Two methods for installing Ubuntu 14 and Windows 8.1 dual boot and fixing UEFI boot

Install Ubuntu 14.04 and Windows 8/8. 1 In UEFI mode

This tutorial is demonstrated on a new Dell Lingyue 7437 (Core i7 fourth-generation processor, 256 gb ssd, 8 GB memory and built-in 1 GB (shared memory) Intel graphics card. To enable you to successfully install dual boot for Linux and Windows 8 under UEFI, I will mention all the steps you need to do. If you have completed some of these steps, go directly to the next step. It would be better if you have a brand new system.

The steps mentioned here also apply to other Ubuntu-based Linux distributions, such as Linux Mint and Elementary OS. Not to mention, let's take a look at how to double-boot Linux on a Windows 8 system with UEFI enabled.

Enable Both Ubuntu 14.04 and Windows 8:

There are many prerequisites for installing Ubuntu on a UEFI system. Let's take a look:

Step 1: Make a backup [optional]

Making a backup is always a good option to prevent you from messing up the system. There are many articles on the Internet to teach you how to back up the system. You can refer to this tutorial.

Step 2: Create a USB boot disk/CD boot disk for Ubuntu

The next thing you need to do is create a USB boot disk or a CD boot disk. In Windows, we recommend that you use the Universal USB Installer to create a USB boot disk for Linux OS.

Step 3: divide an installation partition for Ubuntu

Suppose you have a brand new system. The first thing we need to do is create a partition to install Linux. The GB disk in my system has several partitions when it leaves the factory, but it is mainly used for backup and other purposes. The primary partition is a C disk with Windows 8.1 installed, which is about 220 GB.

If you have only one partition like this, you need to split up some space for Linux. If you have a number of partitions with sufficient space, you can use any disks except drive C, because the data in these disks will be erased during installation.

To create a partition in Windows 8, you must use the disk management tool. You can search for 'disk' in the control panel to find the disk management tool.

 

 

In the disk management tool, right-click the volume you want to split and zoom out. In my demo, I selected the volume of drive C to narrow down and divided the unallocated space:

 

 

The unallocated space that appears after the scale-out is put there, so you don't have to partition and format it. We will use it when installing Ubuntu.

Step 4: disable quick start in Windows [optional]

To enable quick start, Windows 8 introduces a new feature called "Quick Start. Although it is not mandatory, it is best to disable it.

Open Control Panel> hardware and sound> Power Options> Select power button function> change current unavailable settings, deselect enable quick start (recommended ).

Step 5: disable secure boot for Windows 8 and 8.1)

This is the most important step. The new secure boot (secure boot) in Windows 8 was originally designed to defend against the rootkit virus, but it also blocks the dual-boot of Windows and Linux. To enable dual boot for Windows and Linux, we must disable secure boot in UEFI ).

See how to disable UEFI security boot on Win8 to install Linux.

Step 6: Install Ubuntu and coexist with Windows 8

Once you disable secure boot, it is time to install Ubuntu. I want you to create a USB boot disk as mentioned in step 2. Insert the USB flash drive and start the system from the USB flash drive.

To start from USB, you need to select the start from USB option in Windows. Select an option from computer settings (such as UEFI) or press Shift when you click "restart.

After you start with a USB boot disk, you will see a try or install Ubuntu. Click "install" here ". In addition, you can select your language in a few settings on the screen. Next, we will check hard disk space, power supply, network connection, and so on. Click continue.

 

 

In the Installation window, you must note the Installation Type ). Select other options here (Something else ):

 

 

Do you still remember the unallocated space we divided in advance? We will use it to create a root partition (/), a Swap space (Swap), and a Home directory (Home ). Select free space and click the plus sign (+ ).

 

 

It will provide you with the option to create a Linux partition. We are creating the root partition /. 10 to 20 GB space is enough. Select Size and Ext 4 as the file system and/(root) as the Mount point ).

 

 

Click OK to return to the partition page. Next, create a Swap space (Swap ). As before, click the plus sign (+) again ). This time we chose to use it as the Swap space (Swap area ). The recommended swap space is twice the physical memory size.

