• GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last used, c

    From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 13:06:36
    Subject: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last used,
    chooses Windows 10 instead

    Problem as per subject. I have a laptop triple booting into Ubuntu 22, Windows 7, & Windows 10. GRUB has the correct settings to remember the
    last boot choice and correctly does so for Ubuntu & Windows 10, but, if
    I choose Windows 7, at the next boot it offers Windows 10 as the
    default, not Windows 7. All I can find online is many different
    explanations for how to set up dual-booting and have it remember the
    last choice, not what to do if for some reason this doesn't work.

    Can anyone advise?

    The relevant settings are reproduced below, and yes I have remembered to
    run update-grub, in fact I've done it twice, but despite everything
    looking correct, the problem persists. Note that in the resulting
    grub.cfg the two Windows sections are identical except where they should differ in designating the relevant partition, and that the W10 section
    has an extra penultimate line 'drivemap ...', but I don't know enough
    about how GRUB works to know whether that would be relevant ...

    /etc/default/grub:

    # If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
    # /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
    # For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
    # info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

    GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
    GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true
    GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
    GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
    GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian` GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=""
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

    [rest is commented out, until]

    # Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
    GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

    /boot/grub/grub.cfg:

    [...]

    ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
    menuentry 'Windows 10 (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA' {
    savedefault
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ntfs
    set root='hd0,msdos1'
    if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1 C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
    else
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
    fi
    parttool ${root} hidden-
    drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
    chainloader +1
    }
    menuentry 'Windows 7 (on /dev/sda2)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA' {
    savedefault
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ntfs
    set root='hd0,msdos2'
    if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2 C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
    else
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
    fi
    parttool ${root} hidden-
    chainloader +1
    }

    [...]

    [In case it matters, but I don't think it does, this laptop is a Dell Precision M6700 which I bought recently because the video card in my
    best old Dell Precision M6300 died, which is the default manner for
    those PCs to die - even though this new one also has a good 17"
    screen, it's wider and shorter than the old one, which I preferred.
    There are a couple of over-priced video cards on eBay for nearly the
    same sort of price as you could get a working machine of the same model,
    but it's just not worth spending that sort of money on such an old
    machine. Sniff!]

    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Theo@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 13:44:34
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    In uk.comp.os.linux Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:
    Problem as per subject. I have a laptop triple booting into Ubuntu 22, Windows 7, & Windows 10. GRUB has the correct settings to remember the
    last boot choice and correctly does so for Ubuntu & Windows 10, but, if
    I choose Windows 7, at the next boot it offers Windows 10 as the
    default, not Windows 7. All I can find online is many different explanations for how to set up dual-booting and have it remember the
    last choice, not what to do if for some reason this doesn't work.

    I have very limited experience of dual booting Windows, but AIUI there are
    two ways you can do it:

    1. Install every Windows on a separate drive. Here each drive has its own Windows bootloader. You can select which one to boot from in BIOS. Alternatively, in Grub, you 'chainload' the Windows bootloader from a
    specific drive, so you can pick between Windows installs

    2. Install several Windows on the same drive, sharing a Windows bootloader. Here you boot Grub, select you want to 'chainload' the Windows bootloader,
    then you use the Windows bootloader to select which OS to boot. In this
    case Grub doesn't know which Windows is selected - Windows will probably remember the setting from last time or as configured from Windows.

    So it's possible you need to explore how Windows lets you configure that.
    It's also possible you have Grub entries for Windows 7 and 10 which both
    point to the same thing (ie they both chainload Windows which remembers from last time, not the setting from GRUB). There may be a way to tell Grub to chainload a bootloader in a different partition, I'm not sure.

    At least, that's my understanding of classic BIOS/MBR bootloaders. I think UEFI is different - I haven't so much experience with Windows on that.

    [In case it matters, but I don't think it does, this laptop is a Dell Precision M6700 which I bought recently because the video card in my
    best old Dell Precision M6300 died, which is the default manner for
    those PCs to die - even though this new one also has a good 17"
    screen, it's wider and shorter than the old one, which I preferred.
    There are a couple of over-priced video cards on eBay for nearly the
    same sort of price as you could get a working machine of the same model,
    but it's just not worth spending that sort of money on such an old
    machine. Sniff!]

    It does matter. The M6700 is an Ivy Bridge machine so that's probably
    classic BIOS rather than UEFI.

    Theo

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: University of Cambridge, England (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 14:56:05
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 15/04/2024 13:44, Theo wrote:

    In uk.comp.os.linux Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

    Problem as per subject. I have a laptop triple booting into Ubuntu 22,
    Windows 7, & Windows 10. GRUB has the correct settings to remember the
    last boot choice and correctly does so for Ubuntu & Windows 10, but, if
    I choose Windows 7, at the next boot it offers Windows 10 as the
    default, not Windows 7. All I can find online is many different
    explanations for how to set up dual-booting and have it remember the
    last choice, not what to do if for some reason this doesn't work.

