my mistake for thinking the laptop BIOS might function the way
the ASrock BIOS, does, which does give me a choice.

So, Now the "notebook" option just boots Qubes, Can I still boot
Win10 on the other , 1st, partitions?

if so, how ?

thx

[Alchemist]

What you want to do is install Windows first and then install Qubes, you want to edit GRUB so you can boot Windows from GRUB.

https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/multiboot/

[yreb-qusw]

thanks, so if I got Qubes installed and up and running, does this mean
my Bios is in "legacy mode" already? As I don't really see an option in
the INSYDEH20 Bios to enable Legacy mode.

re:
--


Add this stanza to /etc/grub.d/40_custom,

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntldr
insmod ntfs
ntldr (hd1,X)/bootmgr
}

(Change X to reflect the relevant system partition.)
--

What would be an example of what goes in "X" ?

[yreb-qusw]

.....maybe is should be sda1 ?

eg

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntldr
insmod ntfs

ntldr (sda,1)/bootmgr
}

??

with the parentheses?

really prefer not to make a bad thing worst ....... :)

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/25/2017 06:16 AM, yreb-qusw wrote:

> On 06/24/2017 11:52 PM, Alchemist wrote:
>> On Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 7:09:32 PM UTC-7, yreb-qusw wrote:
>>> Hello, so I have win10 on the 1st 2 partitions of my SSD, and install
>>> Qubes 3.2 onto the empty partition/s after the win10 installation.
>>>
>>> However, looking in my InsydeH20 BIOS, I am given no option to select a
>>> win10 vs. Qubes boot. Only "notebook HD", "USB" etc.
>>>
>>> Perhaps my mistake for thinking the laptop BIOS might function the way
>>> the ASrock BIOS, does, which does give me a choice.
>>>
>>> So, Now the "notebook" option just boots Qubes, Can I still boot
>>> Win10 on the other , 1st, partitions?
>>>
>>> if so, how ?

>> What you want to do is install Windows first and then install Qubes,
>> you want to edit GRUB so you can boot Windows from GRUB.
>>
>> https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/multiboot/
>>
>

1)

> thanks, so if I got Qubes installed and up and running, does this mean
> my Bios is in "legacy mode" already? As I don't really see an option in
> the INSYDEH20 Bios to enable Legacy mode.

2)

>
> re:
> --
>
>
> Add this stanza to /etc/grub.d/40_custom,
>
> menuentry "Windows" {
> insmod part_msdos
> insmod ntldr
> insmod ntfs
> ntldr (hd1,X)/bootmgr
> }
>
> (Change X to reflect the relevant system partition.)
> --
>
> What would be an example of what goes in "X" ?

3)

ya, sorry again, but I have no file "40_custom,"

am I supposed to create that file in /etc/grub.d ? (I have no files at
all in grub.d as dom0


as
"40_custom" ? without the comma ? :)

seems a strange filename

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/25/2017 06:16 AM, yreb-qusw wrote:

FURTHER,

re:
--


Identify the Windows system partition that has /bootmgr

In blkid output, the system partition is the one with LABEL=’SYSTEM
RESERVED’ or LABEL=’SYSTEM’ and is only about 100 to 200 MB in size
--

I seem not such partition, what I do see is :
/dev/sda1: LABEL="DATA" UUID=" foo " TYPE="ntfs" PARTUUID="bdefoo-01"

nothing with a LABEL='SYSTEM' not "SYSTEM" :)

[cooloutac]

run fdisk from grub and try to identify it there. which will also be labeled in same format you need I believe.

[yreb-qusw]

Should I have a file named 40_custom in grub.d dir ? there are No
files in that dir.

