[SOLVED] Lenovo T530 UEFI Arch/Ubuntu Dual boot - Arch fails to boot.

Hi All,
I have installed Arch to my Lenovo T530 to dual boot with Ubuntu using UEFI and Grub.
After installation, Arch is presented to me as an option when my laptop fires up. However, if I select it, the loader goes to a purple screen and then hangs.
I have attached here the bootloader scripts for my Arch installation (not working), my Ubuntu installation (working) and the output from sudo lsblk -o name,mountpoint,label,size,uuid.
Please let me know if there is more useful information I can provide. (I have output from Bootinfoscript available but it is quite extensive).
I am hoping to find out if there is an easily fixable error in the booting scripts used by Grub. If not, I have seen the section on dual booting with Arch in the wiki. My worry is that if I resort to it, UEFI looks to be temperamental at best and I risk breaking my currently working Ubuntu installation.
Thanks and regards,
Simon
Arch boot script (not working):
setparams 'Arch (on /dev/sda4)'
insmod part-gpt
insmod ext2
set root= 'hd0,gpt4'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt4 -\
-hint-efi=hd0,gpt4 -hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt4 729b5164-22c4-4c21-8212-\
66038d60943e
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 729b5164-22c4-4c21-821\
2-66038d60943e
fi
linux /boot/vmlinuz root=UUID=ad4103fa-d940-47ca-8506-301d\
8071d467 rw quiet
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
Ubuntu boot script (working)
setparams 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.13.0-24-generic'
recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
insmod part-gpt
insmod ext2
set root= 'hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd\
0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 -hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 542bf27c-0fd5-42\
4a-b4d8-107f7cf97b75
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 542bf27c-0fd5-\
424a-b4d8-107f7cf97b75
fi
echo 'Loading Linux 3.13.0-24-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.13.0-24-generic root=UUID=5\
42bf27c-0fd5-424a-b4d8-107f7cf97b75 ro quiet spash $vt_handoff
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.13.0-24-generic
Output from sudo lsblk -o name,mountpoint,label,size,uuid
NAME MOUNTPOINT LABEL SIZE UUID
sda 119.2G
├─sda1 /boot/efi BOOTLOADER 524M 9360-2939
├─sda2 / Linux_Ubuntu 34.6G 542bf27c-0fd5-424a-b4d8-107f7cf97b75
├─sda3 [SWAP] Swap 9.8G 7768ae01-6e37-450b-bf0c-d873e3fd06a1
├─sda4 Linux_Arch 32.7G 729b5164-22c4-4c21-8212-66038d60943e
├─sda5 /media/Data Data 33.2G 5a971a77-685b-43d5-a8e6-c7b407a4c2ff
└─sda6 Misc_Data 8.5G b165990d-bd25-458f-b2d6-63fae28d0870
sdb 1T
└─sdb1 1024G a1ee2f60-007a-4292-982b-7d5f8375fc7e
sr0 1024M
Last edited by simon_sjw (2015-03-22 10:43:03)

linux /boot/vmlinuz root=UUID=ad4103fa-d940-47ca-8506-301d8071d467 rw quiet
Change the UUID here. Where did that come from?
EDIT: curiously, if you DuckDuckGo search this exact UUID, it comes up a bunch of times and has caused people headaches before. If you fix that you should be okay. If anyone knows why this same exact UUID would incorrectly be created on multiple systems, I'd love to know. Seems like some kind of issue with dual/triple booting and OS-prober.
2nd EDIT: this UUID is in the default in grub.cfg. For some reason, it sometimes won't be replaced by grub-mkconfig... Maybe the user didn't run grub-mkconfig, but edited the file him or herself? simon_sjw?
Last edited by nullified (2015-03-22 03:12:36)

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ASM1061 (SATA chip) --- archlinux-2013.07.01-dual.iso fails to boot

archlinux-2013.07.01-dual.iso hangs on boot if ANY SATA device (even just an optical drive) is connected to the ports of this chip (ASM1061) on my motherboard.
Arch installations, which do not comment out following line in /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/60-persistent-storage.rules and rebuild initramfs also hang on boot:
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Last edited by g3n3r1c (2013-07-28 15:34:07)

archlinux-2013.07.01-dual.iso hangs on boot if ANY SATA device (even just an optical drive) is connected to the ports of this chip (ASM1061) on my motherboard.
Arch installations, which do not comment out following line in /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/60-persistent-storage.rules and rebuild initramfs also hang on boot:
# ATA/ATAPI devices (SPC-3 or later) using the "scsi" subsystem
#KERNEL=="sd*[!0-9]|sr*", ENV{ID_SERIAL}!="?*", SUBSYSTEMS=="scsi", ATTRS{type}=="5", ATTRS{scsi_level}=="[6-9]*", IMPORT{program}="ata_id --export $devnode"
I'd like to be able to boot an arch install medium, without removing the SATA connectors from my board's ASM1061 (Remastering official install live iso --- how to create initrd?).
Edit: Debian's and Fedora's install media are booting fine when devices are connected to the ASM1061, Ubuntu's install medium fails to boot --- like Arch
Edit: I do not know if this is relevant: The motherboard has UEFI.
Update: It is possible to alter the arch install live iso to make it boot (Remastering official install live iso --- how to create initrd?).
Last edited by g3n3r1c (2013-07-28 15:34:07)

