Windows 7 already installed.. how to dual boot with archlinux?

Hi, I have already windows 7 installed on my laptop and as I want to start with arch linux, I now want to dual boot. I want both OS on the same SSD. I could install archlinux on my 2nd hdd but that would be a performance loss compared to an installation my my SSD. As my windows partition already has a fixed size (the fully 79gb or my 80gb SSD), how can i get archlinux on it? Also, can i simply delete archlinux later and windows 7 will work just fine?
Thanks

Deemoney14 wrote:
Stephanie wrote:If you let GRUB override the Windows bootloader during install you will have to reinstal it if you delete Linux and need the Windows bootloader again.
You just need to restore the bootloader to the MBR, which is easily done with tools like Super Grub Disk.
Its easier than that, boot off a Windows XP install CD, go into recovery mode and type "fixmbr" and it will be back to normal
To get it working op, you will need to make room on the disk for Arch (shrink your Winxp partition), install Arch onto the spare disk and then tell Grub where your XP is located (theres normally a commented out option at the end of /boot/grub/menu.lst anyway).

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Dual boot with archlinux and windows issue

Hi again!
This is what i did from the beginning :
windows was already installed and then i installed archlinux after shrinking the windows partition . I made a partition for boot , one for swap and one for root(i wanted to do for home too , but only 4 primary partitions are allowed) . I made the boot partition bootable , and so was windows bootable and i got the message that there are two bootable partitions so it couldn't write the partition table . So removed the bootable tag from windows and left only the boot partition bootable . I then installed the grubloader to boot partition and then i edited that grubmenu and uncomment the part where windows was like it says in wiki. After restarting i could see the menu to choose between archlinux and windows , i chose windows , i succesfully logged in and after restarting again i couldn't see the grubloader and i automatically logged in windows .
Does anyone know what might be the issue ??
Thanks !
Last edited by shak (2009-03-27 20:20:30)

yes i only have one hard rive , i managed to find a solution not that elegant though , i 've installed acronis os selector from windows and i can choose between windows and linux with acronis on boot . If i choose linux i get to the grub menu and i can choose between arch linux and windows . So it seems that the grub menu is still there but it doesn't appear when i boot for some reason .
Last edited by shak (2009-03-27 20:34:40)

How to dual boot with Windows 8.1 and Arch?

Hello everyone,
I've been looking into using Linux as my daily driver since having some experience with it on a server. After some digging around, I think Arch Linux is the best distro for me, now onto where I am.
I'm currently running Windows 8.1 (updated from Windows 8, which updated from Windows 7) on a Dell Inspiron 15R SE laptop, I want to dual boot Arch Linux with it. I've looked at the wiki and I'm still not entirely sure what to do.
Can anyone give me a quick list of steps of what to do to dual boot this? I've dual booted Ubuntu in the past and it was really simple because an installer did it all.
Thanks, Expi.

stqn wrote:
Expi1 wrote:Thanks, I'm mostly struggling with how to partition for Arch and then how to do the bootloader. I'm using Win8 64-bit and from what I understand a Legacy BIOS bootloader. I'm not entirely sure what I should be partitioning the C: into, I've done partitions before, just not for Arch and then I'm not sure whether to use GRUB or syslinux, or if I even need those. Or if I need to use GPT or MBR?
Your disk is already partitionned so you don’t have to choose between GPT or MBR, the choice is already made.
You don’t partition “C:”, that is the name of a Windows partition. You partition a drive.
Grub or syslinux, use whatever the beginners guide tells you to. Personally I think syslinux is simpler which is why I’m using it (but I’m not dual-booting, if that matters).
You’re not saying what your problem is with partitionning, so it’s hard to help.
Thanks for getting back to me, I'm not sure if I just create one large partition for Archlinux or if I have to create multiple? Where I'm also confused is with the Creating Filesystems part of the guide. I don't understand how I'd do this in Windows, or what /dev/sda1 is referring to.
As for the bootloader part, the Beginner's Guide gives you a choice between syslinux and grub, what I'm not sure about is which to use considering I'm dualbooting. How it will affect my windows bootloader, do I disregard that and use GRUB now? I'm unclear on how that works.
I'm also aware I need to disable Secure Boot, I just searched my BIOS options and couldn't find anything remotely relating to that, so I'm assuming it's not an issue since this computer was originally on Windows 7 anyway?
Thanks again, Expi.
Last edited by Expi1 (2014-03-06 19:54:30)

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.