Happen to have an example of the

>>> ntldr (hd1,X)/bootmgr
>>> }
>>>
>>> (Change X to reflect the relevant system partition.)

suggestion? I really dont want to input the wrong 'stanza'

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/26/2017 05:11 PM, cooloutac wrote:

thx, and for that matter, how do I get to command line in grub ? tab?
esc ?

sorry if this is basic

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/26/2017 05:11 PM, cooloutac wrote:

OK, so, I pressed 'e' during boot -grub and got to grub> when I
type fdisk I get 'error: can't find the command 'fdisk'

however if I type ls I see
Device hd0: No known filesystem detected - Sector Size 512B -Total size
244198584Kib THEN:

4 Partitions all labeled hd0, after hd0 they are hd0,msdos1 msdos2
msdos 3 msdos5

the 'Data' one is msdos1 409600KiB that I guess is the same 'Data'
partition

msdos2 has filesystem ntfs 185764864KiB

msdos3 is filesystem ext* size 512000KiB

msdos5 says no known filesystem
IIRC: Win10 has like a recovery partition ?



Based on the above what would be my best chance-guess to try the grub
'stanza' ?

ntldr (hd0,msdos2)/bootmgr ?

or

ntldr (hd0,2)/bootmgr ?


Thanks in advance

[cooloutac]

yes

[cooloutac]

e, I think.

[cooloutac]

look for the one is the size of that windows boot partition you mentioned earlier. Then when you make the 40_custom file in grub.d directory like was mentioned earlier. For whatever msdos1 msdos2 is when you list them. you put in 1 2 or 3 etc... as explained earlier.

[cooloutac]

so you would put hd0,X X= 1 2 or 3 etc... you said it was 200mb right so just look for something around that in kb's. probably the smallest partition it should say file type too no? ntfs.

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/28/2017 05:17 PM, yreb-qusw wrote:

> well since I haven't a clue which one it may be, I suspect I will ruin
> both systems qubes and win10
>
> msdos3 seems to be the smallest, would the boot partition be on msdos3 ?
> doesn't seem right, I thought boot partitions were usually the 1st
> partition, it also says it is NOT NTFS it is ext3
>
> should fdisk not work at the grub> prompt ?


Whoops I forgot to "cc the list" in the off chance, I could get some
more support.


Is there any other place for support maybe on one of the IRC channels,
do folks really ask and answer timely questions there ?

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/28/2017 04:03 PM, cooloutac wrote:

> so you would put hd0,X X= 1 2 or 3 etc... you said it was 200mb right so just look for something around that in kb's. probably the smallest partition it should say file type too no? ntfs.
>

In general, what would happen if I guessed wrong with the 1, 2, 3
etc


It should be file type NTFS not ext3 ??

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/28/2017 04:03 PM, cooloutac wrote:

> so you would put hd0,X X= 1 2 or 3 etc... you said it was 200mb right so just look for something around that in kb's. probably the smallest partition it should say file type too no? ntfs.
>

actualy this is from the qubes doc's not me

--
Identify the Windows system partition that has /bootmgr

In blkid output, the system partition is the one with LABEL=’SYSTEM
RESERVED’ or LABEL=’SYSTEM’ and is only about 100 to 200 MB in size
--

ntldr (hd0,msdos2)/bootmgr ?

or

ntldr (hd0,2)/bootmgr ?

I would think it would be the 1st partitions when it comes to booting.


Is it possible my boot partition for win10 got overwritten when
installing Qubes somehow ?



Maybe I should give up , as by the slow/no responses, it seems there
is no way to get support for this

[yreb-qusw]

On 06/28/2017 04:03 PM, cooloutac wrote:

> so you would put hd0,X X= 1 2 or 3 etc... you said it was 200mb right so just look for something around that in kb's. probably the smallest partition it should say file type too no? ntfs.
>

actually in the docs maybe instead they should recommmend

sudo fdisk -l

cause that Does show the boot partition /dev/sda2

however I'm left still not knowing how to write the 'stanza'


--

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntldr
insmod ntfs
ntldr (hd1,X)/bootmgr
}

--
https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/multiboot/





eg in my case ?

ntldr (hd1,2)/bootmgr ? or

ntldr (hd0,2)/bootmgr


etc




sigh

[Unman]

As far as I can see a number of people have tried to help you here
You should read the guidelines at www.qubes-os.org/mailing-lists and
be patient.
Also, a two minute search on the net would bring you to guides that
would enable you to learn something about grub and maybe solve the problem for
yourself.