[Solved] Dual UEFI Booting Arch against pre-existing Ubuntu install

Hi All,
I'm new to Arch Linux and have just managed to install it on my T530 Lenovo laptop along side a pre-existing Ubuntu installation.
However, although I did consult the dual boot posting and article here on the site beforehand, those articles seemed to be about installing Grub. Since I already have it up and working, I was nervous about deleting it and so potentially loosing my working Ubuntu installation.
I tried installing mounting my pre existing /boot/efi partition but the pre-existing vmlinuz-linux file (no doubt from my Ubuntu installation) prevented it from working. My solution was to create the boot folder on the same partition as my Arch installation.
I now have an installation that works (kind of) however, it appears each time I boot up, I have to edit the Grub entry for my Arch installation to update the UUID Grub points to to get it to load up Arch. I can't find where the actual file being loaded in Grub resides (the file that it appears generates this script, is itself built from a series of predefined variables).
I admit I am playing at the moment - I'm keen to get to grips with this distro and am up for considering all options including deleting and starting again to learn to get it set up correctly. My questions are:
How should I have done this so that my Arch linux distro was loaded via Grub called by the UEFI and had the same booting file structure as the already existing Ubuntu installation (using the BOOTLOADER partition and the /boot/efi folders on it)
How do I edit the Grub file for my Arch distro so it stays edited (no more retyping all the UUIDs each time I load it up
Is there a way to get to the installation I currently have to an the more ideal state
Details taken thanks to the bootrepair application are here:
http://paste.ubuntu.com/10682898/
Thanks and regards,
Simon
Last edited by simon_sjw (2015-04-22 11:50:52)

I don't think there are any Ubuntu kernel images on your EFI system partition (they are in /boot, not /boot/efi).
If you want Arch to boot in an EFI system you should mount /boot (rather than /boot/efi) to the EFI system partition.
To do this, copy the /boot folder over to /dev/sda1 and add it to your /etc/fstab (in Arch):
/dev/sda1 /boot vfat rw,relatime,discard,nodev,nosuid,noexec,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro 0 2
It's probably best to install & configure GRUB from Arch rather than Ubuntu because Arch mounts /boot to the ESP while all other distributions mount /boot/efi so the results may get confusing (ie, GRUB may create menu entries to boot Ubuntu with your Arch kernel and vice versa); also the Arch kernel image is booted read-write whereas most other kernel images are booted read-only.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB#UEFI_systems
I find the os-prober script can fail sometimes so this is probably your problem here.
Personally, I use gummiboot to boot my Debian system by copying the kernel image & initial ramdisk to the EFI system partition using these commands in Debian (this would also work in Ubuntu):
# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
# cp /vmlinuz /initrd.img /mnt
Then I make a gummiboot menu entry; your Ubuntu entry would look like this:
title Ubuntu
linux /vmlinuz
initrd /initrd.img
options root=/dev/sda2 ro
Add any kernel parameters after "ro" and make an entry for Arch as well (you may also need to configure /boot/loader/loader.conf as per the ArchWiki page) & install gummiboot from Arch using:
# gummiboot install
You can then create a post-install script at /etc/kernel/postinst.d/zz-update-gummiboot in your Ubuntu system to copy over the kernel image & initrd to the ESP whenever the kernel is updated:
#!/bin/sh
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
cp /vmlinuz /initrd.img /mnt/
umount -R /mnt
Make this executable:
# chmod +x /etc/kernel/postinst.d/zz-update-gummiboot
This method will only work if you have /boot mounted to the EFI system partition (as outlined in the Beginner's Guide).

[Solved] Arch + W8 dual boot, UEFI, partitioning question

Hello,
I'm buying new laptop with preinstalled W8 (Lenovo E430) and I'm planning to dual boot. I've read Beginner's guide, Installation guide, searched forum, etc., but I'm still unsure how to deal with creating partitions for Arch while keeping Windows.
From the Beginners' Guide:
If you are intending to follow the advice to create a GPT partition table then you need to choose "Advanced" and then select "gpt" from the drop-down menu. This cannot be done if you have a pre-existing Windows installation on the drive which you wish not to destroy.
and from the Partitioning:
To dual-boot with Windows, one must use MBR.
A special exception to this rule: dual-booting Windows 64-bit using UEFI instead of BIOS, one must use GPT.
My W8 will be 64bit and also is Arch.
So, my question is. When I shrink W8 partition and create free space for Arch, do I have to choose 'gpt' option (2nd quote) or not (1st quote) for formatting? Or am I reading it totally wrong?
I would give it a try, but that destroying thing kind of scares me.
Last edited by centos (2013-06-18 19:24:58)

The wiki quotes you've presented make it look like the wiki was created with an MBR/BIOS assumption and then poorly edited to incorporate GPT/EFI information. The rules, presented in a more cohesive way, are these:
Windows ties its partition table type to the computer's firmware: under BIOS, Windows requires MBR; and under EFI, Windows requires GPT.
Linux is more flexible: It can use either MBR or GPT under BIOS. In theory, Linux can use either MBR or GPT under EFI, although many EFIs seem to require GPT, so it's best to stick with GPT on EFI-based computers.
When dual-booting, Windows is the limiting factor when it comes to partition table type.
Most EFIs include a Compatibility Support Module (CSM), which enables them to boot BIOS-based OSes. The CSM can usually be enabled or disabled in the firmware setup utility, although the details of how to do this vary from one implementation to another.
Computers that ship with Windows 8 pre-installed almost always use EFI, and therefore GPT.
Converting from MBR to GPT or vice-versa is possible with GPT fdisk (gdisk, cgdisk, or sgdisk), but this requires re-installing the boot loader for any already-installed OS(es). If Windows is one of those OS(es), it's probably not worth the effort.
GParted and parted can convert from MBR to GPT or vice-versa only by destroying existing partition entries, so you should use these tools to make such a change only on a blank disk or if you intend to lose all the existing partitions.
Since you (centos) say you're installing to a computer with a pre-installed Windows 8, you've almost certainly already got an EFI/GPT setup. Under these circumstances, you won't be choosing a partition table type unless you want to completely wipe that installation and install both OSes fresh. GParted will detect the partition table type and work with it automatically; you should not select the option to create a new partition table, which your first quote (partially) describes. You should, however, be sure that you install Arch in EFI mode and that you install an EFI-mode boot manager and/or boot loader, rather than a BIOS-mode version of GRUB. Getting an EFI-mode Windows and a BIOS-mode Linux to coexist is possible, but awkward. Converting a BIOS-mode Linux installation to boot in EFI mode is also possible, if you mistakenly install in BIOS mode; but it's usually easier to install in EFI mode to begin with. There are lots of threads here on EFI-mode Arch installations, as well as information in the Arch wiki on this topic. Unfortunately, EFI is still new enough that there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out, both in specific firmware implementations (many of them are buggy) and in OS support (which is still not as mature as is BIOS support).