[Y50] Dual Booting With Archlinux

I already know ow to install Arch on a UEFI system. Although is there a way to add to a list so secure boot can stay enabled? For my main question: Since the Y50 is in UEFI mode, does that mean whenever I remove the GRUB 2 bootloader then I can just start booting from the Windows one? Do I save the bootloaderinto the boot partition or the EFI one? One more question. I know that the Y50 uses a TN panel so the viewing angle is bad, but is there any way to improve the color?

If Archlinux is UEFI compatible (as is Ubuntu) then there's no need to disable it - it will boot perfectly OK as will Windows 8.
Warning - do NOT use the Archlinux partitioning tool to create the free space to install it it - if you do then you may corrupt the Windows 8 install.
Use a utility within Windows 8 to create the free space.
Yoiu should install the Gruub Bootloader on the EFI partition.
HTH

Arch does not show up in Grub when dual booting with windows 8

I just installed Arch linux, dual booting with windows 8 using the beginners guide[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_Guide] itself. Now Grub is installed and i can only find Windows 8 and I cannot find Arch. Is there a way I can find if arch linux has been installed and show up in Grub.
Sorry, I am a newbie, but i chose to post this topic here and not newbie corner as it is installation related.
My windows 8 is installed on /dev/sda1 with ntfs partition type. Arch Linux is installed on /dev/sda6 and it is ext4 partition. I dont know if this info helps. I am using Thinkpad R61
Last edited by sutro_droid (2013-03-06 00:30:48)

ivokosir wrote:It may be that you didn't install os-prober before running grub-mkconfig. This happened to me once, I hope I'm not too late to warn you.
I am sorry, yes you are too late. I have wiped windows 8 and performed clean install. No regrets. And as a matter of fact, I did grub-config and then installed os-prober. That could be the problem. Thanks. I will try this again another time.

How do I expand Windows after already installing Boot Camp

How do I expand my Windows after already installing Boot Camp? I'm almost out of space.

Buy a copy of CampTune and use it.

[SOLVED] How to dual boot windows on separate drive with syslinux

I'm trying to follow the directions from the arch syslinux wiki to add a windows dual boot option to my current syslinux.
I have two hard drives: sda (windows MBR) and sdc (arch linux GPT). My BIOS is set to boot sdc, and syslinux is currently installed fine to boot arch linux off of sdc. I would like to add an entry to boot windows.
I added an entry to /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg that looks like
LABEL windows
MENU LABEL Windows
COM32 chain.c32
APPEND mbr:0xf00f1fd3 # my actual identifier for sda from fdisk is here
When I rebooted, I saw the new entry in the syslinux menu. When I went to arch linux, it booted fine. When I rebooted again and selected windows, it hung with a blinking underscore. The next time I rebooted, it didn't even get to the syslinux menu and just hung with a blinking underscore.
I booted from my rescue arch usb drive. In fdisk, sdc's partition table now mirrored sda's! In other words, it looked like I had windows partitions on my linux drive, and it had the same MBR identifier even though it was supposed to be GPT. I ran gdisk /dev/sdc, it detected both GPT and MBR, and I asked it to use the GPT table and wrote out the partitions, and my drive looked normal again. I ran arch-chroot, syslinux-install_update, and everything was fine the next time I booted.
Any advice on how I can set up windows dual boot with syslinux?
Last edited by mikemintz (2013-08-17 18:25:46)

I am assuming that you use Bios and not UEFI (I am not that quite familiar with UEFI).
1) You must configure the Bios to boot from the disk where syslinux is installed, having a correct mbr and with syslinux correctly installed.
2) The disk where windows reside must be bootable by itself with a valid mbr.
It may be possible that windows try to boot from the linux disk (and of course fails), try to add the swap option to the chain command.
To check if Windows is correctly installed, try to boot it directly from the Bios.
The mbr of the syslinux disk should be gptmbr.bin:
dd if=/usr/lib/syslinux/gptmbr.bin of=/dev/sd<letter of the linux disk> bs=440 count=1
Warning: Be very careful with what you do with dd, it is very easy to destroy all your data!
Last edited by olive (2013-08-17 08:31:44)

Unable to install windows 7 and fedora in a dual boot even with windows 8 and fedora also

Unable to install fedora in dual boot please help me to install, is my system supports windows 7 or not with fedora or windows 8.1 with fedora please help me i need very urgent installation of fedora

Hi @siddu007 ,
Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forums and Welcome. I have looked into your issue about your HP 15-r262tu Notebook and issues with Dual booting Fedora. Here is the support site for Linux for troubleshooting.
Here is a link to Microsoft on your Downgrade Rights. Some features will not be available in a different OS.
Thanks.
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom to say “Thanks” for helping!