 

 

Create a Home directory in the same way ). Allocate the largest space to it (in fact, allocate all the remaining space to it), because this is the location where you will store music, images, and downloaded files.

 

 

After the root partition (/), Swap space (Swap) and Home directory (Home) are allocated, click Install Now ):

 

 

Now, you have basically won this battle ~ Show the smile of Victory ~ Next, you will be asked to set the user name and password. Basically, you only need to click next.

Once the installation is complete, restart the computer and you will see the purple grub welcome interface. Enjoy the dual-boot mode of Ubuntu and Windows 8. You can search for the Boot Repair tool if the grub system does not have the Windows 8 option or cannot start properly)

I hope this guide will help you implement dual-boot for Ubuntu and Windows 8 UEFI. Although this article was written for Ubuntu, it should be helpful for other Linux OS. You are welcome to raise any questions or suggestions.

Two UEFI boot methods for Windows and Ubuntu systems

When a computer is started directly to Windows 8, the Ubuntu startup option does not appear.

There are two methods to fix EFI boot so that Ubuntu can be started normally.

 

 

Set GRUB2 as boot guide

1. Enable GRUB boot

Some problems may occur during installation.

Theoretically, if you install Ubuntu first, you need to disable quick start.

Please follow this guide to create a UEFI Ubuntu boot USB drive to install the correct UEFI boot program.

If you have completed these tasks during installation, the possible error is to set GRUB2 as the startup manager.

Follow these steps to set GRUB2 as the default boot program:

Log on to Windows 8

Go to desktop

Right-click the Start button and select the administrator command line.

Input mountvol g:/s (this maps your EFI directory structure to the G disk)

Input cd g: \ EFI

When you enter dir to list folder content, you can see a Ubuntu folder

The parameters here can be grubx64.efi or shimx64.efi.

Run the following command to set grub64.efi to the boot bootstrap program: bcdedit/set {bootmgr} path \ EFI \ ubuntu \ grubx64.efi

Restart your computer

You will see a GRUB menu containing Ubuntu and Windows options

If your computer is still directly started to Windows, Repeat steps 1 to 7, but input this time: bcdedit/set {bootmgr} path \ EFI \ ubuntu \ shimx64.efi

Restart your computer

What you do here is to log on to the Windows administrator command line and map the EFI boot area to the disk to check whether the Ubuntu boot program is successfully installed. Then, select grubx64.efi or shimx64.efi as the boot program.

So what is the difference between grubx64.efi and shimx64.efi? When serureboot is disabled, you can use grubx64.efi. Select shimx64.efi if enabled safely.

In the above steps, I suggest you try one first and then try another one. Another method is to select one and enable or disable secure boot in the BIOS based on the boot program you selected.

2. Use rEFInd to boot Ubuntu and Windows systems

 

 

The rEFInd bootstrap will list all your operating systems in the form of icons. Therefore, you can click the corresponding icon to start the operating system in Windows, Ubuntu, or USB flash drive.

Click here to download rEFInd for Windows 8.

After downloading and decompressing, follow these steps to install rEFInd.

Back to desktop

Right-click the Start button and select the administrator command line.

Input mountvol g:/s (this maps your EFI directory structure to the G disk)

Enter the decompressed rEFInd directory. Example: cd c: \ users \ gary \ downloads \ refind-bin-0.8.4 \ refind-bin-0.8.4. When you enter the dir command, you can see a refind Directory

Run the following command to copy refind to the EFI boot zone xcopy/E refind g: \ EFI \ refind \

Enter the following command to enter the refind folder cd g: \ EFI \ refind

Rename the configuration file rename refind. conf-sample refind. conf

Run the following command to set rEFind as the boot program bcdedit/set {bootmgr} path \ EFI \ refind \ refind_x64.efi

Restart your computer

You will see a graphic menu containing Ubuntu and Windows

This process is very similar to choosing the GRUB boot program.

To put it simply, download rEFind and decompress the file. Copy the file to the EFI boot area, rename the configuration file, and set rEFind as the boot program.