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Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 11:47 am
by Falcon
I have a Windows 7 partition on my computer in addition to MX-21. Normally, the computer boots to the GRUB boot manager with MX as the default. I was doing some work trying to restore the Windows partition. When I got done with all of this, I found that when I boot the computer, it boots directly to Windows without displaying the GRUB boot manager.
If I start up using the BIOS boot menu, I have the choice of booting from the Windows Boot Manager, or from the disk. If I choose to boot from the disk, then the GRUB boot manager will be displayed as usual.
I opened the UEFI BIOS program and checked the boot order. The only boot devices that were displayed were Windows Boot Manager, the CD/DVD drive and an additional HDD where I keep my data. The disk that contains the operating systems was not shown as an option, even though it shows up in the boot menu. Something must have gotten altered when I was working with Windows, but I don't know how to go about correcting it. Can someone please help me to get this fixed?
Thanks in advance.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 11:58 am
by CharlesV
Possibly running MX from your bios and then trying MX Boot Repair will fix it up easily. Try the first choice first - Repair GRUB, and then if that doesnt do it try the second choice - Reinstall Grub.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 12:22 pm
by Falcon
If I choose Repair GRUB configuration files, I'm asked where the repair should take place, and the default is the root of the MX partition. I thought that the boot loader was installed in the MBR of the disk. Is the default location of the MX partition the one that I should be using?
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 1:03 pm
by CharlesV
I believe that it can be setup in different ways, but normally yes.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 1:21 pm
by Falcon
Okay, I used Boot Repair from MX Tools and selected the repair option. Then I tried to reboot, but it still went right to Windows. The I restarted from the boot menu and tried to reinstall GRUB to the MBR. I got a message window that the operation completed successfully, but when I rebooted it still went right to Windows.
I don't know if this has any bearing on the subject, but when I boot from the disk in the boot menu, the option to boot to Windows does not appear on the boot selection screen as it had before all this started. Does this give you any clues?
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 3:10 pm
by CharlesV
hmm... it sounds like the bios is dictating which drive / partition to boot too and they both have a boot record.
Post your QSI please.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 3:50 pm
by Falcon
I should have done this before:
Code: Select all
Snapshot created on: 20250509_0749
System: Kernel: 6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 [6.2-23~mx21+1] x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
parameters: audit=0 intel_pstate=disable hpet=disable rcupdate.rcu_expedited=1
BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
Desktop: Xfce 4.18.1 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_x64 Wildflower January 15 2023
base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Machine: Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: B150M-A D3 v: Rev X.0x serial: <filter>
UEFI-[Legacy]: American Megatrends v: 0212 date: 07/10/2015
Battery: Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Keyboard serial: <filter>
charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: Discharging
CPU: Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-6100 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Skylake-S
family: 6 model-id: 5E (94) stepping: 3 microcode: F0 cache: L2: 3 MiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 29598
Speed: 3699 MHz min/max: 740/3700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 3700 2: 3700 3: 3700
4: 3700
Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS, IBPB: conditional, STIBP: conditional, RSB filling,
PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics: Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 530 vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel bus-ID: 00:02.0
chip-ID: 8086:1912 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.14 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver:
loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1200 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x317mm (20.0x12.5")
s-diag: 599mm (23.6")
Monitor-1: DP-1 res: 1920x1200 hz: 60 dpi: 94 size: 518x324mm (20.4x12.8")
diag: 611mm (24.1")
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 530 (SKL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 22.0.5
direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel 100 Series/C230 Series Family HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK H110I-PLUS
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs bus-ID: 00:1f.3
chip-ID: 8086:a170 class-ID: 0403
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 running: yes
Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: ASUSTeK RTL8111H driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus-ID: 05:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Realtek RTL88x2bu [AC1200 Techkey] type: USB driver: rtw_8822bu bus-ID: 1-2:2
chip-ID: 0bda:b812 class-ID: 0000 serial: <filter>
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives: Local Storage: total: 960.77 GiB used: 196.8 GiB (20.5%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Crucial model: CT500MX500SSD1 size: 465.76 GiB
block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter>
rev: 045 scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital model: WD5000AZRX-00A3KB0
size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD
rpm: 5400 serial: <filter> rev: 1A01 scheme: MBR
ID-3: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 type: USB vendor: Walgreen model: Infinitive
size: 29.25 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter>
rev: 1.00 scheme: MBR
SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition: ID-1: / raw-size: 210.42 GiB size: 206.06 GiB (97.93%) used: 95.95 GiB (46.6%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/sda4 maj-min: 8:4
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 100 MiB size: 96 MiB (96.00%) used: 17.4 MiB (18.1%) fs: vfat
dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap: Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 50 (default 100)
ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 16 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swapfile
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8 C mobo: 27.8 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos: Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 2394 lib: 1206 flatpak: 0
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ bullseye main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib non-free
2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list
1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bullseye main non-free
2: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bullseye ahs
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/softmaker.list
1: deb http://shop.softmaker.com/repo/apt stable non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list
1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main
Info: Processes: 249 Uptime: 34m wakeups: 5 Memory: 15.51 GiB used: 2.01 GiB (13.0%)
Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 10.2.1
alt: 10 Client: shell wrapper v: 5.1.4-release inxi: 3.3.06
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 3:53 pm
by Eadwine Rose
In UEFI manager, manage UEFI entries, I have two entries, one windows, one UEFI OS (which is mx).
I have the UEFI OS on the top. Might be that yours has windows boot manager on top.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 4:13 pm
by Falcon
Eadwine Rose,
I tried using the UEFI manager as you suggested but I got the following message:
"This system doesn't seem to support UEFI, or was not booted in UEFI mode. Exiting."
I don't know if what I wrote in the first post was very clear, but when I boot up the computer from the BIOS boot menu, one boot option is Windows Boot Manager and the other is just the disk itself. But when I open the UEFI BIOS configuration and check the boot order, the only one shown is Windows Boot Manager.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 4:24 pm
by baldyeti
Your first drive is GPT-partitioned and the second MBR-partitioned.
Does the ASUS firmware allow you to choose which drive to boot from, and either in legacy or UEFI mode ?
And are Windows and MX installed on the same unit, or each on its own disk ?
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 4:28 pm
by baldyeti
Falcon wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 4:13 pm
I tried using the UEFI manager as you suggested but I got the following message:
"This system doesn't seem to support UEFI, or was not booted in UEFI mode. Exiting."
That is probably because your USB stick (sdc) is MBR-partitioned and boots in MBR /legacy mode, *not* UEFI indeed.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 5:08 pm
by Falcon
Here is what the boot menu looks like from the BIOS boot menu:
SATA6G_3: ASUS DRW-24B1ST <- THIS IS THE CD/DVD DRIVE
SATA6G_2: WDC WD5000AZRX-00A3KB (476940MB) <- THIS IS A HDD WHERE I KEEP ALL OF MY USER DATA
SATA6G_1: CT500MX500SSD1 (476940MB) <- THIS IS THE SSD THAT HOLDS BOTH OPERATING SYSTEMS
WINDOWS BOOT MANAGER (SATAG_1 CT500MX500SSD1)
USB
USB
USB
Enter Setup
In the UEFI BIOS control this is the boot order:
Windows Boot Manager
SATA6G-3:ASUS DRW-24B1ST <- THIS IS THE CD/DVD DRIVE
USB
USB
I hope this helps
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 5:10 pm
by fehlix
Falcon wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 4:13 pm
I don't know if what I wrote in the first post was very clear...
yes, not clear to me either.
Suggest to tell the full story. E.g what does mean "trying to restore the Windows partition."
and post:
*QSI
* Partition layout:
and
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 5:11 pm
by baldyeti
Falcon wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 1:21 pm
The I restarted from the boot menu and tried to reinstall GRUB to the MBR.