    I have very limited experience of dual booting Windows, but AIUI there are two ways you can do it:

    1. Install every Windows on a separate drive. Here each drive has its own Windows bootloader. You can select which one to boot from in BIOS. Alternatively, in Grub, you 'chainload' the Windows bootloader from a specific drive, so you can pick between Windows installs

    2. Install several Windows on the same drive, sharing a Windows bootloader. Here you boot Grub, select you want to 'chainload' the Windows bootloader, then you use the Windows bootloader to select which OS to boot. In this
    case Grub doesn't know which Windows is selected - Windows will probably remember the setting from last time or as configured from Windows.

    So it's possible you need to explore how Windows lets you configure that.

    Your analysis above is both correct, and, er, incorrect. For the legacy
    MBR method of booting, I've produced an explanation on my website here
    which somewhat agrees with what you have written above:

    https://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/PCHardware/PCBootProcess.html

    However, where you are incorrect is that it's always been possible to
    use GRUB to dual-boot between different versions of Windows ON THE SAME
    DISK. My other remaining Dell Precision M6300 triple boots via GRUB
    quite happily between Ubuntu 22, Windows XP, & Windows 10, and correctly remembers the last choice whether it was Ubuntu or either version of
    Windows. The partitions set up on this PC are as follows, where the OS partitions are all primaries, while the two data partitions are logical
    drives in an extended partition

    Win 10 Pro | Win XP | Ubuntu 22 Root || Win Data | Ubuntu 22 Home ||

    However, even though you are incorrect, there is truth in what you say, although it is somewhat complicated to explain ...

    When I first set up this new laptop, I decided to give it an extra
    partition over the one it replaced, which had had 4 primary partitions
    as follows ...

    Windows 7 | Windows Data | Ubuntu 22 Root | Ubuntu 22 Home

    .... which I modified to be similar to the other machine above ...

    Win 10 Pro | Win 7 | Ubuntu 22 Root || Win Data | Ubuntu 22 Home ||

    However, after modifying the partition table and reimaging all the
    partitions, W7 wouldn't boot, complaining that 'a device needed was unavailable' or something similar. I tried fixing it using the W7 DVD,
    which has always worked in the past, but the problem remained, so, as a temporary fix, I ran a repair from the Windows 10 boot, which did allow
    me to boot into Windows 7, but by a desperately convoluted process, viz: choose the GRUB Windows 10 option, which almost completely boots W10
    before giving an option to boot into W7, which if you choose reboots the
    PC from scratch going straight into W7. And next time you want to boot
    into W7 you have to go through the whole rigmarole again.

    Obviously, it would be far more preferable just to boot straight into
    W10 or W7 from GRUB itself, as with the other PC.

    I worked out easily enough why the W7 DVD fix didn't work, because it's
    been a long-standing historical problem going way back to the very
    beginning that all such Windows tools work on THE PARTITION THAT HAS THE
    BOOT FLAG SET, regardless of whether that's the partition which contains
    the version of Windows that the tool belongs to, and here the W7
    partition had moved from 1 to 2, but the boot flag had remained on 1.
    Also, if there is more than one version of Windows on the PC, sometimes running these fixes can take over the boot process of other Windows partitions.

    So I knew what to do, but just didn't have the time to do it at that
    moment ...

    However, yesterday evening, I backed up the W10 partition into an image
    file, deleted it, created a blank partition in its place, moved the boot
    flag to from 1 to 2 and ran the DVD tool again, this time successfully,
    and thus was able to boot into W7 directly from GRUB. Next I moved the
    boot flag back to 1, reinstated the W10 partition into that partition
    from the image file backup, and reran GRUB, with the result that as of
    now I can boot into either Windows directly from GRUB, the only problem remaining being the one that is the subject of this thread.

    Where you are correct in your incorrectness is that many people don't
    have the knowledge to understand the above, and so follow the line of
    least resistance and let the Windows boot process decide which version
    of Windows to run, but, as explained, the result can be very
    inefficient. What may be happening here to give me my problem,
    particularly as that was the original configuration, is that part of
    GRUB may be still assuming that Windows 7 is being booted via Windows
    10, but it can't be all of GRUB that is working to that assumption,
    because, in that case, why would it configure a W7 boot option at all?

    It's also possible you have Grub entries for Windows 7 and 10 which both point to the same thing (ie they both chainload Windows which remembers from last time, not the setting from GRUB). There may be a way to tell Grub to chainload a bootloader in a different partition, I'm not sure.

    No to first part and yes to second part, see the grub.cfg excerpt in my OP.

    [In case it matters, but I don't think it does, this laptop is a Dell
    Precision M6700 which I bought recently because the video card in my
    best old Dell Precision M6300 died, which is the default manner for
    those PCs to die - even though this new one also has a good 17"
    screen, it's wider and shorter than the old one, which I preferred.
    There are a couple of over-priced video cards on eBay for nearly the
    same sort of price as you could get a working machine of the same model,
    but it's just not worth spending that sort of money on such an old
    machine. Sniff!]

    It does matter. The M6700 is an Ivy Bridge machine so that's probably classic BIOS rather than UEFI.

    It gives me the choice in the BIOS, but I have chosen legacy rather than
    UEFI.