On the specific points:
I doubt that your Win10 boot partition got overwritten , unless you
asked the installer to do so.
It is possible to run Windows without a SYSTEM partition, particularly if
installed in BIOS mode - it is, however, not standard.
fdisk -l shows you which partition has been marked as bootable - this
need not be the partition you want. It need not be the first partition.
Nothing will go wrong if you get the partition specification wrong -
Windows wont boot and you will see an error message.
From what you have said you have two options: msdos1 and msdos2.
In grub partitions are numbered starting from 1, so these can be
referenced as hd0,msdos1 and hd0,msdos2.
Just create two entries, one for each partition, and try to boot: if
the first fails, reboot and choose the second.

Incidentally, its relatively simple to enable legacy boot on InsydeH20 -
again, a simple search would show you how.
Unless someone did this for you it's most likely that you are in UEFI
mode. You can check this in Linux by looking at the output from dmesg,
and looking for "efi" entries - 'dmesg|grep efi'
Also,look in /sys/firmware for efi directory. If it's there then you
booted UEFI.
The partition layout you have described doesn't seem to be standard for
Windows under UEFI.

It isn't clear if you read the documentation before installing Qubes, or
if you have a back up or cloned disk. If you didn't I would do it now
before trying anything else. You can attach the NTFS partitions to a qube
and copy the data off, or clone the whole partition.

Good luck.

[yreb-qusw]

I appreciate your replies, I'm not a sysadmin, enabled legacy boot ,
i only vaguely understand that that is requird for Qubes, anyway, i've
got qubes installed, it's just acting different than on my desktop
version is,

I don't expect any replies, just hoping for more than 1 or 2 , hence I
asked about the IRC, but I'm guessing that isn't well attended also

forgive me , for asking , it really isn't "a two minute" search it is
that Grub and such are complicated for non sysadmin people


just for the record, I would think Qubes might like to have normal non
sysadmin people able to use the OS, so my questions to the list, my
serve those people,

The format of post and wait days or never for a reply may not be ideal
for anything complicated IMHO

anyway, thanks for listening

[yreb-qusw]

On 07/01/2017 12:10 PM, Unman wrote:

> and looking for "efi" entries - 'dmesg|grep efi'
> Also,look in /sys/firmware for efi directory. If it's there then you
> booted UEFI.

fwiw, neither of these indicates EFI boot

so, are you saying Legacy boot might fix something ?

frankly, I am not even sure what behaviour to expect, if I did get
grub2 with the right boot partition ....


Would I see something when I boot in Grub that gives me a choice to
boot win10 or Qubes, is there a choice that pops up in Grub

or ?


I'm sure this all makes sense to long term linux sysadmins...


eg I also noticed with I do qvm-shutdown --all it seems to shutdown
dom0 and freeze the computer

[yreb-qusw]

On 07/01/2017 12:10 PM, Unman wrote:

> Nothing will go wrong if you get the partition specification wrong -
> Windows wont boot and you will see an error message.
> From what you have said you have two options: msdos1 and msdos2.
> In grub partitions are numbered starting from 1, so these can be
> referenced as hd0,msdos1 and hd0,msdos2.
> Just create two entries, one for each partition, and try to boot: if
> the first fails, reboot and choose the second.

again fwiw this is what the
https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/multiboot/
says:

-----

In blkid output, the system partition is the one with LABEL=’SYSTEM
RESERVED’ or LABEL=’SYSTEM’ and is only about 100 to 200 MB in size

Add this stanza to /etc/grub.d/40_custom,

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntldr
insmod ntfs
ntldr (hd1,X)/bootmgr
}

(Change X to reflect the relevant system partition.)

Then update the grub config:

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

There is no need to reinstall grub itself.

If the above stanza does not work, you may try this one (at your own
risk!) instead:

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,msdosX)'
chainloader +1

}

(Change X to reflect the relevant system partition.)

