02-23-2019, 12:51 PM
Thanks for those replies. I'll try to cover all the angles raised....
First, I have to say that while trinidad's comments may be useful, I confess they are 'way above my head. Sorry. I have no idea what 'the media channel' is, or where to find it.... and I wouldn't know where to look for any 'leftover signatures on the disk', or how to recognise them if they were there!
Next, a bit more about the current setup on the problematic laptop. I have looked into the BIOS and in particular at the 'Startup' configuration. Regret I can't post a screenshot, as I'm using a different computer. Under the Boot details, it lists "UEFI/Legacy Boot". The setting shows [Both], and under "Boot Priority" it shows [Legacy First]. Also in the main page of the BIOS it says that UEFI Secure Boot is [Off]
So I am assuming that the installed Windows 7 OS is installed in Legacy mode, and that the partitioning and configuration of the hard drive is GPT, not UEFI. I have never used a machine with UEFI and have no experience of UEFI and Windows 10 settings.
If it's relevant, F12 at startup reveals the Boot Options menu which has three listings: ATAPI CD0 (the DVD-RW drive), ATA HDD0 (the internal hard disk), and PCI LAN (which I presume to be some sort of network option). There is nothing in that Boot Options menus which says "Windows Boot Manager", and certainly nothing saying Linux or Ubuntu or similar!
Consequently I'm not sure how far the examples outlined by firenice03 apply to my situation. As I understand it, I do not have a UEFI setup. In terms of the bootloader(s), I believe that the Windows7 bootloader is still in place where you would expect it to be, in the MBR. I have gone through the entire process of installing Linux (Mint...). I used the 'something else' option precisely in order to avoid messing with the MBR, and I placed the Grub bootloader in the root (/) partition along with the Linux OS.
So right now, the Windows bootloader (in the MBR) cannot "see" Grub or Linux at all. From my successful experience on other machines, this is where EasyBCD plays its part. As shown in the links posted by firenice03, the final step in the dual-boot setting-up process using EasyBCD is to boot into Windows, go into EasyBCD, and add the Linux OS, specifying the partition in which it, and its Grub, are located. EasyBCD then works its magic and automatically edits the existing BCD to tell the Windows bootloader where to find the other OS.
Normally this works like a charm, and it is how I have dual boot set up on my other computer(s). But in this case, it isn't happening. EasyBCD lists the Linux Mint OS, so appears to have done its job. But on start up the Windows boot screen which should be the very first screen to show, offering the options of Win7 or Linux, does not appear. Instead I am still getting the original and unusual Windows Boot Menu, with its choice of 'Boot into Windows' or 'Restore System Image' (and wipe existing disk). So I have no way of even getting the Grub screen to show up, never mind booting into the Linux OS.
So I'm still baffled. My interpretation of the evidence is that either the Lenovo Recovery setup, or maybe the refurbisher-reinstall of Windows 7, has somehow modified the Windows boot process and/or the BCD, so as to launch the Boot menu with that 'Restore System Image' choice before the boot process goes any further; and that somehow this modification has prevented EasyBCD from editing the BCD, or is preventing the (edited) BCD from operating as it should.
If that's true (and I cannot prove it....) then I'd like to know how to undo or work around that, so that instead of only having the choice of booting into Win7 or Restoring Image, I get to a boot menu screen (either the Win7 MBR one, or Grub) which sees and offers both Win7 and Linux.
I suppose I could delete/remove the partition on which I have installed Linux Mint and start the process over again, this time choosing to install "alongside" the existing Win7 OS. This would in effect put Grub into the MBR, replacing the Windows bootloader, and would not require anything to be done using EasyBCD.
The uncertainty with that is - what will the installer, or Linux's Grub do about the System Recovery partition? Will it see that - or the image within it - as another OS? We already know that the installer believes there are "multiple" OSs already on the computer. Would I have to delete/remove the Lenovo System Recovery partition before trying to install Linux?
I really don't know what to do next. I don't want to "lose" the Win7 installation as I don't have a Win7 disk for a reinstall. Ideally I don't want to mess with the Lenovo Recovery setup, just in case I ever need it. But I really would like to have Linux (Mint or Lite) also installed as a dual boot!