    Writing the above prompted me to check the GRUB configuration of the
    machine that works. The file /etc/default/grub is exactly the same, but
    the resulting /boot/grub/grub.cfg is different in the specification of
    the two menu options. Here, both have the drivemap option, and further
    the GUIDs, as I presume they are, differ in the 'if' statements:

    ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
    menuentry 'Windows 10 (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA' {
    savedefault
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ntfs
    set root='hd0,msdos1'
    if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1 C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
    else
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
    fi
    parttool ${root} hidden-
    drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
    chainloader +1
    }
    menuentry 'Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda2)' --class
    windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-64F43020F42FF2CA' {
    savedefault
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ntfs
    set root='hd0,msdos2'
    if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2 64F43020F42FF2CA
    else
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 64F43020F42FF2CA
    fi
    parttool ${root} hidden-
    drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
    chainloader +1
    }

    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From J.O. Aho@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 15:34:30
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 15/04/2024 15.56, Java Jive wrote:

    However, after modifying the partition table and reimaging all the partitions, W7 wouldn't boot, complaining that 'a device needed was unavailable' or something similar.  I tried fixing it using the W7 DVD, which has always worked in the past, but the problem remained, so, as a temporary fix, I ran a repair from the Windows 10 boot, which did allow
    me to boot into Windows 7, but by a desperately convoluted process, viz: choose the GRUB Windows 10 option, which almost completely boots W10
    before giving an option to boot into W7, which if you choose reboots the
    PC from scratch going straight into W7.  And next time you want to boot into W7 you have to go through the whole rigmarole again.

    I would say your "fix" was in the win10 bootloader and the reason why
    it's generally recommended to have each mswin on it's own HDD is that
    you can disable it in the BIOS and do repairs on another mswin without affecting the other installations.

    Alternative would be use KVM or XEN, then you know the instance will not
    see any other devices than those assigned to it, running the repair will
    not affect any other installation and you don't have the risk of mswin
    taking over mbr from GRUB. The other benefit is that you don't have to
    dual boot, for hardware rendered 3D graphics you would need a dedicated graphics card for the guest you want to be able to run at the same time
    (if you have the cash there are those graphics cards that allow you to
    have vGPU, which is a good thing if you have multiple guest needing
    hardware rendered 3D graphics or CUDA).



    Writing the above prompted me to check the GRUB configuration of the
    machine that works.  The file /etc/default/grub is exactly the same, but the resulting /boot/grub/grub.cfg is different in the specification of
    the two menu options.  Here, both have the drivemap option, and further
    the GUIDs, as I presume they are, differ in the 'if' statements:

    If you haven't cloned the partitions from the other computer (this tend
    to work poorly with the closed source OS), then the UUID will be different.

    I hope you don't have network drivers for the ms-winxp (EOL 2014-04-08)
    and ms-win7 (EOL 2020-01-14), don't care if something happens to you,
    just thinking of everyone else.

    --
    //Aho

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 15:59:58
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 15/04/2024 15:34, J.O. Aho wrote:

    I hope you don't have network drivers for the ms-winxp (EOL 2014-04-08)
    and ms-win7 (EOL 2020-01-14), don't care if something happens to you,
    just thinking of everyone else.

    Of course I have network drivers for them, otherwise they would be near useless to me. The XP machine still has working anti-virus, but even so
    I don't take it on to the internet. W7 still receives security updates,
    and is still my every day working OS, and is being used to post here.

    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Carlos E.R.@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 17:49:25
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 2024-04-15 14:06, Java Jive wrote:
    Problem as per subject.  I have a laptop triple booting into Ubuntu 22, Windows 7, & Windows 10.  GRUB has the correct settings to remember the last boot choice and correctly does so for Ubuntu & Windows 10, but, if
    I choose Windows 7, at the next boot it offers Windows 10 as the
    default, not Windows 7.  All I can find online is many different explanations for how to set up dual-booting and have it remember the
    last choice, not what to do if for some reason this doesn't work.

    Can anyone advise?

    I'm no expert in this area, but I noticed something in your grub.cfg file:

    Windows 10

    parttool ${root} hidden-
    drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
    chainloader +1

    vs

    Windows 7

    parttool ${root} hidden-
    chainloader +1


    Is it intentional, or accidental?
    Perhaps the section has been generated by os-prober, automatically.

    It occurs to me that maybe W10 has been designed to play nice, while W7
    has not.



    --
    Cheers, Carlos.


    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From J.O. Aho@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 21:05:39
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 15/04/2024 16.59, Java Jive wrote:
    On 15/04/2024 15:34, J.O. Aho wrote:

    I hope you don't have network drivers for the ms-winxp (EOL
    2014-04-08) and ms-win7 (EOL 2020-01-14), don't care if something
    happens to you, just thinking of everyone else.

    Of course I have network drivers for them, otherwise they would be near useless to me.  The XP machine still has working anti-virus, but even so
    I don't take it on to the internet.  W7 still receives security updates, and is still my every day working OS, and is being used to post here.


    ESU run out last year, the extended one for Azure instances ran out
    earlier this year, so not sure what "updates" you been installing
    lately, maybe some ccp chinese or fascist russian ones.

