Tweak dual-boot settings

Discover how to switch between Linux and Windows using Grub.

When Mint installs itself, it changes the bootloader at the beginning of your hard drive to a program called GNU GR and Unified Boot loader( Grub). Put simply, Grub scans your hard drive for visible operating systems and then presents you with a boot menu, allowing you to switch between them. In most cases – specifically those where your Windows install is detected by the Mint installer – this should be set up to work perfectly from the off. You start your PC, Grub displays the boot menu, and if you don’t make a choice within five seconds, it’ll start to load Linux Mint.

In this event, the only thing you’ll want to know is how to make changes to the boot menu – you may prefer to make Windows the default OS, eg or you’d like to have a longer pause before Mint is selected by default. You can edit the Grub menu in the Terminal, but it’s simpler to use a friendlier tool to do the job .( Seethe Edit your G rub menu box, below .)

Troubleshooting Grub

Unfortunately, Grub doesn’t always do what you expect it to. If the Mint installer doesn’t detect your Windows installation and you were forced to manually partition your hard drive, you may find your computer now boots directly to Mint with no sign of Windows. Don’t worry, it’s still there, but you’ll need to perform some additional steps to make it accessible.

First, you’ll need to boot from your Windows 10 rescue media: elect to repair your PC then select Troubleshoot > Advanced > Startup Repair to restore the original Windows bootloader. This restores Windows, but leaves you with no way to access Mint – to resolve this, boot from your Mint installation media, then press Ctrl+Alt+T to open Terminal and type the following commands: sudo add-apt-repository pp a:y an nu bun tu/ boot-repair sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && boot-repair

When Boot Repair launches, choose the recommended repair and follow the steps. The process involves having to copy and paste some commands into the Terminal – use Shift+Ctrl+C to copy them, then right-click in the Terminal and choose Paste – as well as navigating a few additional tools. Press the Tab key to jump between options, then use the cursor keys and Space when selecting options, and finally Enter to select or proceed.

Once done, reboot your PC – hopefully both Windows 10 and Linux are now provided as working options in the boot menu. Note that Windows may not be referenced directly – if an entry refers to the Windows 10 bootloader, try it. This will likely work, in which case you can rename the entry using GrubCustomizer.

If this doesn’t happen (Grub may be present, but only offer to boot into Mint), then the repair tool may have placed boot entries directly into your PC’s UEFI boot menu instead of into Grub. Start your PC in the usual way, but tap F11 or whatever key is needed to access the boot menu. You should see an additional option is present – either ‘Windows Boot Manager’ or ‘linux’ – selecting this should launch that OS, while choosing the original hard drive entry will boot the opposite OS instead. You can then choose which OS to boot into by default by entering your UEFI setup utility and examining the options under Boot (look for a ‘Hard Drive Priorities’ section).

If everything gets messed up completely, then simply restore your fail-safe backup using RedoBackup and start the installation process again.