[Solved]Which partitions...removed on Windows 8.1...laptop...dual boot

I'm looking to dual boot Arch Linux and Windows on my laptop I recently purchased. It came with the following partition setup.
I assume I can remove the backup partitions, but can I remove the 500 MB EFI partition and replace it with a new EFI System Partition? Will I also need a separate boot partition as well (or can the kernel images just go on the Linux partition)?
Also, this guide does all of the partition management on Windows itself. Is this safer than using the gparted live-cd?
Thanks in advance.
Original title: Which partitions can be removed on Windows 8.1 OEM laptop to dual boot
Last edited by avr (2015-01-24 21:27:48)

Stop.
Breathe.
Read up on UEFI, EFI System Partitions, and EFI boot managers.
avr wrote:
WorMzy wrote:
avr wrote:can I remove the 500 MB EFI partition and replace it with a new EFI System Partition?
Why would you want to do this?
Save space.
This makes no sense.
I heard the order of the partitions for booting on a UEFI system matters.
It doesn't. Your ESP doesn't even need to be on the same disk as your OS.

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quote
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry 'Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menue$
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint$
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root F010D97410D941F0
fi
chainloader +1
unquote
for Arch set root value is hd1,msdos1 and working fine.
Thanks and regards.
Last edited by commsanjay (2012-10-14 08:08:54)

This is exactly why I have chosen to use windows MBR and syslinux
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … oot-loader
Last edited by ackt1c (2012-10-14 02:32:55)

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Hey!
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What you're trying to do now is:
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Greetings!
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Last edited by kamigr (2010-01-12 14:35:07)

naequs wrote:
bumping this because i have the EXACT same problem !
however i installed grub to sda1 because i didnt want my installs to mess with each other (not that ive had any problems with grub in mbr though...) .
this just looked cleaner to me.
if anyone has figured out how to prevent windows from automagically changing the bootgflag, id like to know !
but maybe this is a question more suitable for a windoze forum
tia
/edit: seriously, ive been searching the net for some time now, including irc chans and there seems to be no solution to this ! all threads similar to this just end dead !
i hate how windows claims to own my computer!
1. don't necrobump
2. as mentioned in the thread, just install grub to mbr and chainload windows. It works just fine and is the easiest way to get it working reliable.

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[SOLVED]Removed Syslinux by Accident Cannot Setup Dual Boot Win8/Arch

by accident I removed initial sector and could not boot neither system. Now I`ve setup a grub where I can at least boot windows. I still have the config files from syslinux in:
/dev/sdb5
Grub and Syslinux are there. Before the removal I was using syslinux.
Syslinux.conf holds the following contents:
# Config file for Syslinux -
# /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg
# Comboot modules:
# * menu.c32 - provides a text menu
# * vesamenu.c32 - provides a graphical menu
# * chain.c32 - chainload MBRs, partition boot sectors, Windows bootloaders
# * hdt.c32 - hardware detection tool
# * reboot.c32 - reboots the system
# * poweroff.com - shutdown the system
# To Use: Copy the respective files from /usr/lib/syslinux to /boot/syslinux.
# If /usr and /boot are on the same file system, symlink the files instead
# of copying them.
# If you do not use a menu, a 'boot:' prompt will be shown and the system
# will boot automatically after 5 seconds.
# Please review the wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Syslinux
# The wiki provides further configuration examples
DEFAULT arch
PROMPT 0 # Set to 1 if you always want to display the boot: prompt
TIMEOUT 50
# You can create syslinux keymaps with the keytab-lilo tool
#KBDMAP de.ktl
# Menu Configuration
# Either menu.c32 or vesamenu32.c32 must be copied to /boot/syslinux
UI menu.c32
#UI vesamenu.c32
# Refer to http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/Doc/menu
MENU TITLE Arch Linux
#MENU BACKGROUND splash.png
MENU COLOR border 30;44 #40ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR title 1;36;44 #9033ccff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR sel 7;37;40 #e0ffffff #20ffffff all
MENU COLOR unsel 37;44 #50ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR help 37;40 #c0ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR timeout_msg 37;40 #80ffffff #00000000 std
MENU COLOR timeout 1;37;40 #c0ffffff #00000000 std
MENU COLOR msg07 37;40 #90ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR tabmsg 31;40 #30ffffff #00000000 std
# boot sections follow
# TIP: If you want a 1024x768 framebuffer, add "vga=773" to your kernel line.
LABEL arch
MENU LABEL Arch Linux
LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
APPEND root=UUID=8084cf06-452a-4e04-a89a-0f017461b727 ro quiet
INITRD ../initramfs-linux.img
LABEL archfallback
MENU LABEL Arch Linux Fallback
LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
APPEND root=UUID=8084cf06-452a-4e04-a89a-0f017461b727 ro
INITRD ../initramfs-linux-fallback.img
LABEL windows
MENU LABEL Windows
COM32 chain.c32
APPEND hd0 1
LABEL hdt
MENU LABEL HDT (Hardware Detection Tool)
COM32 hdt.c32
LABEL reboot
MENU LABEL Reboot
COM32 reboot.c32
LABEL off
MENU LABEL Power Off
COMBOOT poweroff.com
Arch is located at /dev/sdb3
I would like to recover it. Is it possible? At the momment. I have grub able to boot windows. Can I make the transition back to my old syslinux? If so how should I proceed?
I also have grub in /dev/sdb3 where arch is located. How do I set /dev/sdb5 back to the "default" loader?
UPDATE:
Fixed with help of people in #arch at freenode.
All I had to to was to run syslinux-install_update -iam /dev/sdb and it did rewrite my mbr.
Regards,
vfbsilva
Last edited by vfbsilva (2013-08-05 18:58:23)

Stop.
Breathe.
Read up on UEFI, EFI System Partitions, and EFI boot managers.
avr wrote:
WorMzy wrote:
avr wrote:can I remove the 500 MB EFI partition and replace it with a new EFI System Partition?
Why would you want to do this?
Save space.
This makes no sense.
I heard the order of the partitions for booting on a UEFI system matters.
It doesn't. Your ESP doesn't even need to be on the same disk as your OS.

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Sure. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. Select the topmost entry for your hard drive - mfgr.'s ID and drive size - then click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. You should see a partition window surrounded in a light blue rectangle. At the bottom is a sizing gadget. Select it and push up to reduce the size of the existing partition enough for the size of the new partition you desire. Do not reduce it too much or you may not have enough space for your existing partition. The click on the [+] button to add a new partition in the space you've created. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. It will take a little while so be patient. When it is completed you now have the new volume mounted on your Desktop.

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Then the issue began. I noticed that in Windows 8.1, when I put the computer to sleep, I would lose my audio device. When I restarted it would still be gone, only a full shutdown would bring it back. I also began to lose my audio device in Windows 7 either after sleep or entirely from a cold startup.
I have tried everything. Uninstalled and reinstalled the realtek drivers under windows 7 and 8.1 multiple times, tried to get microsoft HD audio drivers to install, even attempted a regedit fix I found on pcgamer.com. Nothing has gotten me to the point where I can consistently sleep the computer in both OSes and regain sound, or restart between OSes and keep the sound. Sometimes I can sleep the computer and keep sound, however once I lose it, I must shutdown and startup again to regain it.
The hard drive still has the original partitions from Dell. I don't know if this has any effect. My Windows 7 partition is 60 GB.
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Well every so often the audio device stops working and it seems to disappear and reappear periodically. No audio will play and audio tests fail.
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[Solved]Which partitions...removed on Windows 8.1...laptop...dual boot

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