    --
    //Aho

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 21:46:46
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 15/04/2024 21:05, J.O. Aho wrote:

    ESU run out last year, the extended one for Azure instances ran out
    earlier this year, so not sure what "updates" you been installing
    lately, maybe some ccp chinese or fascist russian ones.

    Yet the fact remains that W7 is still receiving security updates from
    the MS Website:

    Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus - KB915597 (Version 1.409.256.0) - Current Channel (Broad)

    Installation date: ‎14/‎04/‎2024 17:16

    Installation status: Successful

    Update type: Important

    Install this update to revise the files that are used to detect viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software. Once you have
    installed this item, it cannot be removed.

    More information:
    https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2007160

    Help and Support:
    https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=52661

    Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus - KB915597 (Version 1.409.186.0) - Current Channel (Broad)

    Installation date: ‎11/‎04/‎2024 10:32

    Installation status: Successful

    Update type: Important

    Install this update to revise the files that are used to detect viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software. Once you have
    installed this item, it cannot be removed.

    More information:
    https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2007160

    Help and Support:
    https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=52661

    Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - v5.123 (KB890830)

    Installation date: ‎10/‎04/‎2024 10:18

    Installation status: Successful

    Update type: Important

    After the download, this tool runs one time to check your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps remove any infection that is found. If an infection is found, the tool will display a status report the next time
    that you start your computer. A new version of the tool will be offered
    every month. If you want to manually run the tool on your computer, you
    can download a copy from the Microsoft Download Center, or you can run
    an online version from microsoft.com. This tool is not a replacement for
    an antivirus product. To help protect your computer, you should use an antivirus product.

    More information:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/890830

    Help and Support:
    http://support.microsoft.com

    .... etc, etc.



    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From bad sector@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 20:09:01
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 4/15/24 08:06, Java Jive wrote:
    Problem as per subject.  I have a laptop triple booting into Ubuntu 22, Windows 7, & Windows 10.  GRUB has the correct settings to remember the last boot choice and correctly does so for Ubuntu & Windows 10, but, if
    I choose Windows 7, at the next boot it offers Windows 10 as the
    default, not Windows 7.  All I can find online is many different explanations for how to set up dual-booting and have it remember the
    last choice, not what to do if for some reason this doesn't work.

    Can anyone advise?

    The relevant settings are reproduced below, and yes I have remembered to
    run update-grub, in fact I've done it twice, but despite everything
    looking correct, the problem persists.  Note that in the resulting
    grub.cfg the two Windows sections are identical except where they should differ in designating the relevant partition, and that the W10 section
    has an extra penultimate line 'drivemap ...', but I don't know enough
    about how GRUB works to know whether that would be relevant ...

    /etc/default/grub:

    # If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
    # /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
    # For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
    #   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

    GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
    GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true
    GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
    GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
    GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian` GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=""
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

    [rest is commented out, until]

    # Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
    GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

    /boot/grub/grub.cfg:

    [...]

    ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
    menuentry 'Windows 10 (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA' {
        savedefault
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ntfs
        set root='hd0,msdos1'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
        fi
        parttool ${root} hidden-
        drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
        chainloader +1
    }
    menuentry 'Windows 7 (on /dev/sda2)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA' {
        savedefault
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ntfs
        set root='hd0,msdos2'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
        fi
        parttool ${root} hidden-
        chainloader +1
    }

    [...]

    [In case it matters, but I don't think it does, this laptop is a Dell Precision M6700 which I bought recently because the video card in my
    best old Dell Precision M6300 died, which is the default manner for
    those PCs to die  -  even though this new one also has a good 17"
    screen, it's wider and shorter than the old one, which I preferred.
    There are a couple of over-priced video cards on eBay for nearly the
    same sort of price as you could get a working machine of the same model,
    but it's just not worth spending that sort of money on such an old
    machine. Sniff!]


    Have you tried manual booting from the grub shell?

    It's not that complicated and and might in the long run be more robust.

    rough examples

    set root=(hd0,gptX)
    linux /boot/vmlinuz
    initrd /boot/initrd
    boot

    insmod part_gpt
    insmod chain
    set root=(hd0,gpt1)
    chainloader /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
    boot

    I've never booted w10 this way but there's lotsa guidance on the net.

    Some other stunts I tried in another life where grub-legacy ruled the underworld were config-file and partition table switcharoos just before issuing a restart command, in essence deciding the next booted system
    before the restart. I actually had buttons like "boot partition X" :-)

    My initial suggestion is the manual approach, it might even reveal
    possible future edits of grub configs but I'm not knowlegable with
    respect to grub2 (hate it like the plague).



    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Paul@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 23:29:55
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 4/15/2024 8:06 AM, Java Jive wrote:
    Problem as per subject.  I have a laptop triple booting into Ubuntu 22, Windows 7, & Windows 10.  GRUB has the correct settings to remember the last boot choice and correctly does so for Ubuntu & Windows 10, but, if I choose Windows 7, at the next boot it offers Windows 10 as the default, not Windows 7.  All I can find online is many different explanations for how to set up dual-booting and have it remember the last choice, not what to do if for some reason this doesn't work.

    Can anyone advise?