For a UEFI boot you'd need to re-install to ESP, not MBR.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 5:14 pm
by baldyeti
If your ASUS firmware allows you to boot the USB key in UEFI mode, you'd also get an extra boot-menu entry for rescue boot. I am using ventoy which allows booting in both modes, not sure if a key formatted using another tool would too.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 5:58 pm
by Falcon
Okay, as requested, here is the full story on this issue:
I built this computer in 2015, and installed Windows 7 Pro 64 bit on it. In 2019 when Microsoft stated that support for Windows 7 would be ending, I decided that I didn't want to go to Windows 10 and I looked for an alternative. I came across a video on YouTube for MX Linux and I decided to give it a try. I probably should have kept the Windows 7 OS on the computer and just made it dual boot with MX but I had never set up anything like this before, so I just decided to reformat the drive and install MX-19 on it, However, before doing so, I created an image of the SSD using the Windows Backup tools. Then I formatted the drive and did the install of MX-19. Later on, when MX-21 came along, I decided to install it also, so I used Gparted to create another partition for MX-21 and started using it.
About a year ago, I decided that I would get rid of the MX-19 OS from the first partition in the SSD and put Windows 7 back on. I did this from a Windows 7 Installation disk, but I never really did anything with it afterward. A couple of days ago, I decided that what I really should do was to restore the Windows 7 image to the SSD which would put it back to the state that it was in when last used it. I took out the Windows 7 Repair CD that I had made and tried to do a restore, but I got a message that the restore program could not find an image file on the Western Digital Passport external HDD where the image was stored.
So this morning I got the idea that I might try to do the image restore from inside Windows 7, using the image restore tools in Control Panel. When I had specified that I wanted to restore the computer from an image file, I was told to restart the computer and then continue. I did the restart and when the computer came back up, the restore program, just like the one on the Repair CD, was displayed. And just like the program on the CD it couldn't find an image file to restore. Since nothing seemed to work, I just said, "The heck with it" and shut down Windows. But when I restarted, the computer booted directly to Windows instead of displaying the usual Grub boot menu. You can see the boot options and boot order in the BIOS in one of the posts above.
And that's how I got to where things are now.
Code: Select all
Snapshot created on: 20250509_0749
System: Kernel: 6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 [6.2-23~mx21+1] x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
parameters: audit=0 intel_pstate=disable hpet=disable rcupdate.rcu_expedited=1
BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
Desktop: Xfce 4.18.1 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_x64 Wildflower January 15 2023
base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Machine: Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: B150M-A D3 v: Rev X.0x serial: <filter>
UEFI-[Legacy]: American Megatrends v: 0212 date: 07/10/2015
Battery: Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Wireless Keyboard serial: <filter>
charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: Discharging
CPU: Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-6100 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Skylake-S
family: 6 model-id: 5E (94) stepping: 3 microcode: F0 cache: L2: 3 MiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 29598
Speed: 1402 MHz min/max: 740/3700 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1402 2: 1400 3: 1401
4: 1400
Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS, IBPB: conditional, STIBP: conditional, RSB filling,
PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics: Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 530 vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel bus-ID: 00:02.0
chip-ID: 8086:1912 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.14 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver:
loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1200 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x317mm (20.0x12.5")
s-diag: 599mm (23.6")
Monitor-1: DP-1 res: 1920x1200 hz: 60 dpi: 94 size: 518x324mm (20.4x12.8")
diag: 611mm (24.1")
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 530 (SKL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 22.0.5
direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel 100 Series/C230 Series Family HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK H110I-PLUS
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs bus-ID: 00:1f.3
chip-ID: 8086:a170 class-ID: 0403
Sound Server-1: ALSA v: k6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 running: yes
Sound Server-2: PulseAudio v: 14.2 running: yes