Dual booting Arch and Ubuntu

Hi, I would like to dual boot Arch and Ubuntu using GRUB2.
I already have Arch, set up as it's described in the Beginner's Guide, with GRUB2 installed. How would I go about dual booting Ubuntu, preferably without overwriting the existing bootloader?
I haven't tried anything yet, but the problem that I can see is resizing my /home; is this possible on the Ubuntu liveDVD? If not, would I be able to resize /home with my gParted liveCD?
Unfortunately, I have no backup media to use, so I wouldn't be able to transfer anything away as a backup.
Here is my partition table:
%lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 931.5G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 30G 0 part /
├─sda2 8:2 0 12G 0 part [SWAP]
├─sda3 8:3 0 5M 0 part
└─sda4 8:4 0 889.5G 0 part /home
sda1 is my root partition, sda2 is swap, sda3 is GRUB's boot partition, which I was told that I needed in the guide, and sda4 (/home) occupies the "rest of the disk".
I am using a GPT-partitioned drive, as I read this has many advantages and I do not plan to triple-boot Windows.
So, can someone tell me what I do if I want to dual boot Ubuntu? I'm very sorry if this should have been posted on the Ubuntu forums, but I'm just more familiar with Arch, and I already have it installed. Please ask if you need any other files like my fstab. I have my Ubuntu liveDVD, GParted live CD (and Arch CD) at hand.
Thanks in advance, rberyl.
(Also, does anyone else think it's a bit of a backwards thing to put the output of "date -u +%W$(uname)|sha256sum|sed 's/\W//g'" as a sign-up question? )
Last edited by rberyl (2012-12-29 11:45:23)

Hi rberyl,
You can change your partitions using an inbuilt tool like cfdisk, or if you'd prefer a GUI gparted can be installed from the Arch repos. This will allow you to shrink sda4, and set up the new partitions for your Ubuntu OS. Although this shouldn't cause any data loss, its best practice to back up just in case.
When installing Ubuntu, be sure to opt-out of bootloader creation. I think you have to use the alternate installation media to get this option. You can add your Ubuntu partition to the existing bootloader by running osprober (available from the repos) and then running grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg . Alternatively, you can manually edit your GRUB config. See https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GR … NU.2FLinux for instructions.
Good luck!
Last edited by smazza (2012-12-29 16:04:08)

Dual booting arch (usb) and ubuntu (grub2)

Greetings,
I'm trying to dual boot Arch linux (installed without a bootloader on a USB SSD) and Ubuntu 10.04 (installed on a hdd with GRUB2) but can't get Arch to boot. (Oh and I already have windows dualbooted)
The entry grub autogenerated:
menuentry "Arch Linux [/boot/vmlinuz26] (on /dev/sdb3)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 95d9208a-44e4-48ba-abd2-a365d1ac25ff
linux /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda3 ro
initrd /kernel26.img
Why did it input root=/dev/sda3 as it says (on /dev/sdb3)?
The entry I figured would work:
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
set root=(hd1,0)
linux /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sdb3 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
Output from fdisk -l:
Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xbc4264d9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 13 102400 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 13 5286 42353664 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda3 5286 19458 113831937 5 Extended
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda5 18971 19458 3905536 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 5286 6502 9764864 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 6502 18971 100155392 83 Linux
Partition table entries are not in disk order
WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sdb'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.
Disk /dev/sdb: 8019 MB, 8019509248 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 974 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 13 104391 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 14 111 787185 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3 112 685 4610655 83 Linux
/dev/sdb4 686 974 2321392+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 is the root partition
The content of /dev/sdb1
grub
kernel26-fallback.img
kernel26.img
lost+found
System.map26
vmlinuz26
- If I try to edit the root=/dev/sda3 to /dev/sdb3 it begins booting but doesnt find /dev/sdb3.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Oskar

Greetings,
I'm trying to dual boot Arch linux (installed without a bootloader on a USB SSD) and Ubuntu 10.04 (installed on a hdd with GRUB2) but can't get Arch to boot. (Oh and I already have windows dualbooted)
The entry grub autogenerated:
menuentry "Arch Linux [/boot/vmlinuz26] (on /dev/sdb3)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 95d9208a-44e4-48ba-abd2-a365d1ac25ff
linux /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda3 ro
initrd /kernel26.img
Why did it input root=/dev/sda3 as it says (on /dev/sdb3)?
The entry I figured would work:
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
set root=(hd1,0)
linux /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sdb3 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
Output from fdisk -l:
Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xbc4264d9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 13 102400 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 13 5286 42353664 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda3 5286 19458 113831937 5 Extended
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda5 18971 19458 3905536 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 5286 6502 9764864 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 6502 18971 100155392 83 Linux
Partition table entries are not in disk order
WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sdb'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.
Disk /dev/sdb: 8019 MB, 8019509248 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 974 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 13 104391 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 14 111 787185 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb3 112 685 4610655 83 Linux
/dev/sdb4 686 974 2321392+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 is the root partition
The content of /dev/sdb1
grub
kernel26-fallback.img
kernel26.img
lost+found
System.map26
vmlinuz26
- If I try to edit the root=/dev/sda3 to /dev/sdb3 it begins booting but doesnt find /dev/sdb3.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Oskar