    The relevant settings are reproduced below, and yes I have remembered to run update-grub, in fact I've done it twice, but despite everything looking correct, the problem persists.  Note that in the resulting grub.cfg the two Windows sections are identical except where they should differ in designating the relevant partition, and that the W10 section has an extra penultimate line 'drivemap ...', but I don't know enough about how GRUB works to know whether that would be relevant ...

    /etc/default/grub:

    # If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
    # /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
    # For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
    #   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

    GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
    GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true
    GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
    GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
    GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian` GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=""
    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

    [rest is commented out, until]

    # Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
    GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

    /boot/grub/grub.cfg:

    [...]

    ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
    menuentry 'Windows 10 (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA' {
        savedefault
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ntfs
        set root='hd0,msdos1'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA     fi
        parttool ${root} hidden-
        drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
        chainloader +1
    }
    menuentry 'Windows 7 (on /dev/sda2)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-chain-C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA' {
        savedefault
        insmod part_msdos
        insmod ntfs
        set root='hd0,msdos2'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA     fi
        parttool ${root} hidden-
        chainloader +1
    }

    [...]

    [In case it matters, but I don't think it does, this laptop is a Dell Precision M6700 which I bought recently because the video card in my best old Dell Precision M6300 died, which is the default manner for those PCs to die  -  even though this new one also has a good 17" screen, it's wider and shorter than the old one, which I preferred. There are a couple of over-priced video cards on eBay for nearly the same sort of price as you could get a working machine of the same model, but it's just not worth spending that sort of money on such an old machine. Sniff!]


    If the Windows Boot Manager intercepts your chainload, it might
    well boot the "default" OS selection. Instead of going "GRUB --> Windows 7",
    it might well be going "GRUB --> Windows Boot Manager --> (Default selection, currently Windows 10).

    Remember - these things have folders in ESP, a "Ubuntu" folder, a "Windows" folder.
    There is no "Windows 7" folder and "Windows 10" folder. I would be more hopeful for your mission, if the storage in ESP was separated. The other guys who suggested
    separate disks (as a means to get "unique"/"single" boot entries), are basically
    trying to do the same thing. They're trying to create entries that cannot
    foul up. Now, the problem with this, is the motherboard UEFI, does not "Well Tolerate"
    finding multiple Windows Boot Manager folders on the computer during the UEFI scan. It can
    easily throw a hissy fit - this especially happens when two disks are the same model (I have lots of WDC Black 1TB scratch drives, select SATA1, and SATA2 boots!).

    You shouldn't be booting that way anyway :-)

    You should be using Popup Boot. On my Asus machine, that's F8.
    Then I see the blue-bordered rectangle, with entries like...

    1) "some ubuntu choice" ( for which there is a folder in ESP ) -- then the GRUB menu appears and you select a Linux OS

    2) "some Windows Boot Manager choice" (for which there is a folder in ESP labeled Windows)

    When you select (2), you end up in a dialog like this.

    Windows 10

    Windows 7

    The dialog can either have two tiles ("wrong") or the window
    can have a black background and two lines of text like it
    is Windows XP ("right"). The reason the legacy mode is right,
    is it only required one boot cycle to get into any OS in that sub-menu.
    If you allow the stupid Microsoft default way to rule (tile interface), it takes
    two boot cycles to get into the non-default Windows OS.

    To enable the legacy boot menu in the Windows Boot Manager on a single disk, try

    administrator terminal:

    bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu True

    I think the notion of chainloading directly, on the four partition legacy MSDOS disk,
    that makes more sense. That's more likely to work the way you expected, but considering
    the "litter" that Windows brings with it, it's a bit harder to manage the Extended/Logical
    and keep everybody happy in there. I don't like having to fool around with resizing Extended/Logical to add OSes to a multiboot. That's why it is GPT, Popup Boot,
    two stage selection. I have had a shitload of OSes on an Extended/Logical, just for the experience, but I deleted that drive content as it was getting
    on my nerves.

    If you take hands-off-keyboard, turn on system power, Microsoft set up that UEFI spec
    and ESP, to benefit themselves. The Windows Boot Manager is likely to boot, even after
    GRUB is installed. There is some utility for changing that behavior (long string of letters,
    list of bootable things), but for the user who doesn't know about it, Microsoft may appear
    to have the upper hand.

    https://www.linuxbabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/efibootmgr.webp

    (https://www.linuxbabe.com/command-line/how-to-use-linux-efibootmgr-examples)

    I would start by displaying what is in there. And see whether the deck is stacked
    to help you or not. That page doesn't have the example I would want to use.

    Paul

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Monday, April 15, 2024 23:36:16
    Subject: SOLVED: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as
    last used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 15/04/2024 15:34, J.O. Aho wrote:

    If you haven't cloned the partitions from the other computer (this tend
    to work poorly with the closed source OS), then the UUID will be different.

    After some further thought, I thought this the most helpful thing you'd
    said. On the problem PC, the Win 10 Pro partition is actually the Win 7 Ultimate partition in-place upgraded to Win 10 Pro, so of course they
    have the same partition GUIDs, whereas on the PC where everything is
    working as it should, the GUIDs of the two Windows partitions are different.

