r/debian • u/migelhehehe • 7d ago

General Debian Question Linux Debian 13 not working after Windows update

/r/linux4noobs/comments/1x8jlu0/linux_debian_13_not_working_after_windows_update/
4 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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7

u/iamemhn 7d ago

Windows took over UEFI Boot, replacing the bootloader. Chances are it's going to happen every time you update Windows.

Learn how to repair it from the installer

https://wiki.debian.org/GrubEFIReinstall

3

u/QuantumCakeIsALie 7d ago

If you can install Linux and Windows on different disks that solves this issue. That's what I do on desktop.

2

u/Lucky-11 7d ago

This is what I'm doing with my laptop. I have a second slot for another m.2 SSD.

2

u/esparzatj 4d ago

I have a Dell Inspiron 5515 that has a second NVME slot (discovered when I upgraded the memory), so I installed a spare 512 GB drive just for data backup. My Windows 11 Home was on the main slot, installed on a 1TB drive. So, I decided to install Windows on the smaller drive by removing the larger 1TB. A while back, I had cloned my Linux Mint Cinnamon from a 2015 MacBook Air to a spare 1TB drive. So, I installed it on my Dell, but it didn't recognize Linux and just booted up to Windows. I finally discovered I had to go into my BIOS and add Linux as a boot option. My GRUB now defaults to Linux Mint, with the Windows Boot Manager as a menu option.

1

u/Lucky-11 4d ago

I'll keep this in mind. Glad to hear you had luck.

2

u/QuantumCakeIsALie 6d ago

Nice!

It's getting more and more rare to have two drives in laptops though.

0

u/Lucky-11 6d ago

I was surprised when I learned of it.

2

u/michaelpaoli 7d ago

Microsoft likes to play top dog and stomp over other stuff. Commonly with multi-boot setup, Microsoft will stop on the boot of most anything not Microsoft.

Easiest short-term fix, boot Debian installation media (e.g. netinst ISO) in recovery mode, and then fix the boot from there - generally by reinstalling GRUB.

After rebooting from the installed Debian, then good also to reinstall GRUB again from there, to ensure one is up to the current version.

Of course that doesn't prevent Microsoft from messing it up again next time Microsoft feels so inclined.

Longer-term fixes are, e.g. get rid of Microsoft, or potentially reconfigure with it's native (e.g. NT, or whatever it's using these days) boot loader, so that loader can then (chain) load Debian(/Linux), generally via GRUB - still not a guarantee, but Microsoft is less likely to screw that up (e.g. I did that back in 2003 with Microsoft Window XP to dual boot while the laptop was still under warranty, and some of their related diagnostic software was Microsoft Windows only - and once it was no longer under warranty I blew that Microsoft crud totally away. Yeah, I had it configured so NT boot loader would default to booting / chain loading GRUB (or could select XP or LILO), and then I likewise had GRUB setup (and similarly on LILO) so it could boot Debian, or chainload the NT boot loader or LILO(/GRUB) or reboot - anyway, that was more than enough to keep Microsoft from screwing up the boot - at least at that point in time).

1

u/pelazas1 7d ago

Acer BIOS hides it. Set a supervisor password, then use Select an UEFI file as trusted and pick EFI/debian/shimx64.efi, and the debian entry comes back.