[SOLVED] Wiki page for GPT disks and booting arch using UEFI

Hi guys, I am new to archlinux. I installed archlinux x86_64 just yesterday and I like its customisability. I also like arch wiki. Nowhere else have I seen such extensive documentation, especially about things like HAL, UDEV etc. with proper instructions. Thanks to all archers.
I have installed Archlinux x86_64 in my Dell India Studio 1537 laptop along with Windows 7 Professional x64. Both the OSes boot in UEFI-GPT setup (my UEFI is tianocore.sourceforge.net EDK DUET UEFI64 firmware booting from USB). I boot Archlinux using my own compiled grub2-bzr compiled for both BIOS and UEFI-x64. I have a 1 MB BIOS Boot Partition as required by grub2 for BIOS-GPT booting. My Archlinux system can boot both from bios and from uefi, while Windows can boot only using UEFI.
The official Archlinux installation guide talks about only MBR (or msdos disklabel) partitions and booting from BIOS based systems. With 2TB drives becoming common place and UEFI being implemented (search for Phoenix SecureCore Tiano's 1 second POST operation), I think a proper wiki page describing differences between MBR and GPT, why GPT is better, how to setup arch to boot from GPT. Another page describing steps to setup arch to boot from UEFI (either as a separate page or as an extension of GRUB2 wiki page) is also needed.
Some details regarding Pure GPT (not a Hybrid GPT/MBR setup) and/or UEFI setups :-
Partitioning tools -
GNU Parted for filesystem related tasks
GPT fdisk tool - http://rodsbooks.com/gdisk/ , http://sourceforge.net/projects/gptfdisk/ , pacman -S gdisk (in extra repo) - for non-filesystem related tasks
util-linux-ng fdisk does not support GPT disks
Bootloader - GRUB2 - vanilla grub-legacy does not support GPT and does not support UEFI (Fedora's patched grub-legacy does support both GPT and UEFI) and syslinux does not support GPT (I may be wrong here - seems a gptmbr of syslinux does help in booting from gpt but not sure).
For GRUB2 - Need BIOS Boot Partition to embed GRUB2's core.img in GPT disks - size about 1 MB max - no filesystem
In GPT fdisk partition type code - EF02
In GNU Parted or GParted - bios_grub flag on
For UEFI-GPT booting this special partition is not needed as no embedding takes place. This is needed only in case of BIOS-GPT booting.
Incase of custom kernel configuration - enable CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION for GPT support
CONFIG_EFI for UEFI support (for UEFI even above option required)
CONFIG_EFI_VARS for UEFI Runtime Variables support (optional)
Note: Although GPT is part of UEFI specification, a UEFI system is not needed to boot from/use GPT. BIOS based GPT booting is possible with GRUB2 or Fedora's patched grub-legacy (but not vanilla grub-legacy provided by archlinux). It is also possible to boot Linux in UEFI-MBR setup (again using grub2) but I have not tried it.
Even without UEFI and less than 2TB harddrives, GPT based partitioning has many advantages - secondary GPT header and Partition table, CRC32 checksums. Unique Disk GUID and Filesystem-independent Unique Partition GUIDs, multiple primary partitions (default is 128 partitions, but it can be changed). The only problamatic OS is Windows which does not allow GPT booing unless one has UEFI based system. It allows only UEFI-GPT or BIOS-MBR setups. In linux it just depends on how the bootloader is configured - not a problem with grub2.
I also propose that incase of Auto-prepare Hard Drive, the installer default to GPT for "archlinux only" installs ( ie no dual-boot or triple-boot etc.).
I did not use the official archlinux iso but used archboot 2010.04 R3 as it gave an option of installing to GPT and also provided GRUB2 during bootloader install. I have never edited any wiki page before, thats why I request some one else to start a wiki page with the information given above.
I don't know whether this is the right place, but any Windows (Vista or 7 x64 versions) and Linux dual-boot user who has UEFI-based system with GPT partitioning and wants to get rid of Hybrid MBR setup (to boot Windows) can follow this post http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/lofive … hp/t186440 (outside this forum) - this link describes the way to make Windows boot natively in UEFI-GPT setup. After doing this one can install arch using GRUB2 compiled for UEFI x86_64, and Windows will also see
Last edited by skodabenz (2011-01-30 19:32:48)

Welcome to arch, skodabenz! Offering documentation on third post - all thumbs up
You could start the wiki page in your user-space with what you have, and then invite others to join working on it. Just register a wiki account, navigate to the page you want to start, for example:
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/User:skodabenz/GPT
and click on "edit this page".
As noted in the other thread, arch's legacy grub is patched for gpt support. I don't know about UEFI, but you can always open a bug report asking for the patches from fedora to be included.
edit: the page from Rod Smith is a great resource. I was absolutely terrified at first by all this screwed up GPT/MBR stuff when I tried triple-booting Arch, Win and OS x, but he really does a great job explaining what it is all about.
Last edited by hokasch (2010-05-21 15:44:08)

[SOLVED] Grub refuses to boot Arch on a dual boot

Hi,
After hours of trying things out and searching the web for answers, I finally gave up and joined this helpforum.
I found several similar topics, but none seemed to work.
So here's the deal.
My HDD looks like this
sda1 (/boot)
sda2 (Windows7, bootflag)
sda3 (/swap)
sda5 (/)
sda6 (NTFS ExtraData)
So i'm trying to dual boot windows7 and arch.
my menu.lst looks like this:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,4)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sda5 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
# (1) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux Fallback
root (hd0,4)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sda5 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
# (2) Windows
title Windows 7
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
makeactive
chainloader +1
Windows boots fine, but when I try to boot Arch I get this
Booting 'Arch Linux'
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,4)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sda5 ro
error 15: File not found
Thanks,
Chris
Last edited by preute (2011-12-12 18:51:16)

I think that the lines
root (hd0,4)
are wrong. They are for GRUB's root (which is /boot), not /. So I think it should be
root (hd0,0)
instead.