    So, in order to get GRUB to work properly, I decided that I needed to
    change the partition GUID on one of the partitions, choosing the
    Win10Pro partition as the newest, the interloper, as it were. In my researches of the problem online, I'd seen instructions for doing this
    in Linux using DD, but felt a bit nervous about doing it that way, being unsure whether & how there might be some undesirable consequences within Windows itself, say preventing booting into that partition, though subsequently these fears appeared to be unfounded. I'd not seen
    anything about how to do it, as it were 'legally', from within Windows
    itself, or using an accepted and approved tool such as Ghost Walk, until eventually I found this:

    https://www.diskgenius.com/editions.php

    I downloaded the Free version, installed it on a USB stick as I didn't
    want it permanently in a build, booted into W7 so that the W10 could be unlocked, used it to change the Win 10 Pro GUID*, and then rebooted into
    Linux and ran update-grub. Now all the GRUB choices, including W7, are correctly remembered on next boot.

    * I created another pseudo-random hex number by pasting the existing one
    into Calculator in programmer view, converted it to decimal, multiplying
    it by an arbitrarily chosen prime number, and converted the result back
    to hex.

    So thank you for pointing out about the GUIDs.

    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From J.O. Aho@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 06:43:49
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 15/04/2024 22.46, Java Jive wrote:
    On 15/04/2024 21:05, J.O. Aho wrote:

    ESU run out last year, the extended one for Azure instances ran out
    earlier this year, so not sure what "updates" you been installing
    lately, maybe some ccp chinese or fascist russian ones.

    Yet the fact remains that W7 is still receiving security updates from
    the MS Website:

    Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus - KB915597 (Version 1.409.256.0) - Current Channel (Broad)

    You know this is just an anti virus application update, not an OS
    update, even if it would be able to detect most viruses and malware, it
    will not fix the issue that causes you to potentially get them in the
    first place. your ms-win7 is EOL and even if it had been run on Azure,
    it wouldn't get any OS updates.

    --
    //Aho



    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From J.O. Aho@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 06:51:51
    Subject: Re: SOLVED: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as
    last used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 16/04/2024 00.36, Java Jive wrote:
    On 15/04/2024 15:34, J.O. Aho wrote:

    If you haven't cloned the partitions from the other computer (this
    tend to work poorly with the closed source OS), then the UUID will be
    different.

    After some further thought, I thought this the most helpful thing you'd said.  On the problem PC, the Win 10 Pro partition is actually the Win 7 Ultimate partition in-place upgraded to Win 10 Pro, so of course they
    have the same partition GUIDs, whereas on the PC where everything is
    working as it should, the GUIDs of the two Windows partitions are
    different.

    That explain it, nice to be able to help.

    So, in order to get GRUB to work properly, I decided that I needed to
    change the partition GUID on one of the partitions, choosing the
    Win10Pro partition as the newest, the interloper, as it were.  In my researches of the problem online, I'd seen instructions for doing this
    in Linux using DD, but felt a bit nervous about doing it that way

    Yeah, I would too, for partition UUID tools like parted and fdisk could
    work, for the ntfs I would have looked at the ntfslabel from the ntfs-3g tools, but for sure a backup would have been wise to take before using
    it, sure not supporting encrypted ntfs.

    --
    //Aho

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 11:39:34
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 16/04/2024 06:43, J.O. Aho wrote:

    On 15/04/2024 22.46, Java Jive wrote:

    Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus - KB915597
    (Version 1.409.256.0) - Current Channel (Broad)

    You know this is just an anti virus application update, not an OS
    update, even if it would be able to detect most viruses and malware, it
    will not fix the issue that causes you to potentially get them in the
    first place. your ms-win7 is EOL and even if it had been run on Azure,
    it wouldn't get any OS updates.

    Sure, but, like any product beyond the lifetime of its guarantee, W7
    doesn't suddenly become useless because Microsoft have stopped
    maintaining it. I've not had an issue over the 10 years I've been using
    it - nor for that matter the 15 or so that I've been using XP - and
    as the most likely source of problems is a browser, which *is* being
    updated and my browsing habits have not changed, why should I suddenly
    have a problem now? As long as I can keep the most vulnerable
    applications such as AV and browsers updated, then I have no fear in
    using W7 - on the other hand, for XP I can't do this, which is why I
    don't take it on to the internet.

    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Carlos E.R.@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 12:50:27
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 2024-04-16 00:29, Paul wrote:
    Remember - these things have folders in ESP, a "Ubuntu" folder, a "Windows" folder.

    I think he is booting in traditional model aka legacy, ie, no ESP.

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.


    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 13:32:28
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 16/04/2024 12:50, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2024-04-16 00:29, Paul wrote:
    Remember - these things have folders in ESP, a "Ubuntu" folder, a
    "Windows" folder.

    I think he is booting in traditional model aka legacy, ie, no ESP.

    Correct.

    As indicated in another post, I have solved the problem, which was
    caused by the two partitions having identical GUIDs, the W10 being an
    in-place upgrade of the W7 one. Changing the partition GUID of the W10 partition resolved the problem.

    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Carlos E.R.@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 14:05:07
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 2024-04-16 14:32, Java Jive wrote:
    On 16/04/2024 12:50, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2024-04-16 00:29, Paul wrote:
    Remember - these things have folders in ESP, a "Ubuntu" folder, a
    "Windows" folder.

