I’ve never personally experienced that. But it’s been Windows replaces the bootloader which is typically grub with their bootloader and Windows’ bootloader doesn’t default to letting you choose your OS like grub does.
So when you update Windows and restart, it has reset the settings for the bootloader as their own default bootloader which defaults to Windows. You then need to go in and replace grub as the default bootloader so you can once again select your OS.
If you’re using UEFI there is nothing to reinstall. The installed bootloaders are still there in the UEFI partition, Windows just changed which one is set as the default. There are tools you can use, such as EasyUEFI (if I remember correctly), to revert the default to Grub or refind or systemd-boot, whichever you’re using.
I’m not sure, to be truthful. Never looked into it! But even if one exists, I’m sure what Windows is doing during an update is grabbing its own bootloader and either installing it or just hitting the switch to set it as the default bootloader.
I say all that to say, that even if there is a grub made specifically for windows, it likely wouldn’t fix this problem. To ultimately get around this, a user would have to change the features in the Windows update, which I believe is possible since I know some installations exist that remove features from Windows during an initial OS install.
But I do believe that Windows’ default bootloader can boot into a Linux OS too. It’s been a while, but I have seen where you can choose different versions of Windows if you have them installed dual boot on the same machine. Where the bootloader will ask whether you want Windows 7 or Windows 10 to boot into. I believe Linux OS installs show here too, but I could be wrong. The problem is really that the bootloader doesn’t show by default so the user doesn’t know a second OS exists on the same disk. If Windows’ bootloader showed by default and let you choose your OS to boot into, I don’t think we’d have the issue OP’s meme shows except with it hiding grub or another non-Windows bootloader.
Windows likes to mess with the EFI partition on updates, scrweing up bootloaders. That you can prevent by separate EFI partition on another disk, This way Windows doesn’t see the other efi files to boot. But when it feesl really obnoxious, it also edits your EFI table and sets itself as the default. That doesn’t actually damage your linux boot files, but you still need to log back with some bootstick and revert the change, to make your bootloader/menu the default again.
That’s the reason people often switch to Windows only as a VM (there are even solution to passthrough a dedicated graphics card just for Windows, if that’s for gaming) after some time. Because Windows is actively working against other OS’s on your computer.
In a way their Secure Boot bullshit is nothing different. Get vendors to include MS keys by default, then pretend that Windows is somehow more secure because you need to deactivate Secure Boot to install soemthing else (who cares that one key on every machine is not exactly secure, even more so as MS keys were already found in the wild in malware so they don’t even know how to not lose them…)
Secure boot is the main reason I gave up dual booting on my desktop. Just couldn’t be fucked to keep turning it on and off every time. (I have an Nvidia GPU, kernel driver signing, updates, etc. tldr, fuck nvidia)
What? Windows kills other partitions during update?
I’ve never personally experienced that. But it’s been Windows replaces the bootloader which is typically grub with their bootloader and Windows’ bootloader doesn’t default to letting you choose your OS like grub does.
So when you update Windows and restart, it has reset the settings for the bootloader as their own default bootloader which defaults to Windows. You then need to go in and replace grub as the default bootloader so you can once again select your OS.
Anticompetitive behaviour from microsoft??? gasp
No, Windows is just setting the computer up for users who don’t typically change anything in the bootloader.
I can confirm. It does this I think if both OS are on the same disk, probably share bootloader. Never happened when I used separate disks.
Is there a grub installer that runs under windows? (no spell checker I refuse to capitalize windows)
If you’re using UEFI there is nothing to reinstall. The installed bootloaders are still there in the UEFI partition, Windows just changed which one is set as the default. There are tools you can use, such as EasyUEFI (if I remember correctly), to revert the default to Grub or refind or systemd-boot, whichever you’re using.
I’m not sure, to be truthful. Never looked into it! But even if one exists, I’m sure what Windows is doing during an update is grabbing its own bootloader and either installing it or just hitting the switch to set it as the default bootloader.
I say all that to say, that even if there is a grub made specifically for windows, it likely wouldn’t fix this problem. To ultimately get around this, a user would have to change the features in the Windows update, which I believe is possible since I know some installations exist that remove features from Windows during an initial OS install.
But I do believe that Windows’ default bootloader can boot into a Linux OS too. It’s been a while, but I have seen where you can choose different versions of Windows if you have them installed dual boot on the same machine. Where the bootloader will ask whether you want Windows 7 or Windows 10 to boot into. I believe Linux OS installs show here too, but I could be wrong. The problem is really that the bootloader doesn’t show by default so the user doesn’t know a second OS exists on the same disk. If Windows’ bootloader showed by default and let you choose your OS to boot into, I don’t think we’d have the issue OP’s meme shows except with it hiding grub or another non-Windows bootloader.
Windows likes to mess with the EFI partition on updates, scrweing up bootloaders. That you can prevent by separate EFI partition on another disk, This way Windows doesn’t see the other efi files to boot. But when it feesl really obnoxious, it also edits your EFI table and sets itself as the default. That doesn’t actually damage your linux boot files, but you still need to log back with some bootstick and revert the change, to make your bootloader/menu the default again.
That’s the reason people often switch to Windows only as a VM (there are even solution to passthrough a dedicated graphics card just for Windows, if that’s for gaming) after some time. Because Windows is actively working against other OS’s on your computer.
In a way their Secure Boot bullshit is nothing different. Get vendors to include MS keys by default, then pretend that Windows is somehow more secure because you need to deactivate Secure Boot to install soemthing else (who cares that one key on every machine is not exactly secure, even more so as MS keys were already found in the wild in malware so they don’t even know how to not lose them…)
Secure boot is the main reason I gave up dual booting on my desktop. Just couldn’t be fucked to keep turning it on and off every time. (I have an Nvidia GPU, kernel driver signing, updates, etc. tldr, fuck nvidia)