please post examples of GRUB used as bootloader for Windows + Linux

@x509 I have MBR PC on which I installed Linux on a separate disk. Then I used EasyBCD to add Linux to the Metro style windows boot menu. After selecting the right kind of GRUB loader from the drop down menu in EasyBCD everything worked just fine. I may have misunderstood what your issue was. If so, sorry.

jimbo45 said:

Hi there
@x509

A really good way to learn Linux and try several different distros is to run them as Virtual Machines -- use VBOX or VMWare player both Free software--just download an iso of the distribution you want, set that as the boot device in the Virtual Machine configuration and then just follow the usually very easy "Virtual Machine Wizards" for installing an OS as a Virtual machine.

Advantage of this is that it avoids things like hosing up your main "C" drive with Grub etc, you don't need to dual boot --a Virtual machine (or any number of them) can run at the same time as your main (I assume Windows) OS and you won't have to worry about finding any drivers -- eg sound which is often the thing Newbies in Linux come unstuck on. VM's also consume very few resources these days - VM software has improved almost beyond belief in the last few years as has computer hardware - it's not unusual to get a VM to perform around 90 - 95% at the rate it would be at if running as a physical (non VM) machine - most users wouldn't notice the difference !!. Also on errors you don't need to reformat HDD , re-partition , etc etc -- just delete the VM and start again - no Windows re-boot needed.

Learn it first and then when you feel confident you can then be in a much better position to run it as a dual boot or even a main OS.

I usually run Centos Linux on a laptop as my main OS with Windows as VM's --I haven't bothered dual booting for YEARS !!!!!. I have several versions of W10 as Virtual machines including the latest insider builds as well as earlier versions of Windows such as XP and Windows 7. Even on a laptop with i5 processor 512 GB SSD and 16GB RAM I've easily run 4 concurrent Virtual machines --- on a decent NAS you can run a load more concurrently.

Another advantage of VM's --they can be stored anyway - external devices etc etc and can easily be moved between machines etc etc.

IMO the only reason for NOT using a VM these days is if you really have to test specific real hardware or if you need to run extreme games with specialized graphics cards --these days VM's are perfectly capable of handling multi-media streaming etc etc. I don't have any problem running Photo shop or doing some video editing on a Windows Virtual Machine.

BTW also don't forget you can also install any Linux system to an external device and boot and run totally from that too if you really want to "dual boot" -- To me these days Dual booting is really old "Dinosaur Technology" unless you really are say a leading edge dgames develope --say doing something like Stem --but in this case you'd probably have a dedicated machine anyway.

Cheers
jimbo

Jimbo,

OK, maybe I am a dinosaur. But, your comments on the efficiency of VMs these days, that is new information for me. I should really consider what you have said before I go charging off to do a separate Linux partition.

SoFine409 said:

@x509 I have MBR PC on which I installed Linux on a separate disk. Then I used EasyBCD to add Linux to the Metro style windows boot menu. After selecting the right kind of GRUB loader from the drop down menu in EasyBCD everything worked just fine. I may have misunderstood what your issue was. If so, sorry.

Maybe, or maybe I just didn't know how easy it was to use EasyBCD to add a Linux partition. When I last read the EasyBCD documentation, it sounded like, "Dude, you will have to learn GRUB."

x509 said:

Maybe, or maybe I just didn't know how easy it was to use EasyBCD to add a Linux partition. When I last read the EasyBCD documentation, it sounded like, "Dude, you will have to learn GRUB."

I had a PC with multiple SSDs and HDs and I installed Win10 on one and Win7 on another. When I first installed Linux Mint on a 3rd HD I would use the BIOS to change the boot disk every time I wanted to run Linux. That got old so I used EasyBCD to add Linux to the boot menu. It took a bit of trial and error to get it right. If you’re looking for help with that I can tell you which options to use on EasyBCD as long as your using an MBR Bios.

SoFine409 said:

[trimmed out]

If you’re looking for help with that I can tell you which options to use on EasyBCD as long as your using an MBR Bios.

SoFine409, My preference would be for a GPT-UEFI drive for a Linux install, but in my situation I can't be choosy. Please do psot your option list.

x509 said:

SoFine409, My preference would be for a GPT-UEFI drive for a Linux install, but in my situation I can't be choosy. Please do psot your option list.

Hi x509, as I explained earlier I installed Linux Mint on a separate drive and when I wanted to use it I booted to the BIOS and selected the disk where Linux was installed. Later, and since I already had win10 and win7 installed on separate drive and had a dual boot metro style menu configured I used EasyBCD to add Linux. Here is how that boot entry looks in EasyBCD (entry #3).

When I added the it to the menu I used the Add New Entry button and selected Linux as the operating system. I selected the drive where it was located and I believe I used GRUB (Legacy) as the type. If this is wrong and it does not boot then you can go back and select GRUB2 but I'm pretty sure that I used GRUB (Legacy). See below

Remember this example is for MBR BIOS and not

GPT-UEFI.
Let m e know how it goes.
Bob

SoFine409 said:

Hi x509, as I explained earlier I installed Linux Mint on a separate drive and when I wanted to use it I booted to the BIOS and selected the disk where Linux was installed. Later, and since I already had win10 and win7 installed on separate drive and had a dual boot metro style menu configured I used EasyBCD to add Linux. Here is how that boot entry looks in EasyBCD (entry #3).

When I added the it to the menu I used the Add New Entry button and selected Linux as the operating system. I selected the drive where it was located and I believe I used GRUB (Legacy) as the type. If this is wrong and it does not boot then you can go back and select GRUB2 but I'm pretty sure that I used GRUB (Legacy). See below

Remember this example is for MBR BIOS and not

GPT-UEFI.
Let m e know how it goes.
Bob

Bob,

Very helpful. I didn't realize just how easy it was to add a Linux MBR-disk install to EasyBCD. I just ran out of excuses to try out Linux. OK, I do need a spare HDD, which means I have to get out some of my HDDs and do some housecleaning.

Glad it helped you. FYI, I have Linux Mint and I find it to be very similar to Windows insofar as it has a graphical use interface. Still takes a bit of getting use to but there are lots of utilities available and tons of help on line. Enjoy.
Bob