Dual boot Arch / Windows 8 with grub, uefi and gpt

hi,
(my aplogies for my bad english)
after a fresh installation without worries I have one last problem : starting w8
Partitions :
[root@ToshCM christian]# gdisk -l /dev/sda
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.7
Partition table scan:
MBR: protective
BSD: not present
APM: not present
GPT: present
Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.
Disk /dev/sda: 1465149168 sectors, 698.6 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): BAE3660C-FC6F-11E1-9C45-C6B1BB081CD7
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 1465149134
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 3757 sectors (1.8 MiB)
Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name
1 2048 923647 450.0 MiB 2700 Basic data partition
2 923648 1456127 260.0 MiB EF00 Basic data partition
3 1456128 1718271 128.0 MiB 0C01 Basic data partition
4 1718272 1230518271 585.9 GiB 0700 Basic data partition
5 1445343232 1465147391 9.4 GiB 2700 Basic data partition
6 1230518272 1250998271 9.8 GiB 8200
7 1250998272 1291958271 19.5 GiB 8300
8 1291958272 1445343231 73.1 GiB 8300
2 = efi (fat32)
4 = Windows (ntfs)
6 = swap
7 = /
8 = /home
EFI partition is mounted in /boot/efi
[root@ToshCM christian]# grep efi /etc/fstab
UUID=7CD3-EE8E /boot/efi vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro 0 2
For now I have a grub that works perfectly without Windows
Now I try to follow this page
[root@ToshCM christian]# grub-probe --target=fs_uuid /boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
7CD3-EE8E
[root@ToshCM christian]# grub-probe --target=hints_string /boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
--hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2
I put the result in /etc//grub.d/40_custom
[root@ToshCM christian]# cat /etc/grub.d/40_custom
#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
menuentry "Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8 x86_64 UEFI-GPT" {
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod chain
search --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 7CD3-EE8E
chainloader /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
I regenerates grub.cfg
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
I check the result in /boot/grub/grub.cfg
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
menuentry "Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8 x86_64 UEFI-GPT" {
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod chain
search --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 7CD3-EE8E
chainloader /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
After reboot I can see a fine line with Windows but it has no effect, neither start nor error message
The computer is a Toshiba Satellite C855-1TM
In the BIOS Advanced page "Boot Mode" is [UEFI Boot]
In the Security page "Secure Boot" is [Disabled]
Thanks in advance

vintherine wrote:
the.ridikulus.rat wrote:
@vintherine: Everything you mentioned in the 1st post is correct. In your case the correct commands should be:
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=arch_grub --recheck
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Thanks. I've tried that, get now a single line with Windows, which does not work
EDIT: Are you able to boot Windows independent of GRUB, ie. directly from the firmware boot menu?
I've tried F12 key, found a menu, started on the HD, found a new menu corresponding with the EFI directories (arch_grub, Microsoft....). Microsoft entry sent me on... grub menu
EDIT: Can you try (note the extra line : "set gfxpayload=keep")
It's time for diner (i'm in France). I'll see this in the next hour.
Many thanks
Seems like the actual Windows bootmgfw.efi was overwritten by grubx64.efi or something else. In the boot menu Windows's entry (created by Windows installer) is usually titled "Windows Boot Manager".
EDIT:
Try this. Copy the files from Windows's C:\Windows\Boot\EFI to <EFISYS>/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ . Overwrite any exisitng files, and make sure <EFISYS>/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BCD file exists. That is the Windows equivalent of grub.cfg (although BCD cannot be read easily since it is not a text file). Try your menuentry again.
Last edited by the.ridikulus.rat (2013-09-27 18:29:09)

How to re-enable Beats speakers and sub woofer after configured Windows 8/Ubuntu dual boot?

HP ENvy DV7-7240us
Windows 8 / Linux Ubuntu Dual Boot
No Sound through two front Beats speakers or sub woofer both operating systems after installed Ubuntu 12.10 as dual boot.
Is there a way to at least re-enable the Beats speakers and sub woofer in Windows 8 when I boot on that OS? I am using the UEFI as the boot manager by hitting ESC / F9, and not GRUB2 (Linux).
I did update to "BIOS" (UEFI) F.22 concurrently with the dual boot...possibly this has something to do with it?
I would like to keep the dual boot, but the loss of the Beats speakers is kind of a deal breaker, and virtualization of Linux seems to be buggy in its own right.
I tried re-enabling the sound through right clicking on the speaker icon in the tray, and configuring Playback devices. The only option available is IDT High Definition Audio Codec. Is there another device listing for the Beats speakers that I am missing?
Only other minor issue with the hardware I am aware of is only on the Linux side, that being no pinch to zoom on track pad, which I try not to use anyway.
Thank you.

