Windows 10 won't boot after installing Linux on the same disk

I wanted to set up my PC to dual-boot Windows 10 or KDE Neon (a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu). I already had Win10 and I wanted to put Ubuntu on the same SSD. Apparently I messed something up because now when I boot Windows 10, the following happens:

• I get a screen with the Windows logo and a spinning "loading" thing, with a caption reading "Preparing Automatic Repairs"
• Then the caption becomes "Diagnosing your PC"
• Then the caption becomes "Attempting repairs"
• The first time I did this, it spent a good while "attempting repairs" and then restarted.
• Since then, every attempt to boot has stopped after a few seconds of "attempting repairs" with the message that Windows couldn't repair itself, and an "advanced options" button which gives me all the troubleshooting utilities (reset, restore from ISO, cmd, etc.)

There is nothing I need to recover, so I have no problem with just reinstalling Windows, except that I don't have any installation media, and the options to reset/reinstall Windows just fail with a message saying that, uh, they failed. I don't have a system restore point (although I do remember making one) and I don't have a disk image to restore from. I could use the command line for troubleshooting, but I don't know where to start (that's why I'm here!).
When I installed Linux, I chose to place the bootloader on the disk, not on the partition with Linux.
Based on some quick Web research, I thought I might have overwritten essential Windows boot code, so I tried using a couple of software tools (Testdisk and Boot Repair) but to no avail.

I'm pretty sure I'm not using UEFI because my motherboard is from circa 2009. Also I have a vague memory of seeing that my drives were using MBR and not GPT when making partitions for Linux.

Caledon Ken said:

Hi Calllack.

Complete tutorial on clean install. Will install V1809.

Clean Install Windows 10

Links to get media in the above tutorial, Win 10 will re-activate.

I also recommend using Macrium.

Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

Tutorial is a little out of date but you will get through.


If you want 1803 or earlier go here.

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno...-download-tool


Ken

Thanks!

Will I need to enter a product key/linked Microsoft Account to reactivate Windows? My PC was given to me with Windows 10 on it already, so I don't have the product key anywhere and I don't have any MSFT Account they might have used to activate it.

swarfega said:

If you like dabbling with Linux but want to keep using Windows, it would be worth your while getting another hard drive to install Linux on so you can play about with it without endangering Windows.

If you install Windows normally first then set up Linux on the new drive, it should spot Windows and add it to the boot option menu.

An approach like this was suggested to me before I started, but in my infinite foolishness, I decided that I wanted to make my PC faster by installing both OS's on the SSD (my other drive is an HDD). Of course getting another SSD and fitting it is definitely an option, and one I will consider in future after all the trouble I've had with this attempt at partitioning.