How to dual boot window 8.1 64 bit with xp sp1?

Hello Hp PC Experts,
Sir i was bought HP 15-r119TU two week ago. So i face problem of dual boot with this HP note book. I need dual boot window 8.1 64 bit with XP SP1. Kindly help me at the earliest possible.

@mp56
‎Thank you for using HP Support Forum. I have brought your issue to the appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post ( serial numbers and case details).
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Thank you,
Omar
I Work for HP

Help - How to install Win XP in dual boot with Win 7 (first installed)?

Hi everybody!
I'm having some difficult in install a win xp in dual boot with win 7 (which came with the G550 notebook).
I modified the D: (Lenovo) partition to a primary partition to install the XP. Also I installed the EasyBCD to manange the boots and both S.O. load fine.
The problem is that Win XP is seeing a partition (the first partition on disk) with 200MB that is hidden for Win 7 ! So this partition takes the C: letter in XP and mess all the configuration once that many programs uses the C: as a default letter.
The disk is divided in (aprox):
200 MB hidden partition (from factory)
160GB with Win 7 installed
40GB with Win XP installed
19GB hidden partition (Recovery - from factory)
Is anyone has some idea who to solve this problem or make install XP from the beginning without problems?
Thank a lot!

jay4baps wrote:
Are you sure VMWare Fusion 6 is Launched??? give me link then i download it...
It's version 3.1

T400s Linux/Windows dual boot with Linux from Esata Flash Drive

This project is about a dual boot Windows/Linux system without using the normal dual boot changes in the bootloader of the windows hard drive. When I started this I found bits and pieces of information on the web but no complete description so I wrote this post.
I have done a dual boot system on my previous Thinkpad where I had partitioned the hard drive between Linux and windows. For this project I wanted to leave the windows hard drive absolutely intact and unaltered, and boot Linux from a flash drive in the esata port on the back of the T400s. Obviously this uses the F12 boot list function key to boot from the flash. The advantage of this is that Windows is totally unaltered and when I need Linux, I plug in the esata flash drive, hit F12 during the boot cycle and select booting from the esata flash drive. The reason for Esata rather than USB is simply speed. I have a nice fast Linux installation.
I used the OCZ esata flash drive but suspect any of the alternatives will work. It did not need the accessory usb cable because the Thinkpad powered the esata flash directly.
To boot from the esata drive I had to make the following changes in the bios
    I left the esata flash plugged in as I went into the bios
    Bios>config>Serial ATA and changed the Sata controller mode option to compatibility
    Restart and back into the Bios
    Bios>startup>boot - in my case the esata flash drive showed up as ATA HDD2 and was excluded from the boot order so I had to un-exclude it and move it to the point in the boot order that I wanted.
Next I downloaded a linux installation iso and put it on a CD - in my case opensuse. Then booted from the CD
From now on this instructions are specific to opensuse and yast but can be generalized to whatever Linux is being used.
In my case yast came up with a good set of suggestions for automatically partitioning the flash drive but then crashed during the partitioning itself. So I rebooted and specified the partitions manually.
    A fat32 partition left as a partition which both windows and Linux could see (in my case about 20% of the drive) (/dev/sdb1)
    An extended partition with the remainder of the drive (/dev/sdb2) which contains the following logical partitions
    A linux Swap partition of 2GB (/dev/sdb5)
    A linux /home partition –the remainder of the drive (/dev/sdb6)
    A linux /root partition of 8GB (/dev/sdb7)
Yast automatically suggested mount points of C,D,E for the windows partitions. Unfortunately because of the way the Thinkpad hard drive was laid out Yast had C assigned the ThinkPad Service partition and D assigned to the SW_Preload (or main windows partition). However there was an edit function that allows for the reversal of those mount points so that the windows C drive is mounted in Linux as Windows/C thereby avoiding confusion. I had already backed up and removed the Thinkpad factory install data so I did not have to deal with that. Yast suggested Windows/E for the mount point of the FAT32 partition on the flash drive, which I accepted.
The yast install configurator made all this manual selection easy, and after the manual configuration the partitioning worked perfectly.
Next step was Linux user configuration which went fine
Next was booting.
In the section management tab
    delete the windows 1 and 2 options (since we are not dual booting directly)
In the boot loader installation tab
    uncheck boot from mbr ( this stops the install from installing Grub and dual boot on the windows c drive
    check boot from root partition (this installs grub and all associated files in the Linux root partition (/dev/sdb6)
I believe that the correct procedure at this point is to click Boot Loader installation details which will bring up the Grub device map. In the device map there will be a line for the fixed hard drive (aka the windows drive) and a line for the esata flash drive. When the installer started up these were in hard drive and esata drive order. However when we boot directly from the flash the esata drive will be grub drive hd0 and the fixed hard drive will be grub hd1. The device map order needs to be changed to reflect this ie the esata drive should be first not second.
I did not do this and ended up initially doing Grub command line editing to boot and later manually editing the grub files using information I had previously learned the hard way and through google.
At this point let the installer go ahead and install Linux. After doing this it should come back and tell you to reboot. Do not do it yet because we need to install the MBR into the flash drive.
I suspect that there is a way of doing this in Yast running from the Live CD but it was not obvious to me so I used the manual method that I have used before.
Open a root terminal
Mount /dev/sdb6 to /mnt/sdb6 (my linux root)
Touch /mnt/sdb6/boot/grub/flag
The purpose of this is when we go looking later at the grub command prompt we need an easy to find unique file
Start grub and do the following
#grub
            grub> find /boot/grub/flag
                (hd1,5)    -- the result of the find in my example
            grub> root (hd1,5)   -- using the result of the find in my example
            grub> setup (hd1)   -- install mbr -- my example parameters - if you get this wrong you will trash some other drive!!!
                  hopefully grub announces success
            grub> quit
Reboot and select the flash drive. In my case I still had the grub devicemap wrong and had to edit the grub commands during boot to tell grub how to find the correct partition and then edit them again after booting
Typical linux install issues that we all always seem to have and can be solved with a little (or a lot of) google research.
As I said at the beginning I now have an untouched windows installation and a nice fast Linux installation. I hope that this will be of some use to someone.