Have you tried resetting BIOS settings to default? Enter BIOS by tapping/holding F10 key immediately after powering on.Reset to Default settings, usually tap F9,check bottom of screen for correct key.Save & Exit.
******Clicking the Thumbs-Up button is a way to say -Thanks!.******
**Click Accept as Solution on a Reply that solves your issue to help others**

[SOLVED] Arch Linux Duke (2007) Fails to Boot

Folks, I have a unique and challenging problem that has exhausted my Arch Linux skills, and so I am now turning to you.
I have a vintage Pentium Pro 200 system (that’s 200 MHz folks! – 200 MHz 686 architecture – the original 686!), two CPUs, running a dual boot between Windows NT 4.0 and Arch Linux Duke (2007). It has 512 MB of RAM and a 120 GB hard drive, partitioned up between Windows NT and Linux. I built this system new in 2007, hence the dated version of Arch. It has run like a charm all these years, granted not getting that much use. After about a year of no use at all, I fired the system up last week to help with a little research for a blog post I was writing on networking Windows NT 4.0 and Mac OS 8.6. Windows NT 4.0 fired right up with no issue, and after I was done testing what needed to be tested I tried to boot over to Arch.
After a year of disuse, Arch unexpectedly and stubbornly refused to boot. The boot process started up just fine, but towards the end, it declared that it could not mount the root file system on the root device and took a kernel panic and stopped. My Arch skills have gotten a bit rusty in the last few years, but I dusted them off and went to work. My guess was a file system or superblock error. Arch wouldn’t boot, but I dragged out my trusty RIPLinux 2.9 Rescue Live CD and fired it up. It came right up and ran, and I was able to mount the Arch partition and view all the files… everything seemed to be there; it just wouldn’t boot. Windows NT 4.0 AND RIPLinux both boot and run on the machine, so the hardware is fine as well.
A little information on the disk layout. Windows NT 4.0 is in the first partition on the hard drive. The extended partition has a second Windows NT 4.0 partition (sort of a /home partition for Windows NT 4.0), followed by the main Arch partition (the one I am trying to boot), followed by a swap partition and then the largest partition, which I use to share data between Arch and Windows NT 4.0 (I have loaded an ext2/3 driver into Windows NT 4.0 and it happily accesses the Linux partitions on the box).
RIPLinux’s e2fsck did find some issues with the Arch partition and I had it repair them all. I checked again afterwards that all the files were still there, and they were. With the partition now known to be clean, and the superblock repaired from one of the backups, all should have been well. However, Arch still wouldn’t (and still won’t) boot.
RIPLinux has a kind of a chain loader function, so I had it attempt to start up Arch for me. However, this was flummoxed by the fact that Arch addresses all my hard drive partitions as /dev/sdax and RIPLinux addresses them as /dev/hdax. Hence, without a common language, it was hard to get the one to start the other. Still, using this function, I have been able to get a crippled version of Arch running on the machine again. No modules had been loaded, and so it couldn’t do almost anything, but there it was (and is), Arch Linux Duke, at the CLI level. From there, I can see all the files, I can move freely in and out of my user account and the root account, but I can’t make the thing actually boot properly.
If you have read this far, you are a trooper. Summarizing what I know, the hardware is good, the file system is clean, the superblock is good, I can mount it cleanly from a live CD and I can chain load a crippled version of Arch. Here is the boot process blow-by-blow. When I try to do a normal boot, the Windows NT 4.0 loader passes control to the Lilo boot sector I have placed on hda1 (sda1 in Duke’s parlance). Lilo takes over, present a menu and when I select Duke, takes off. Arch Linux Duke starts to boot. It gets a good long way along, all the way along to:
:: Loading udev events [Pass]
:: Mount root Read-only
:: Checking file systems
This is where it stops.
The next thing I see is:
/dev/sda6
The superblock could not be read or does not describe a correct ext2 filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2 filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else) then the superblock is corrupt and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
E2fsck –b 8193 <device>
I then get a sort of character based splash screen that says
**********FILE SYSTEM CHECK FAILED ****************************
* Please repair manually and reboot. Note that the root file system
* is currently mounted read-only. To remount it read-write, type:
* mount –n –o remount,rw /. When you exit the maintenance
* shell, the system will reboot automatically
Give root password for maintenance
At this point, I give the root password and enter the maintenance shell as root. I typed in “mount” and the first entry I got back is
/dev/sda6 on / type ext3 (rw)
This is exactly the root partition that the start up complains about. It is clearly there. I can see it, I can walk around it… it is clearly there. Why won’t it boot? Despite the message, the superblock is fine – it passes every test e2fsck can throw at it.
At this point, I did a “e2fsck /dev/hda6 (which is how RIPLinux would have passed it into Arch” and it says it is “clean”. I suspect that the Superblock message is because Arch sees root as sda6, while RIP passed it in as hda6...
Deciding to see what Arch would be seeing as it tried to set things up in the boot sequence, I tried the following next:
# mknod “/dev/root2” b 3 6
(“3” because RIPLinux refers to my hard drive as IDE, while Arch refers to it by major number “8”, which is SCSI. By the way, it IS an IDE drive – not sure why Arch insists on using the sdx nomenclature instead of hdx)
Then I entered “mount /dev/root2 /mnt/hda6” and “ls /mnt/hda6”
All was well. I can make the node, I can mount it, and I can see the contents. All is clearly well, but something is clearly wrong enough that Arch can’t boot.
I am totally out of ideas. I have tried every trick I know and am out of tricks. I would welcome any insights as to what I could try to get this venerable Arch installation back on its legs.
By the way, the key section of the /etc/lilo.conf file (lest anyone want to know) is:
image = /boot/vmlinuz26
root = /dev/sda6
label = ArchLinux-Duke
initrd = /boot/kernel26.img
read-only
I am stumped. Thanks in advance for any and all pointers you may be able to offer.
Last edited by mac57 (2014-06-02 17:42:21)

