Windows partition broken after installing mint | Linux Mint Community🍵 | Page 1

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 7:56 PM

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After installing Mint, I cannot mount the partition that windows is on. I also cannot boot into windows. When I select "Windows Boot Manager" from the boot menu, I just get sent to the windows recovery thing. And the repair boot tool there doesn't work.

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 8:54 PM

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boot to Linux to test something

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the installed version

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****To see if Linux is booted/installed as UEFI or BIOS mode:
In terminal: ls /sys/firmware/efi
a 'no files found' means it's booted as legacy BIOS

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files found will mean UEFI booted

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 8:58 PM

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There are files there

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:03 PM

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ok. good

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run DISKS from Mint app menu

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:04 PM

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got it, here's the disk in question

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partition 3 is windows

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:05 PM

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yes, structure looks good

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idk why Windows boot got messed

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u may need to get and boot a windows installer dvd/image and use its Advanced tools/repair

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:08 PM

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the advanced tools are what it sends me to when I try to boot windows, I think?

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also, what about the "Repair filesystem..." option in Disks. is that worth trying?

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:09 PM

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languid fiber u may need to get and boot a windows installer dvd/image and use its Advanced to...

this screen? that looks the same as what I get

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:10 PM

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yeah that screen, but from ISO

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:11 PM

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Ok. And you don't think the 'Disks" app's repair filesystem tool is worth running?

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:12 PM

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no

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ur in the installed linux now; u can see all ur Windows files

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:13 PM

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I can't see windows files. I can't mount the partition that has them

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:13 PM

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hmm

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if u highlight it in DISKS, and clik Play, wat happens?

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:14 PM

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languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:15 PM

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kk

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u made a ventoy usb?

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for linux, earlier?

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:16 PM

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do you mean the flash drive I used to install linux?

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:16 PM

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yes

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:16 PM

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I didn't use ventoy (if that matters), but I do have that, yeah

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:17 PM

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u may need some tools, so I recommend u get the ventoy bootloader tool for USB's and install it exactly to my instructions (LINE 11 especially) then add Hirens Boot CD PE iso to it.

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📎 Ventoy_install1-short.txt

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then boot the usb as a UEFI storage device at power on time.. use ventoy menu to choose Hirens, and boot normal. On Hirens desktop, open command prompt as administrator (r-click) and do chkdsk c:

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if errors are found, log to c drive in prompt. c:

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then type chkdsk /f

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:22 PM

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Alright. I'll work on this and let you know, thanks

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Also, what iso should I be putting on to it?

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windows, right?

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:23 PM

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if that doesn't fix the problem, you can verify if the ESP (UEFI Boot partition) contains the proper stuff, by loading linux mint iso, off ur ventoy stick, then running its Boot Repair tool from its desktop start-menu, and do a SUMMARY report, and read it over.

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I'd just add Hirens Boot PE , and Mint ISO for now

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:25 PM

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but you're saying to run chkdsk which is windows, no?

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:25 PM

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if the chkdsk thing doesnt fix Windows, and the Boot Repair summary shows no entries for Windows in all the data regarding that exact disk, then more work needs to be done regarding rebuilding the EFI partition

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:25 PM

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snow pelican but you're saying to run `chkdsk` which is windows, no?

yes, Hirens is like a Windows environment.

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:26 PM

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ohh I didn't know that. ok

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 9:26 PM

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languid fiber if errors are found, log to c drive in prompt. `c:`

one more question before I get going, can you elaborate on this? how would I do that?

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 9:27 PM

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so the first command scans the c: drive (in hirens it should detect the NTFS partition automatically, and letter it C:) u can check in its file explorer anyway.

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if it finds errors, it will tell u at the end of the scan in the command prompt

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it will say do "chkdsk /f" to fix

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/r will do a surface scan, but that's rather lengthy and likely excess work.

