Power off, disconnect all the other drives, and install the new OS. When you install a new OS, give it it's own harddrive. The simplest solution by far is to have multiple harddrives connected to your machine. Windows is allergic to Linux and will gladly overwrite your Linux bootloader in most circumstances. Also, each OS has its own bootloader - and pecking order. You can probably still boot your OS if you press the right hotkeys. How do I fix my bootloader? Generally, all you need to know is this: I'd unpack the problems to something simple, like: I can't boot my OS. Each distribution has its own way of coping with the tools provided by Grub2, so no universal documentation will suffice - in that regard Grub is much simpler and more universal. The problem with Grub2 is that it is still fairly new, even in 2013. There are many BIOS implementations, each with their own hotkeys and standards. Perhaps you're looking for a master document linking to all the various vendors' methods? Or simply a guide on how to Google for your solution? Whoa there, you're trying to cover way too much ground. Part 4 for example should be as easy as showing the usage of grub-mkconfig (and additional work for secure-boot). The guide shouldn't walk throug all edge cases but be helpful for most users. Include the steps potentially needed for secure boot. Repair/Install the bootloader when not done automatically by the installer or when damaged. Optionally use the Ubuntu installer as an example so users can adapt to others. Add mount points for existing NTFS/FAT/other data partitions. At a minimum set swap and root (/), but preferably with directions for /home and /boot as well. Include information about the special partition that may be necessary with GPT.Įxplain setting mount points manually. This should preferably be explained for GPartEd, as that is the most commonly used GUI partitioning tool. Include primary/logical partition problems with MBR and shrinking Windows partitions if no space is available elsewhere. Set up the partitioning, with examples for both MBR and GPT partition tables. Because of reoccuring questions about dualboot of GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows, an authoritative general guide is needed as a reference for users asking about dualboot/multiboot.Ĭover both BIOS and UEFI boot methods, using GRUB2 as the Bootloader of choice because it is commonly used in popular GNU/Linux distributions.

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