    I think he is booting in traditional model aka legacy, ie, no ESP.

    Correct.

    As indicated in another post, I have solved the problem, which was
    caused by the two partitions having identical GUIDs, the W10 being an in-place upgrade of the W7 one.  Changing the partition GUID of the W10 partition resolved the problem.


    I should have noticed it:

    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1 C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA

    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2 C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA



    --
    Cheers, Carlos.


    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 14:46:02
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 16/04/2024 14:05, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2024-04-16 14:32, Java Jive wrote:
    On 16/04/2024 12:50, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2024-04-16 00:29, Paul wrote:
    Remember - these things have folders in ESP, a "Ubuntu" folder, a
    "Windows" folder.

    I think he is booting in traditional model aka legacy, ie, no ESP.

    Correct.

    As indicated in another post, I have solved the problem, which was
    caused by the two partitions having identical GUIDs, the W10 being an
    in-place upgrade of the W7 one.  Changing the partition GUID of the
    W10 partition resolved the problem.

    I should have noticed it:

          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA

          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA

    Arguably, so should I! However, at the time of my OP I didn't know
    enough about GRUB to realise those numbers were the GUIDs of the
    partitions. It was J.O.Aho's remark, on first reading apparently insignificant, that later came back to me, causing me to investigate
    further and so realise that they were the GUIDs of the partitions involved.



    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From J.O. Aho@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 14:53:23
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 16/04/2024 12.39, Java Jive wrote:
    On 16/04/2024 06:43, J.O. Aho wrote:

    On 15/04/2024 22.46, Java Jive wrote:

    Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus -
    KB915597 (Version 1.409.256.0) - Current Channel (Broad)

    You know this is just an anti virus application update, not an OS
    update, even if it would be able to detect most viruses and malware,
    it will not fix the issue that causes you to potentially get them in
    the first place. your ms-win7 is EOL and even if it had been run on
    Azure, it wouldn't get any OS updates.

    Sure, but, like any product beyond the lifetime of its guarantee, W7
    doesn't suddenly become useless because Microsoft have stopped
    maintaining it.  I've not had an issue over the 10 years I've been using it  -  nor for that matter the 15 or so that I've been using XP  -  and as the most likely source of problems is a browser, which *is* being
    updated and my browsing habits have not changed, why should I suddenly
    have a problem now?  As long as I can keep the most vulnerable
    applications such as AV and browsers updated, then I have no fear in
    using W7  -  on the other hand, for XP I can't do this, which is why I don't take it on to the internet.


    Sure, it will not magically stop working just for ms decide to
    discontinue an operating system, but you also will lack fixes like for Downfall which an anti-virus program wouldn't protect against nor will
    the latest browser.
    Just for you have a vulnerability of course don't make you prime target,
    but could happen you just happen to visit your regular site and it's
    been compromised and could be serving a bit different traffic than
    usually which could lead to ...

    --
    //Aho


    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Paul@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 19:21:12
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 4/16/2024 9:46 AM, Java Jive wrote:
    On 16/04/2024 14:05, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2024-04-16 14:32, Java Jive wrote:
    On 16/04/2024 12:50, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2024-04-16 00:29, Paul wrote:
    Remember - these things have folders in ESP, a "Ubuntu" folder, a "Windows" folder.

    I think he is booting in traditional model aka legacy, ie, no ESP.

    Correct.

    As indicated in another post, I have solved the problem, which was caused by the two partitions having identical GUIDs, the W10 being an in-place upgrade of the W7 one.  Changing the partition GUID of the W10 partition resolved the problem.

    I should have noticed it:

           search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA

           search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA

    Arguably, so should I!  However, at the time of my OP I didn't know enough about GRUB to realise those numbers were the GUIDs of the partitions.  It was J.O.Aho's remark, on first reading apparently insignificant, that later came back to me, causing me to investigate further and so realise that they were the GUIDs of the partitions involved.

    And is that really a GUID ?

    I've seen several lengths of disk identifier Linux uses
    from Windows stuff, and it's not clear how it
    parses or understands things like that. Or for that
    matter, what generic term we should use for the identifier.

    To me, it seems Linux does not get 128 bit numbers from Legacy Windows
    for identifiers, the numbers tend to be 64 bit or 32 bit (DiskID).
    At least I can understand the DiskID one, because I've seen it
    in a hex editor.

    With GPT, both the partition type and the partition identifier,
    they could be 128 bit numbers (disktype can show you those, maybe
    gparted as well). Then the formatting would look like a GUID.

