Initiating Windows and Linux setup process.
Initiating Windows and Linux setup process.
You need to enable GRUB as a bootloader on your Linux system. Check your boot configuration files and ensure GRUB is present, then follow the steps to install it alongside Ubuntu Mint and Windows 7.
It would function if I interpret you properly. The site explains the process clearly: http://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/ This page outlines a simple guide: http://linuxbsdos.com/2012/03/10/restore...ith-linux/
The Windows boot loader only functions with Windows. It won’t work on any Linux distribution. For dual booting, consider using GRUB or another bootloader. The optimal approach is to install Windows first on one partition and Linux on another, ensuring the Linux install replaces the bootloader. Alternatively, you can place both operating systems on separate disks, preserving the Windows boot loader while switching the main boot device in your BIOS.
This is true, except only for BIOS (legacy) boot. If OP is using UEFI (which entry labeled "Win7" hints at) then this is not quite true, since booting is handled differently. There are several EFI boot entries stored, out of which a certain one is default. But it is uncertain wether the OP is using UEFI or Legacy boot; most probably it's the former these days, but if that is the case, then why there is no grub entry - possibly because BIOS is set at "Legacy boot" currently. EDIT: More specifically, it does not make much sense to switch to Legacy boot if the HW/BIOS is recent enought to handle UEFI; possibly Legacy boot is not supported at all on more recent Windowses (I'm not sure), and if that is the case, what you suggest is not applicable. A few question for OP: Do you know if your BIOS is set to UEFI boot or Legacy? From where are you exactly trying to install Windows 10, and why do you need to restore the bootloader exactly? I'm a bit lost here, since the installer should "justy work" despite the current bootloader? Installing windows wont overwrite the Linux installation - only the MBR if using Legacy boot, and possibly force the user to switch secure boot on, and possibly change the default boot entry in EFI. It could delete entries from EFI, but that would not be acceptable for any well-behaved software (which is not to mean that the windows installer necessarily is a well behaving software ). Edited April 4, 2018 by Wild Penquin
Essentially I switch between Windows 7 (for general and school use), Windows 8.1 (for web development) and Windows 10 for gaming. On my desktop I have a UEFI setup with Ubuntu installed alongside Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and Ubuntu MATE on one SSD. My laptop supports UEFI but doesn’t boot Windows or the supported OS versions from it. I’ve tried troubleshooting and found the issue in the CSM module, but clearing it didn’t help. I’m looking for something similar to my desktop setup on the laptop. All OSes are installed and working except that I need to boot into GRUB via Terminal and then Linux through a command-line method. I’d prefer a Command Line option in Windows so I can just click a script from the desktop, rather than relying on a bootloader.
Which laptop is that exactly? One possibility is that it has a badly written (non-compliant) UEFI BIOS. I have no experience with those and I'm not sure if this is the case, but I do know they exist. It is certainly possible the manufacturer of the laptop cheaped out on development and made a BIOS which only works with their recovery (and Legacy boot). Either way you need to manage booting several OSes with something. Using GRUB is the most popular one. Refind is another option, but it might not work on a crippled non-UEFI--compliant BIOS. There certainly are boot managers/loaders which work on windows boot (has been since XP AFAIK), but they are not so popular. In essence a bootloader is just software which runs before the OS. Have you tried to install GRUB on Legacy mode (and let it manage, which os is booted up)?
I possess this setup and it functions (GRUB is working) but I’m limited to starting only Windows 7. Accessing Windows 8 or 10 isn’t possible, as I can only use the bootloader from Windows. I have to pick Win7, then navigate through Win7 → 8 → 10. This laptop is an old Sony Vaio and hasn’t required an upgrade since 2014.
You don’t need to install Windows separately; everything should run from a single menu. With a functional GRUB setup, you just need to adjust it for each Windows version. Running "update-grub" from Mint might create a compatible grub.conf file that supports all your installed OS versions. The way your partitions are laid out matters—especially if you have multiple Windows installations across different partitions. You might be using only one partition with the bootloader cycling between system directories for various Windows flavors. Check the help documentation at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2 for more details.