My Windows Boot Manager is gone! 1

[javierdlm001]

Hi all!

I am setting up a dual boot system (Win10 & Ubuntu) in a 2 year old desktop pc.
I had Windows 10 reinstalled just a couple days ago. In my 1 Tb HD.
Then I installed Ubuntu in my 120 Gb SSD.
Then Grub was not found, so it would boot straight to Windows 10. Which I was expecting.
Then I disabled fast startup in Windows 10, I forgot to disable fast boot in UEFI settings. I can't do the latter now because WBM is not available to boot from.
Then I used bcdedit to set a new entry for Ubuntu: bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi (I can't recall where I got it from, but here they have a very similar tutorial). I had used this trick before and it worked.
Then I rebooted, but instead of showing me Grub, it was a black screen with two lines of text: Reboot and Select proper Boot Device or Insert Boot Media in selected device and press any key.
Then I went in the BIOS, and that's when I no longer saw Windows Boot Manager as an option!
I booted off from Boot Repair Disk, and supposedly fixed Grub, but I still can't see WBM, and even though I do see Ubuntu in Bios, it still yields the above line of text (Reboot and Select...). But BRD generated a report, here it is
Presently, and temporarily, I am only able to boot into Ubuntu or Windows 10 as long as I first boot off from a rEFInd Live USB drive. The rEFInd finds them both and allows me to choose.

Hopefully the BRD report can help you to see what's going on.
The way I see it, I need to either remake/repair the MBR for Win10, or have it in the right disk. Something along those lines, I guess.

Thanks in advance!

 

[javierdlm001]

It's all good now!
I just booted Win10 with Shift, then I went to Advd ops/Start-up Repair (Fix problems that keep Windows from loading). Strangely it said it was not successful. Then I went to UEFI Firmware Settings, but when I clicked that choice it only had a Restart button available. It brings you to the BIOS. But once there, in the Boot Options tab, there was nothing that would allow me to turn off/on Fast Boot.
Windows Boot Manager was nowhere in sight still.
Then I restarted, and Grub showed up! Along with the Windows choices too.
So I no longer need to boot from the rEFInd USB drive.

Thanks guys!

 

[javierdlm001]

So since I was able to load Win10 from Grub, I thought that was good enough.
But not having Windows Boot Manager available to boot from I guess it is a problem, because now Win10 will start that animation with the dots going in a circle, but it won't get past that.
Admittedly, after Grub, I installed rEFInd, and a few days later Win10 refused to load.
I have already switched the order of the drives to no avail.
Oddly enough, the same thing will happen when I try to boot from the Win10 Installation USB drive.

How could I fix it if I can't even load the repair tools from the Win10 Installation USB drive?

Thanks guys​

 

[javierdlm001]

I tried to boot Win10 again.
This time it tried to load a repair tool.
It took a long time, but I left it doing it over night.
It finally loaded it.
I used the Start up Repair tool. It said it couldn't repair it. But now I have access to the command prompt.
Does anyone know of command lines that could help now?

 

[javierdlm001]

I just tried Macrium Reflect from a Live USB drive. It has tools to analyse an fix booting problems. It said it had redone the BCD file, but after that I still couldn't find WBM, let alone boot Win10.
I guess I'll have to reistall Win10.

 

[2ffat]

From the sounds of it, you may have a hard drive problem. I would save everything, reformat, and re-install. This is a pain but if there is a drive problem, hopefully reformatting will find it and take care of it.


James P. Cottingham
I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!

 

[javierdlm001]

I have 2 partitions on that drive (HD). One is only 500 Mbs, it contains the boot files. In fact, there's a copy of these same files in the other SSD drive.
Should I:
1. format each of the HD partitions, or
2. only where Windows is, or
3. delete the small partition and format the HD drive completely?

Thanks guys

 

[2ffat]

I would do 1 or 3.


James P. Cottingham
I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!

 

[javierdlm001]

Alright, will do!
Thanks 2ffat

 

[edfair]

Reinstall will create the small partition if it doesn't exist. Probably best would be to start reinstall, delete all partitions, then let 10 create what it needs.
You should be OK with the second drive the way it is.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.