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: ASUSTeK RTL8111H driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus-ID: 05:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Realtek RTL88x2bu [AC1200 Techkey] type: USB driver: rtw_8822bu bus-ID: 1-2:2
chip-ID: 0bda:b812 class-ID: 0000 serial: <filter>
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives: Local Storage: total: 931.52 GiB used: 189.01 GiB (20.3%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Crucial model: CT500MX500SSD1 size: 465.76 GiB
block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter>
rev: 045 scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital model: WD5000AZRX-00A3KB0
size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: HDD
rpm: 5400 serial: <filter> rev: 1A01 scheme: MBR
Partition: ID-1: / raw-size: 210.42 GiB size: 206.06 GiB (97.93%) used: 95.96 GiB (46.6%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/sda4 maj-min: 8:4
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 100 MiB size: 96 MiB (96.00%) used: 17.4 MiB (18.1%) fs: vfat
dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap: Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 50 (default 100)
ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 16 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swapfile
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8 C mobo: 27.8 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos: Packages: note: see --pkg apt: 2394 lib: 1206 flatpak: 0
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
1: deb [arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ bullseye main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib non-free
2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list
1: deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bullseye main non-free
2: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bullseye ahs
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/softmaker.list
1: deb http://shop.softmaker.com/repo/apt stable non-free
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list
1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main
Info: Processes: 233 Uptime: 54m wakeups: 9 Memory: 15.51 GiB used: 1.68 GiB (10.8%)
Init: SysVinit v: 2.96 runlevel: 5 default: 5 tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 10.2.1
alt: 10 Client: shell wrapper v: 5.1.4-release inxi: 3.3.06
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)
Code: Select all
warthog@mx:~
$ lsblk --fs
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT
sda
├─sda1 vfat FAT32 3688-B703 78.6M 18% /boot/efi
├─sda2
├─sda3 ntfs EAE289BEE2898F8D
└─sda4 ext4 1.0 rootMX21 5630845e-f074-4fc5-99f1-5a8564571c76 99.6G 47% /
sdb
└─sdb1 ntfs CC08C21908C20306 372.7G 20% /media/CC08C21908C2
sr0
warthog@mx:~
Code: Select all
warthog@mx:~
$ sudo parted --list
[sudo] password for warthog:
Model: ATA CT500MX500SSD1 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 106MB 105MB fat32 EFI system partition boot, esp
2 106MB 240MB 134MB Microsoft reserved partition msftres
3 240MB 274GB 274GB ntfs Basic data partition msftdata
4 274GB 500GB 226GB ext4 MX Linux
Model: ATA WDC WD5000AZRX-0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 1049kB 500GB 500GB primary ntfs
warthog@mx:~
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 6:28 pm
by fehlix
Falcon wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 5:58 pm
And that's how I got to where things are now.
Thanks.
And now you are confused, b/ c of this:
Falcon wrote: Fri May 09, 2025 5:58 pm
Code: Select all
Snapshot created on: 20250509_0749
System: Kernel: 6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 [6.2-23~mx21+1] x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
parameters: audit=0 intel_pstate=disable hpet=disable rcupdate.rcu_expedited=1
BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.2.14-1-liquorix-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
Desktop: Xfce 4.18.1 tk: Gtk 3.24.24 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm 4.18.0 vt: 7
dm: LightDM 1.26.0 Distro: MX-21.3_x64 Wildflower January 15 2023
base: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Machine: Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: B150M-A D3 v: Rev X.0x serial: <filter>
UEFI-[Legacy]: American Megatrends v: 0212 date: 07/10/2015
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)
and
Code: Select all
Disk /dev/sda: 500GB
Partition Table: gpt
The MX installtion made was with BIOS-boot mode, so the Mx installtion tries to boot from "MBR"
on a GPT partions layout. Which is posible but likely failure prone, B/c on GPT drive there is no MBR,
capable to hold GRUB firstage boot loader.
You Windows installation was made in UEFI-boot mode, b/c Windows can only be made on GPT-drive with UEFI-boot mode.
Now what does this mean:
Do disable within UEFI firmaware setup BIOS/legacy/CSM boot, as other wise the LiveUSB may also try first to boot in MBR/BIOS boot mode.
Now reboot with LiveUSB in UEFI-mode and "try" to run "MX Boot-Repair" again.
you need to select ESP, and select GRUB-target as ESP.