Folks, thanks for all your helpful comments, and I wanted to report back to you that I finally overcame the issue, and ArchLinux-Duke (2007) is once again executing flawlessly on my old Pentium Pro 200 system. I won't bother reporting here all the blind allies I went down as I tried to figure out what was wrong, but in the end, literally moments before I was about to give up and overwrite my Arch installation with a new Linux variant (antiX seemed well suited for such old and low power hardware), my attention was drawn to a note I had made in my files back in 2007 about a problem with similar symptoms. In that case, I had just deleted ZenWalk Linux from the hard drive (both Arch and Zen had been on the drive), and merged several partitions to make use of the newly free space. This had changed Arch's view of the drive lettering, and what had been its /dev/sddx root device was now /dev/sdcx. Arch failed to boot, throwing off the same errors I was seeing now. I wish I had recalled that note a month or so ago! It would have saved me a lot of work and a lot of frustration.
At any rate, as a last step, and testing the idea that maybe the drive lettering had changed for some reason, I repeatedly manually booted Arch, specifying root=/dev/sda6, then /dev/sdb6, then /dev/sdd6, and finally, /dev/sdc6. Eureka! Arch now considered itself to be on /dev/sdc6 whereas previously it had been on /dev/sda6. This got me part way there, but the boot failed at the filesystem check stage and threw me into root. I disabled the file system check in /etc/rc.sysinit and got farther. Then I cleaned up /etc/fstab to agree with the new sdc naming, and I was back on the air fully.
So, what had happened was that Arch had changed its view of the drive it was on from sda6 to sdc6. While I could not understand why this "sudden" change had occurred, at least I had a solution, and had Arch back up and running.
Trolling through the rest of my notes, I found the answer. In 2012, the Tekram SCSI card in the machine failed, and I ultimately replaced it with an Adaptec card. The Tekram card did not have a BIOS segment on it. The Adaptec card did. My guess is that this caused the two internal SCSI devices I have built into the system (Iomega ZIP and Jaz respectively) to be enumerated first, claiming the "sda" and "sdb". device names. That left "sdc" for the root device, and that is where Arch went next. This is my guess anyway.
I should have caught this issue back in 2012, at the time, but from my notes, I can see that I tested the new card thoroughly using the Windows NT 4.0 side of the machine, but never thought to bring up Arch as well. Hence, this problem lay dormant for two years, before I attempted to fire up Arch last month and blundered right into it.
It has not all been bad. I have learned more about the ext2 and ext3 file systems and superblocks in the intervening time than I will ever need to use. I have learned how to manually boot Linux on a machine whose BIOS is so old that it cannot address the disk cylinder that the kernel is on and I have completely refreshed the many general Linux skills that used to just flow from my finger tips. It has been a frustrating experience, but ultimately a successful and useful one.
Just wanted to let everyone know that this is now [SOLVED]. I would mark the post as such, but I don't see any obvious way to do that. Thanks again everyone.

[SOLVED] nouveau error while booting arch

Hi!!! I'm newbie to arch, here is an error I can't solve myself. I search in google for solutions but they didn't solved. Please help me to solve this. I dual booted arch linux with window 8.1. After installation, while booting for the first time, this error occurred.
Here is the error I found.
[0.063411] Ignoring BGRT: Invalid status 0 (expected 1)
starting version 218
Arch_Linux: clean, 70622/18677760 files, 1643393/74703025 blocks
[ 15.759913] nouveau E[ PIBUST][0000:01:00.0] HUBO: 0xffffffff (0x1a
[ 15.759952] nouveau E[ PIBUST][0000:01:00.0] GPCO: 0x00000001 (0x1a
[ 15.823494] nouveau E[ PBUS][0000:01:00.0] MMIO: 0x00000000 FAULT a
[ 15.824050] nouveau E[ DRM]Pointer to TMDS table invalid
[ 15.824072] nouveau E[ DRM]Pointer to flat panel table invalid}
Last edited by aaa234 (2015-02-04 04:18:42)

aaa234 wrote:
runical wrote:
That is a different problem to be honest. I assume that you can login using your normal user? If you set up sudo you might be able to get into root by using
sudo su
and change the password like that.
I'm sorry if this is a noob question. Where do I type sudo su because as soon as the OS is booted, the system asks localhost login and password. I haven't installed any desktop environment yet. I only set up a password under arch-chroot but I can't login with and without that password.
I was assuming a normal installed environment with a normal user. Using "sudo su", you can abuse privileges granted by sudo to circumvent the password required by su. A well configured sudo should not allow this, but in this case it seemed likely that the system was not completely set up yet.
problem has been solved with this https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=168879
Then, if there are no more problems, please mark the thread as solved.

How to install Arch for dual-boot with Win 7 (on 2 hard drives)?

Hello,
the TLDR first: how exactly should I proceed when setting up GRUB for 2 hard drives to dual-boot Arch (64 bit)and Win 7 (64 bit)?
Long version: So, I have the following hard drive & partition layout:
On my first hard drive (250 GB big) I have: Win 7 64 bit, all the programs for Windows and of course the EFI partition
My second hard drive is 1 TB big and formatted in NTFS and it only contains data. It has 2 partitions, one is about 750 GB big and used for simple storage.
Sidenote 1: sometimes my disk management (Windows' own gparted) shows either the little disk or the big one as disk 0. Don't know what exactly this means, but I have never ever experienced any problems whatsoever during use.
Sidenote 2: the UEFI motherboard (ASRock H67M) cannot boot into Legacy mode.
I want to install Arch on a ~200 GB partition on the second hard drive (the one with 1 TB). (click here if you want to see a screenshot) I am posting this because I am confused with how exactly I should deal with the whole "2 hdds & UEFI" thing.
So how exactly should I proceed when setting up GRUB for this setup?
For partitioning I suppose I would have to use fdisk or cgdisk. I used cgdisk before and found it to be straightforward. Then, because I have experienced my fair share of problems with rEFInd, I'd like to use GRUB.
Last edited by jones (2013-06-29 14:36:56)

First thing you should do is become familiar with your motherboard.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/manual.asp?Model=H67M
This will probably help you out in understanding the sidenote 1 thingie (hdd's on sata3 and/or sata2 connectors)
As on sidenote 2, according to the manual it seems to be possible to boot legacy mode, see Storage Configuration.