------



see the part "at your own risk!" ......hence, I'm cautious

as for "making two entries"


I'd be happy to if I had a clue what that means like what ?

menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntldr
insmod ntfs

ntldr (hd0,msdos1)/bootmgr

}


menuentry "Windows" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntldr
insmod ntfs

ntldr (hd1,1)/bootmgr
}



Again, lets say it might be hd0 it might be hd1 , it might be
partition msdos1 msdos2 or ? should it just be labeled 1 or 2

then I would put in 4 entries or reboot and just keep guessing on the format




PS: What is supposed to happen ? Where and When am I to make the
choice to boot the win10 vs Qubes .....




I have been waiting over a week, I don't 'expect' an answer .... I am
already trying different stanza entries so far no success

PPS: I've "cc'd the list"

[Unman]

Actually, normal, non sysadmin people CAN use the OS for the most part
- the installation process can be problematic and even seasoned users can
find multiboot setups difficult. I would never recommend that - perhaps
the "multiboot" page should carry that warning.

[Unman]

On Sat, Jul 01, 2017 at 12:49:59PM -1000, yreb-qusw wrote:
> On 07/01/2017 12:10 PM, Unman wrote:
> > Nothing will go wrong if you get the partition specification wrong -
> > Windows wont boot and you will see an error message.
> > From what you have said you have two options: msdos1 and msdos2.
> > In grub partitions are numbered starting from 1, so these can be
> > referenced as hd0,msdos1 and hd0,msdos2.
> > Just create two entries, one for each partition, and try to boot: if
> > the first fails, reboot and choose the second.
>
>
>

> I'd be happy to if I had a clue what that means like what ?
>
>
>
> menuentry "Windows" {
> insmod part_msdos
> insmod ntldr
> insmod ntfs
> ntldr (hd0,msdos1)/bootmgr
> }
>
>
> menuentry "Windows" {
> insmod part_msdos
> insmod ntldr
> insmod ntfs
> ntldr (hd1,1)/bootmgr
> }
>
>
>
> Again, lets say it might be hd0 it might be hd1 , it might be partition
> msdos1 msdos2 or ? should it just be labeled 1 or 2
>
> then I would put in 4 entries or reboot and just keep guessing on the format
>

No need to guess:
grub references disks numbering from 0
grub references partitions numbering from 1

So the first partition on the first disk would be hd0,msdos1. (also
hd0,1 - doesn't matter)
The third partition on a second disk would be hd1,msdos3

So now you can create two menu entries, one for each partition: Give them
different names - like this - menuentry "Windows msdos1"

>
>
>
> PS: What is supposed to happen ? Where and When am I to make the choice to
> boot the win10 vs Qubes .....

When you start the machine you will see the grub menu - It should
contain a menu (obviously) with entries for Qubes, and the two entries
you have just created.
You can press up and down keys to move up and down the entries -
Pressing enter will try to boot with the highlighted entry.
(There are instructions under the menu)

[cooloutac]

windows is ntfs.

[yreb-qusw]

And when one does :

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Should one be seeing something lie 'found windows .img" image or does
it matter ?

I'm seeing nothing when I run grub2-mkconfig and also nothing

with any of my entries at boot using both suggested versions of
the 'entry/stanza's' in /etc/grub.d/40_custom


I'm sort of doubting its supposed to be /etc/grub.d/40_custom, with
the comma at the end, and the docs have a typo ?

[yreb-qusw]

#! bin/sh -e

echo "add win10">&2

cat <<EOF

menuentry "win10" {

insmod part_msdos

insmod ntfs

set root='(hd0,msdos2)'

chainloader +1

}

EOF




>sudo chmod +x /etc/grub.d/40_custom


>sudo grub2-mkconfig

win10





I didn't realize I could search and adapt "fedora grub2-mkconfig" for win7


another time consuming kludge, esp. after getting lucky, that I guess it
wasn't an EFI win10 install ,

IMHO, someone Might update the qubes docs ....

[cooloutac]

doesn't matter.

[cooloutac]

glad its working.