For boot repair it is easier to find the ESP used by the installed system, if you would have an entry within /etc/fstab,
which you do currently not have, b/c of legacy/MBR install.
When done, do also regenerate GRUB menu, from with "MX Boot Repair"
In case it doesn't work for you tell steps done, so someone might to fix it manually.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 7:01 pm
by Falcon
I'm sorry that I have to let this go for tonight, but I will get back on it and do what you suggested tomorrow morning.
Thanks to everyone who has helped so far.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 8:52 pm
by FullScale4Me
Windows 7 gold release and OEM both were MBR only. Support for UEFI was a later release (Service Pack 1) that IIRC was NOT released to the OEM channel.
So, a PC of the Windows 7 era was not *required* to support UEFI. Also, some PCs of that era do not support FAT16 formatted ESP partitions, despite it being in the UEFI specification, as it is also framed as recommended vs required.
Mixing MBR and GPT disks has been shown to be problematic as the PC's firmware makes assumptions that often create major/minor issues in bootup/multiuser startup. In short, don't do it!
Your EFI partition shows formatting is vfat, which older PCs may not support.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sat May 10, 2025 11:14 am
by Falcon
I went into the BIOS setup and I looked at everything but there was no mention of legacy/CSM boot under any of the menus. Under the BOOT menu, all that was shown was the ability to specify the boot order. There was also a section titled Boot Override. On this menu if I clicked on the disk option, rather than on Windows Boot Manager, then the computer immediately booted to the MX boot menu. Should I just proceed with trying to boot the Live USB again and reinstall GRUB with the ESP option or might that cause more problems.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sat May 10, 2025 3:09 pm
by operadude
@Falcon Here's your Motherboard Manual:
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/ ... 0M-A%20D3
Your "BIOS", according to the manual pictures, is what ASUS calls "UEFI-BIOS"-- so, supports UEFI
and ("Legacy") BIOS. To get into UEFI/BIOS (from the manual):
2.2 BIOS setup program
Use the BIOS Setup program to update the BIOS or configure its parameters. The BIOS screens include navigation keys and brief online help to guide you in using the BIOS Setup program.
To enter BIOS Setup at startup:
Press <Delete> or <F2> during the Power‑On Self Test (POST). If you do not press <Delete> or <F2>, POST continues with its routines...
See this part of the manual:
2.6 Advanced menu
The Advanced menu items allow you to change the settings for the CPU and other system devices.
==> To switch between UEFI and "Legacy" BIOS, you will do so in this "Advanced Menu" area! So, you will need to get to the "Advanced Menu" section first!
After that, within the Advanced Menu (also called "Advanced Mode"), there will be a section called "Boot". See this from the manual:
2.8 Boot menu
The Boot menu items allow you to change the system boot options.
Scroll down to display the other BIOS items.
So, in "Advanced Menu/Mode", click-on the "Boot" section. Within the "Boot" section of "Advanced Mode", on the left-hand side, all the way at the bottom, there is a setting called "CSM" (Compatibility Support Module). This CSM setting, if selected, is what allows you to boot into strictly ("Legacy") BIOS mode, and NOT, I repeat NOT, UEFI mode. But you do want UEFI mode, so..., click-on that CSM button, and make sure that it is DISABLED. In other words, you DO NOT WANT CSM turned on or activated. You want that off, or disabled, so that your computer will then boot into UEFI mode
It might have been turned-on by default, or maybe Windows 7 changed it for you, without asking you, of course! In any event, it seems clear from the bottom of your QSI that you are booting in BIOS (Legacy) mode, and not UEFI, even though at the top of your QSI, it looks like the motherboard supports UEFI!
And, as others have already pointed-out, you have a mish-mash of GPT and MBR drives, but that is a more complicated (for me) issue, and I would follow-up with
@fehlix after switching your boot process to UEFI.
I'll try to get a pic of that manual, but I found it online, and have the link at the top of this post.
Really hope this helps (HTH)
And...