Hi chrissh
i tried this exact procedure... on the exact same notebook (T400s). However, as soon as I set the
   Bios>config>Serial ATA to "compatibility", I cannot use my default Windows installation! I immediately get the "blue screen of death".
I doubt I did anything differently since this is the first step of your procedure and my laptop is brand new!
any idea?

How to dual-boot/boot other OS on a K410?

I understand that my K410 model has Windows 8 OEM as standard, and I want to dual-boot another operating system over it. However, I have heard people claiming that this can potentially corrupt the Lenovo recovery section, so would it be possible to install Windows 7 over a secondary HDD? And can this be done if the motherboard is already tied to a Windows 8 x64 version?
Thanks

hi gibson221,
Yes, it's possible to dual boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 with Windows 8 installed first.
Try this method:
1. Turn OFF the PC and remove the stock HDD and install the new HDD (see page 29 of the hardware maintenance manual for instructions)
2. Turn ON the PC and boot into the BIOS by pressing F1. When you're in, navigate to the Startup & Exit Tab and set the following settings:
UEFI Boot Mode = Legacy
Secure Boot = Disabled (if applicable)
CSM = Disabled or Legacy (if applicable)
OS Optimized Default = Disabled or Legacy (if applicable)
Then go to "Primary Boot Sequence" on the startup tab and set the priority to the following:
1st = Optical Disc Drive
2nd = Stock HDD
3rd = New HDD
When finished, press F10 to save and exit BIOS.
3. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc and install the OS on the new HDD. When done, remove your Windows 7 installation disc and turn off your PC.
4. Reconnect the stock HDD then turn ON the PC. The unit should boot into Windows 8. When you're in, install EasyBCD and add a WIndows 7 entry into the Boot Menu.
Check this articles in reference:
How to Dual Boot Windows 8 with Windows 7
Adding a Windows 7 Entry
Hope this helps.
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Dual Booting with Windows 8 and 7 Pro in a G6 - 2235us Notebook

I have a G6 - 2235us Notebook 64 bit that came with Windows 8.0 installed.
I would like to install Windows 7 Pro and make it dual book with Windows 8.0 with 7 as the default to start.
Would you please give me steps as to how to proceed and also the drivers, etc I would need to download.
Thank you.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Thank you Paul. I understad I just have one more question:
I found this page that gives info about dual booting:
http://www.pagestart.com/win8dbwin701181301.html
From your expertise, would you say the steps suggested on that
page could succeed for making Win 8 and 7 dual boot in this particular machine?

Internet working in windows xp, not working in leopard (dual boot)

i have a problem with connecting to the internet in leopard, but not in windows xp. i'm on a dual boot machine (mac mini g5 1.66).
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Windows 7 already installed.. how to dual boot with archlinux?

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