Simple UEFI GPT Dual boot with windows 8 boot partition question.

Hi everyone,
I think it's obvious from the quuestion that I'm a newbie here (and from the location of the post) but I have read (several times):
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/UEFI
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/UEFI_Bootloaders
and the incredibly helpful:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginner%27s_Guide
along with many forum posts. unfortunately this:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … _Dual_Boot
appears out of date and so I need to ask you fine people my question.
If I want to dual boot Arch with my Windows 8 my question is on the boot partition. I have an existing windows EFI boot partition. should I mount this partition to my "/mnt/boot/efi" folder and then copy the files to this partition when I am setting up rEFInd (my chosen bootloader from wiki page, comments/suggestions are welcome) or should I setup a separate boot partition for my arch installation. I assume from reading about rEFInd that the former is how I should do it as this seems to be how refind would be able to "see" my windows bootloader.
The reason I am double checking and asking here is I know that windows can be a temperamental beast and is very prone to not booting so I don't want to mess with the windows boot partition unduly.
Thanks in advance guys, looking forward to getting my arch working!
Last edited by crashandburn4 (2013-03-03 13:42:43)

$esp = EFI System Partition?
also, ok, gummiboot, I'm glad I can mount the esp as /boot (that was my original thought but reread the tutorial and wasn't sure) just double checking, it is the esp created by windows 8 that I mount?
in addition, as I am slightly new to this is there any tutorial that can tell me how to set up gummiboot? I've looked here:
http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/gummiboot
but don't see anything in the way of detailed instructions.
from your post: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=159061
I'm gonna guess it's something like this (please let me know if this is right)
/mount $ESP /mnt/boot
pacman -S gummiboot
(after chrooting)
//exit chroot
gummiboot
*stuff saying gummiboot is not configured*
gummiboot install
is it something like that? can anyone point me towards a manual
Last edited by crashandburn4 (2013-03-03 14:58:53)

[Success] Dual Booting Arch and Windows 7 [Advice / Confirmation]

So I have been trying to get Starcraft II to work with wine and no luck.
I have decided to install windows back on my computer, besides it might come in handy since I'm heading back to school soon.
Anyways I have tried dual booting arch and windows in the past, and my results have never been stable.
Today I will try using the program gparted.
Let me give you my thoughts on how I plan to go through this and please give me some advice so I don't loose everything I have worked for on my linux box
1.Currently I have two hard drives, one for all my main programs and one for my media files (mounting usb, dvd, etc, and it actually has no files in it xD).
I plan to use gparted to re-size my second harddrive (media drive), create an extended partition, and a logical ntfs partition within it.
2.I pop in my windows cd that I recieved with my laptop and install it on the space I have partitioned for windows.
3. If my grub gets wiped out my windows (which I hope it doesn't not sure how the MBR stuff works) I insert a Ubuntu live cd and do
sudo grub
> root (hd0,0)
> setup (hd0)
> exit
4.Configure grub to boot windows 7.
5.Be happy with no headache.
SO....
If someone with past experience with dual booting windows and arch could please give me some advice, as I do not want to lose all my data, start over, and have another headache.
I know I must learn to backup arch, which I will before september.
But if anyone has any protips, or sees a flaw in my plan please point it out!!!
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and even more if advice has been given to boost my confidence!
For now I will wait
Thank you fellow archies.
Last edited by Jabrick (2011-07-03 01:29:36)

satanselbow wrote:
1) Windows must be installed to a primary partition - attempting to install it to an logical partition will result in an epic fail
2) Physically disconnect the harddrive you do not want windows on as windows typically installs the bootloader on the 1st hardisk (ie /sda) regardless of installation drive (ie /sdb)
3 / 4) Complete the windows installation then reattached your Arch drive and edit /boot/grub/menu.lst (as root) pointing the W7 entry to (hd1,0) - no need to reinstall grub
5) Hey it's windows - anything could happen
If you create an NTFS partition right at the beginning of the the drive before you start the W7 install you can prevent it greedily using up 2 of you 4 primary partitions - I would also completely update you new W7 installation past SP1 before reattaching the other drive to further prevent W7 going mental
satanselbow thank you so much!
Everything works great I had no stumbles, and I hope no problems in the future!!
I will post exactly what I did in case someone has the same issue.
1. Partition you're secondary harddrive as primary ntfs with gparted
2. Reboot, and if you get a file system check error, check you're udev rules. (For my case in particular I had to change the udev rules I got for auto mounting usb, ext harddrive, etc.
3.Power off your computer and physically remove the harddrive that contains all your linux goodies
4. Plug in your windows cd and install in the partition you created
5. Update your windows OS
6. Plug in Ubuntu live CD and reboot
7. Use commands to get grub to overwrite the windows boot loader (In my case I put grub everyone hd0,0 hd0,1 just to be sure, but you might want to do things cleaner)
8. Reboot and see if grub loads up
9. Use Ubuntu live CD again and launch Gparted, select the boot to your extra linux space (if you had one, not sure if this is needed)
10. Plug in your linux harddrive and reconfigure /boot/grub/menu.lst and your good to go
Once again shout outs to satanselbow!!! For without him I might've failed brutally!
Cheers!

[SOLVED] Lenovo T530 UEFI Arch/Ubuntu Dual boot - Arch fails to boot.

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