UEFI/BIOS Selection Pic (from the manual):
EDIT:
Remember to SAVE YOUR CHANGES before or at Exit !!! :
2.10 Exit menu
The Exit menu items allow you to load the optimal default values for the BIOS items, and save or discard your changes to the BIOS items.
So, when done, switch from the "Boot" sub-menu in "Advanced Mode" to the "Exit" sub-menu, and click "Save Changes and Reset"
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sat May 10, 2025 6:32 pm
by Falcon
Operadude,
I must have looked at that boot menu 15 times this morning and I didn't see the option to disable CSM. So now it is disabled. I booted the Live USB drive and it took a couple of minutes before it displayed the user logon screen, which is kind of unusual. I opened MX Tools and selected Boot Repair. Then I reinstalled the GRUB boot loader in ESP mode and that completed successfully. Then I ran the Repair GRUB Configuration operation and that completed successfully, also. Then I rebooted the computer and everything is back to normal.
I can't figure out how I missed the CSM disable option on the BIOS boot menu, but stranger things have happened. Thank you to you and Fehlix and everyone else who helped with this problem.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sun May 11, 2025 5:32 am
by operadude
Falcon wrote: Sat May 10, 2025 6:32 pm
Operadude,
I must have looked at that boot menu 15 times this morning and I didn't see the option to disable CSM. So now it is disabled. I booted the Live USB drive and it took a couple of minutes before it displayed the user logon screen, which is kind of unusual. I opened MX Tools and selected Boot Repair. Then I reinstalled the GRUB boot loader in ESP mode and that completed successfully. Then I ran the Repair GRUB Configuration operation and that completed successfully, also. Then I rebooted the computer and everything is back to normal.
I can't figure out how I missed the CSM disable option on the BIOS boot menu, but stranger things have happened. Thank you to you and Fehlix and everyone else who helped with this problem.
@Falcon 
Great Job
P.S. Remember to mark as: [SOLVED]
--> Pick the post that you think solved your issue, and then click the check-mark (kind of a "v") on the upper right-hand-side of that post. That will mark your thread as "[SOLVED]", indicating that that post was the one that did it for you (sorry about the "that that"!). Marking "Solved" is just good Forum form-- say that 10 times fast!.
Oh, yeah...
P.P.S (I always wrote P.S.S., but now that seems wrong!). Anyway:
Maybe follow-up with
@fehlix about managing the mix of GPT and MBR drives. Maybe it's just not an issue anymore, but you might want to check, so as to prevent any future problems. Above my paygrade, and that "cat" (pun intended) is WAY OUT OF MY LEAGUE
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sun May 11, 2025 10:03 am
by Falcon
Thanks, Operadude
When this problem showed up a couple days ago, CharlesV suggested that I run Boot Repair and reinstall GRUB. I did that, but when I did the reinstall, I specified MBR, rather than ESP. That may have been where the problem began. Hopefully, everything is fixed now.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sun May 11, 2025 11:05 am
by j2mcgreg
@operadude wrote:
Your "BIOS", according to the manual pictures, is what ASUS calls "UEFI-BIOS"-- so, supports UEFI and ("Legacy") BIOS.
With the introduction of UEFI along side Windows 8, "Legacy" was reinterpreted to mean that a user could roll back to Windows 7 specifically. The CSM module built into UEFI is an MBR emulator that facilitates this regression. CSM was not meant or designed for use with Linux and an MBR install and doing so will render a computer increasingly erratic.
Rule of Thumb
If the target computer shipped with Windows 7 or earlier, you should do an MBR install. However, if it had Windows 8 or later or has a UEFI bios you should do a UEFI install.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sun May 11, 2025 12:25 pm
by CharlesV
Just a note - it is a great idea to save your working QSI to backups or another computer, so that you can refer back to it if you need more info formation ( like if your install is mbr or efi ).
This can also help if you need to identify parts, or configurations of that machine too.
Re: Power up boots directly to Windows
Posted: Sun May 11, 2025 3:04 pm
by Falcon
Thanks for the extra info, everyone. I'll definitely save the QSI onto a backup drive.