Any further thoughts would be welcome!
First, I have to say that while trinidad's comments may be useful, I confess they are 'way above my head. Sorry. I have no idea what 'the media channel' is, or where to find it.... and I wouldn't know where to look for any 'leftover signatures on the disk', or how to recognise them if they were there!
Next, a bit more about the current setup on the problematic laptop. I have looked into the BIOS and in particular at the 'Startup' configuration. Regret I can't post a screenshot, as I'm using a different computer. Under the Boot details, it lists "UEFI/Legacy Boot". The setting shows [Both], and under "Boot Priority" it shows [Legacy First]. Also in the main page of the BIOS it says that UEFI Secure Boot is [Off]
So I am assuming that the installed Windows 7 OS is installed in Legacy mode, and that the partitioning and configuration of the hard drive is GPT, not UEFI. I have never used a machine with UEFI and have no experience of UEFI and Windows 10 settings.
If it's relevant, F12 at startup reveals the Boot Options menu which has three listings: ATAPI CD0 (the DVD-RW drive), ATA HDD0 (the internal hard disk), and PCI LAN (which I presume to be some sort of network option). There is nothing in that Boot Options menus which says "Windows Boot Manager", and certainly nothing saying Linux or Ubuntu or similar!
Consequently I'm not sure how far the examples outlined by firenice03 apply to my situation. As I understand it, I do not have a UEFI setup. In terms of the bootloader(s), I believe that the Windows7 bootloader is still in place where you would expect it to be, in the MBR. I have gone through the entire process of installing Linux (Mint...). I used the 'something else' option precisely in order to avoid messing with the MBR, and I placed the Grub bootloader in the root (/) partition along with the Linux OS.
So right now, the Windows bootloader (in the MBR) cannot "see" Grub or Linux at all. From my successful experience on other machines, this is where EasyBCD plays its part. As shown in the links posted by firenice03, the final step in the dual-boot setting-up process using EasyBCD is to boot into Windows, go into EasyBCD, and add the Linux OS, specifying the partition in which it, and its Grub, are located. EasyBCD then works its magic and automatically edits the existing BCD to tell the Windows bootloader where to find the other OS.
Normally this works like a charm, and it is how I have dual boot set up on my other computer(s). But in this case, it isn't happening. EasyBCD lists the Linux Mint OS, so appears to have done its job. But on start up the Windows boot screen which should be the very first screen to show, offering the options of Win7 or Linux, does not appear. Instead I am still getting the original and unusual Windows Boot Menu, with its choice of 'Boot into Windows' or 'Restore System Image' (and wipe existing disk). So I have no way of even getting the Grub screen to show up, never mind booting into the Linux OS.
So I'm still baffled. My interpretation of the evidence is that either the Lenovo Recovery setup, or maybe the refurbisher-reinstall of Windows 7, has somehow modified the Windows boot process and/or the BCD, so as to launch the Boot menu with that 'Restore System Image' choice before the boot process goes any further; and that somehow this modification has prevented EasyBCD from editing the BCD, or is preventing the (edited) BCD from operating as it should.
If that's true (and I cannot prove it....) then I'd like to know how to undo or work around that, so that instead of only having the choice of booting into Win7 or Restoring Image, I get to a boot menu screen (either the Win7 MBR one, or Grub) which sees and offers both Win7 and Linux.
I suppose I could delete/remove the partition on which I have installed Linux Mint and start the process over again, this time choosing to install "alongside" the existing Win7 OS. This would in effect put Grub into the MBR, replacing the Windows bootloader, and would not require anything to be done using EasyBCD.
The uncertainty with that is - what will the installer, or Linux's Grub do about the System Recovery partition? Will it see that - or the image within it - as another OS? We already know that the installer believes there are "multiple" OSs already on the computer. Would I have to delete/remove the Lenovo System Recovery partition before trying to install Linux?
I really don't know what to do next. I don't want to "lose" the Win7 installation as I don't have a Win7 disk for a reinstall. Ideally I don't want to mess with the Lenovo Recovery setup, just in case I ever need it. But I really would like to have Linux (Mint or Lite) also installed as a dual boot!
Any further thoughts would be welcome!