    Partition 3: 118.7 GiB (127481675776 bytes, 248987648 sectors from 239616)
    Type Basic Data (GUID A2A0D0EB-E5B9-3344-87C0-68B6B72699C7) <=== fixed declaration
    Partition Name "Basic data partition"
    Partition GUID 6A16D60B-3608-4140-891C-792DF2C72ABD <=== random assignment of some sort
    NTFS file system
    Volume size 118.7 GiB (127481675264 bytes, 248987647 sectors)

    Paul



    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Java Jive@2:250/1 to All on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 23:53:30
    Subject: Re: GRUB dual-boot with Ubuntu 22 won't remember Windows 7 as last
    used, chooses Windows 10 instead

    On 16/04/2024 19:21, Paul wrote:

    On 4/16/2024 9:46 AM, Java Jive wrote:

    On 16/04/2024 14:05, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    On 2024-04-16 14:32, Java Jive wrote:

    As indicated in another post, I have solved the problem, which was caused by the two partitions having identical GUIDs, the W10 being an in-place upgrade of the W7 one.  Changing the partition GUID of the W10 partition resolved the problem.

    I should have noticed it:

           search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos1  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA

           search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos2 --hint-efi=hd0,msdos2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,msdos2  C00A7FAA0A7F9BDA

    Arguably, so should I!  However, at the time of my OP I didn't know enough about GRUB to realise those numbers were the GUIDs of the partitions.  It was J.O.Aho's remark, on first reading apparently insignificant, that later came back to me, causing me to investigate further and so realise that they were the GUIDs of the partitions involved.

    And is that really a GUID ?

    I've seen several lengths of disk identifier Linux uses
    from Windows stuff, and it's not clear how it
    parses or understands things like that. Or for that
    matter, what generic term we should use for the identifier.

    To me, it seems Linux does not get 128 bit numbers from Legacy Windows
    for identifiers, the numbers tend to be 64 bit or 32 bit (DiskID).
    At least I can understand the DiskID one, because I've seen it
    in a hex editor.

    As far as I can tell, nomenclature varies, not just between OSs, but
    also between different utilities supplied with or third party programs
    running on a single OS, and between different people discussing the same
    thing in the same online forum ...

    In grub.cfg, we have seen that the hex strings under discussion are effectively some sort of partition or volume ID. In many sources
    online, they are referred to as partition IDs, however ...

    In GPartEd, rt-clicking a partition and choosing Information describes
    it as a UUID, so that is what I will call it/them henceforth. Once that
    is understood, it then becomes apparent that rt-clicking a partition
    gives a further choice of New UUID which can be chosen to change it far
    more easily than the rigmarole that I went through.

    However, in DiskPart, listing the details of neither a partition nor a
    volume shows anywhere by any name the UUIDs shown in Linux utilities ...

    DISKPART> select disk 0
    Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

    DISKPART> list part
    Partition ### Type Size Offset
    ------------- ---------------- ------- -------
    Partition 1 Primary 64 GB 1024 KB
    Partition 2 Primary 64 GB 64 GB
    Partition 3 Primary 32 GB 128 GB
    Partition 0 Extended 287 GB 160 GB
    Partition 4 Logical 143 GB 160 GB
    Partition 5 Logical 143 GB 303 GB

    DISKPART> select part 1
    Partition 1 is now the selected partition.

    DISKPART> detail part
    Partition 1
    Type : 07
    Hidden: No
    Active: Yes
    Offset in Bytes: 1048576

    Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status
    Info
    ---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- -------
    --------- --------
    * Volume 1 C Win10Pro NTFS Partition 64 GB Healthy


    DISKPART> select volume 1
    Volume 1 is the selected volume.

    DISKPART> detail volume
    Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
    -------- ------------- ------- ------- --- ---
    * Disk 0 Online 447 GB 1024 KB

    Read-only : No
    Hidden : No
    No Default Drive Letter: No
    Shadow Copy : No
    Offline : No
    BitLocker Encrypted : No
    Installable : Yes

    Volume Capacity : 63 GB
    Volume Free Space : 9 GB

    .... while, just to cause further confusion, DiskPart's SETID command
    change the partition *TYPE* ID, not any sort of volume or partition UUID
    or label.

    In DiskGenius, the UUID is called a 'Volume ID'.

    No wonder so many of us are confused in life ...

    With GPT, both the partition type and the partition identifier,
    they could be 128 bit numbers (disktype can show you those, maybe
    gparted as well). Then the formatting would look like a GUID.

    Partition 3: 118.7 GiB (127481675776 bytes, 248987648 sectors from 239616)
    Type Basic Data (GUID A2A0D0EB-E5B9-3344-87C0-68B6B72699C7) <=== fixed declaration
    Partition Name "Basic data partition"
    Partition GUID 6A16D60B-3608-4140-891C-792DF2C72ABD <=== random assignment of some sort
    NTFS file system
    Volume size 118.7 GiB (127481675264 bytes, 248987647 sectors)

    Yes, but not strictly relevant to my original problem.

    --

    Fake news kills!

    I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

    --- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.6 (Linux-x86_64)
    * Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)
  • From Lachlan Alanthos@2:250/5 to J.O. Aho on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 11:58:40
    Just for you have a vulnerability of course don't make you prime target, but could happen you just happen to visit your regular site and it's
    been compromised and could be serving a bit different traffic than usually which could lead to ...

    One only has to look at what happened with the Mirai botnet to understand the risk of leaving outdated and unpatched devices connected to your network.


    -- Lachlan

    ... Just another prisoner of gravity!

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: thE qUAntUm wOrmhOlE, rAmsgAtE, Uk. bbs.erb.pw (2:250/5)