[NCLUG] Dual Booting Linux on a laptop with UEFI

[Bob Proulx]

Elizabeth M. wrote:
> I have a friend who recently got a new laptop (a late 2019 HP Spectre
> x360, running Windows 10) and she is trying to have it dual boot Linux
> Mint alongside Windows 10. She has done the installation with a live
> USB image, and it has the partition. However, it only ever boots into
> Windows 10 - it doesn't present any option to boot into Linux Mint. We
> think it's because the computer uses UEFI, but we aren't sure. Has
> anyone had a similar problem they were able to solve?

This is an often run into problem.  But there can be a few different
causes.  Due to the fracturing of the libre software system it is hard
to know exactly what your friend is running and exactly why it is
doing what it is doing.

Back in the old days we would have been sure that the last process
that wrote the boot loader left it booting windows.  Any time Windows
touched the boot loader that is what it writes to happen there.
Because Windows doesn't want you to boot any other system.  Therefore
anything that triggered Microsoft would always leave the system
exactly as you described it, booting only Windows with no menu.

It is only the libre software stuff that is okay with multi-boot
systems.  And therefore the normal fix up until recently was to boot
an installation image in "Rescue Mode" and have it write a new copy of
the GRUB boot loader.  It was usually a menu item from there since it
was needed so often.  This has been GRUB for many years but there are
other boot loaders.  GRUB is the GRand Unified Boot loader by the way.
(I fear that someone will create systemd-bootd and take over that
space too.  OMG!  I just searched it and systemd-bootd already exists.
The end is nigh.  Sigh.)

So back in the day running the GRUB installer again would write a new
copy of the boot loader, which would then run on the next boot, and
that would present a menu at boot time where you could select either
the GNU/Linux OS just installed or it would "chainload" to the
Microsoft Windows bootloader.  *IF* Mint is using GRUB.  It's probably
not anymore.

Mint is a fork of Ubuntu.  Ubuntu is a fork of Debian.  I am not
running either Mint or Ubuntu and so have really no idea what to
suggest for your friend on Mint.  And also I am one of the many
get-off-my-lawn types not running systemd borgd.  (Get off my lawn!)
Ubuntu is running systemd and therefore I assume Mint is too.  And
since I now learned there is a systemd-borgd-bootd I can only guess
that Mint is wanting to install and run that to boot up the system.  I
guess.  Who knows?

Wish I could give you better advice.  But perhaps the extra noise here
will bring a Mint enthusiast up and they can give you some actually
good advice about how to proceed.

If you make progress please do let us know of your story.  I would be
interested in reading it knowing how it turned out.

Good Luck!

Bob