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Last week, a windows update wiped out the boot loader for my Linux install right before I needed the Linux laptop for an event. I had to cancel since I didn’t h

Last week, a windows update wiped out the boot loader for my Linux install right before I needed the Linux laptop for an event. I had to cancel since I didn’t have time to repair things It does this every 6 months or so. Windows is malware

nicce 5y ago
On top of that, if you have dual boot and you boot into Windows, it always sets boot order to be Windows first from BIOS/UEFI.
sreevisakh 5y ago
That is unusual for a modern system that uses UEFI. The windows bootloader may set itself as the default EFI program, but other bootloaders should remain in the EFI partition. It's just a matter of changing the default back to Linux bootloader. If windows does wipe out other bootloaders, then it's something serious to be discussed. Are you sure that's what happened?
- gentleman11 5y ago
  It’s not listed as a boot option in the uefi and never is. I always have to go in and do a repair after these updates
  - sreevisakh 5y ago
    That may be the fault of the UEFI implementation. Many are terrible - especially from the big OEMs. I keep rEFInd as my boot manager and let it deal with the rest. I also find a way to recover rEFInd if an OS sets its own bootloader as default. It may take trial of up to 5 different methods to find one that actually works.
Grimburger 5y ago
I had this happen a lot on my dual boot system. After the fourth time I snapped and deleted the windows partition, it's too risky to have a computer that may or may not boot at the whims of forced updates. MS ignores the problem too despite numerous complaints spanning years, when dozens of people are saying it's due to a Windows update and they insist it's something else it's probably fair to say this is Won't Fix for them.
2143 5y ago
OMG. If it's possible for you to just install Linux only (no Windows/Micros**t at all), please do that. Or, get a Mac if Linux-exclusive doesn't work for you. (I love both Mac and Linux).
- hda2 5y ago
  Like other abusive software, if I need to use windows, I use it in a sandbox (a VM in this case) or in its own dedicated device. Life it too short to deal with malicious vendors.
alar44 5y ago
Sorry, been running dual boot for a decade on many machines and this has never happened to me. It's not Windows Update, it's something else.
- detaro 5y ago
  Just because you didn't have an issue doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Sibling comment by sreevisakh is correct though, it actually getting wiped is unlikely on UEFI systems.
  - alar44 5y ago
    Idk, considering it's my job and I've build dozens if not 100. Parent is doing it wrong. Windows doesn't just randomly wipe the bootloader/UEFI, sorry. Dollars to doughnuts, parent was fiddling around and broke it.
goosedragons 5y ago
The easiest way to avoid this which admittedly might not be possible on your laptop is to have Windows on a completely separate drive and to install them with only one drive in at a time. Then you can just use the laptops boot menu to pick. It's also a pretty quick fix in most distros with a live CD but yeah it's ridiculous that every Windows feature update will blow up the bootloader.
DistractionRect 5y ago
My work around for this is to load a live usb, unflagged the EFI partion used for MS (remove boot/esp flags). Proceed to install, and reflag the MS EFI partition afterwards. Works a treat, and keeps my installs separate. Another option, is to run windows or linux as a guest VM. You can setup a near native quest VM with device passthrough, such that you only ever have to boot your host OS but can drop down into a fully fledged guest when needed. I'm doing both as methods as a way to slowly offload from windows to linux

nicce 5y ago

On top of that, if you have dual boot and you boot into Windows, it always sets boot order to be Windows first from BIOS/UEFI.

sreevisakh 5y ago

That is unusual for a modern system that uses UEFI. The windows bootloader may set itself as the default EFI program, but other bootloaders should remain in the EFI partition. It's just a matter of changing the default back to Linux bootloader. If windows does wipe out other bootloaders, then it's something serious to be discussed. Are you sure that's what happened?

gentleman11 5y ago
It’s not listed as a boot option in the uefi and never is. I always have to go in and do a repair after these updates
- sreevisakh 5y ago
  That may be the fault of the UEFI implementation. Many are terrible - especially from the big OEMs. I keep rEFInd as my boot manager and let it deal with the rest. I also find a way to recover rEFInd if an OS sets its own bootloader as default. It may take trial of up to 5 different methods to find one that actually works.

Grimburger 5y ago

I had this happen a lot on my dual boot system. After the fourth time I snapped and deleted the windows partition, it's too risky to have a computer that may or may not boot at the whims of forced updates. MS ignores the problem too despite numerous complaints spanning years, when dozens of people are saying it's due to a Windows update and they insist it's something else it's probably fair to say this is Won't Fix for them.

2143 5y ago

OMG. If it's possible for you to just install Linux only (no Windows/Micros**t at all), please do that. Or, get a Mac if Linux-exclusive doesn't work for you. (I love both Mac and Linux).

hda2 5y ago
Like other abusive software, if I need to use windows, I use it in a sandbox (a VM in this case) or in its own dedicated device. Life it too short to deal with malicious vendors.

alar44 5y ago

Sorry, been running dual boot for a decade on many machines and this has never happened to me. It's not Windows Update, it's something else.

detaro 5y ago
Just because you didn't have an issue doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Sibling comment by sreevisakh is correct though, it actually getting wiped is unlikely on UEFI systems.
- alar44 5y ago
  Idk, considering it's my job and I've build dozens if not 100. Parent is doing it wrong. Windows doesn't just randomly wipe the bootloader/UEFI, sorry. Dollars to doughnuts, parent was fiddling around and broke it.

goosedragons 5y ago

The easiest way to avoid this which admittedly might not be possible on your laptop is to have Windows on a completely separate drive and to install them with only one drive in at a time. Then you can just use the laptops boot menu to pick. It's also a pretty quick fix in most distros with a live CD but yeah it's ridiculous that every Windows feature update will blow up the bootloader.

DistractionRect 5y ago

My work around for this is to load a live usb, unflagged the EFI partion used for MS (remove boot/esp flags). Proceed to install, and reflag the MS EFI partition afterwards. Works a treat, and keeps my installs separate. Another option, is to run windows or linux as a guest VM. You can setup a near native quest VM with device passthrough, such that you only ever have to boot your host OS but can drop down into a fully fledged guest when needed. I'm doing both as methods as a way to slowly offload from windows to linux