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when i said log to, i just mean make sure the prompt reads C:\ >

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command to log to correct place: c:

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and/or cd \

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in the extreme event... you'll need the Win official install ISO, and have a good watch of this video to guide u
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ17JrgFFhw

YouTube

CyberCPU Tech

Windows 10 and 11 Wont Boot, How To Fix UEFI Partition

Is your system not booting or has something else gone wrong with the UEFI bootloader? If so, this video will show you how to completely rebuild the UEFI bootloader to fix just about any booting problem your having with a GPT or UEFI system.

Sponsored links
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▶ Play video

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but u may hopefully not have to go that far.

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:04 PM

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'chkdsk c:' output a bunch of stuff, but notably "The Volume Bitmap is incorrect."

it recommends running 'chkdsk /scan'. should I do that, or 'chkdsk /f' like you said?

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:08 PM

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snow pelican 'chkdsk c:' output a bunch of stuff, but notably "The Volume Bitmap is incorrect...

is it SSD?

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:08 PM

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yes

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:08 PM

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ok do its recommendation

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might take a while but hopefully not more than 10 minutes

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:10 PM

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nah, it finished fast. it's now recommending 'chkdsk /spotfix'

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should I go ahead with that recommendation?

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:21 PM

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i suppose so

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not even sure what that does

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/f just "fixes" errors afaik

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:27 PM

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hm. it said it fixed the 1 error it found, but I still can't boot to it or mount it

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:28 PM

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danggg

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try again.. go back into hirens. do the chkdsk /f thing.. then use its own file explorer to look around and open files like pictures or documents in the thing it calls "c:" drive.

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ie: c:\users$user\

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hope it at least opens files there.

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:30 PM

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I'm thinking I'll try browsing the c drive before and after chkdsk /f

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:32 PM

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sure

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:34 PM

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snow pelican After installing Mint, I cannot mount the partition that windows is on. I also c...

this is very rare. either ur drive just got a bad sector or 2 in the flash memory, or even more strangely, the EFI got wrecked.

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:35 PM

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oh. c drive is the wrong partition. it's looking at my other hard drice

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drive

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:35 PM

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well find the right stuff and work on the right drive letter.

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:35 PM

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yup, working on that

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"Corrupt master file table. CHKDSK aborted." it makes no recommendations

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:40 PM

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ew

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are u able to access files?

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and, did u do the command using an Administrator-level command prompt window?

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:41 PM

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"d:" returns "The file or directory is corrupted and unreachable"

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:41 PM

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languid fiber and, did u do the command using an Administrator-level command prompt window?

yes I did

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*unreadable

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:42 PM

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in the file explorer, u mean?

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:43 PM

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both in the command prompt and in file explorer

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:43 PM

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snow pelican got it, here's the disk in question

and ur certain to be looking in this 375-400 GB partition/proper drive letter?

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:44 PM

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I have no good way to verify other than the fact that it won't load

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:45 PM

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there may be some Disk-related tools in Hirens. I guess check them out.. otherwise u will need to erase that partition, and reinstall Windows on it.

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 10:45 PM

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snow pelican I have no good way to verify other than the fact that it won't load

open "Windows Disk Management" from start-search . u'll see what letter it gave it.

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 10:48 PM

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D: says 372.47 GB, so that seems right. strangely the file system is listed as "RAW" and the status is "Healthy (Basic Data Partition)"

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 11:24 PM

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languid fiber there may be some Disk-related tools in Hirens. I guess check them out.. otherwi...

.

snow pelican Jul 2, 2024, 11:25 PM

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alright, thanks

languid fiber Jul 2, 2024, 11:32 PM

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snow pelican D: says 372.47 GB, so that seems right. strangely the file system is listed as "...

yeah file system should list as NTFS, but eh.. good luck.

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 3:53 PM

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Alright, so. I spent all of last night trying to restore the partition, with no luck. So its time to give up on it and just reinstall windows. I wanted some guidance though. So I just need to go ahead and format that singular partition, right?

The first image is the one in question.
But I also noticed the one in the second image that says "Microsoft Reserved". Do I need to do anything with that?
And then lastly, the partition in the third image is "Windows Recovery Environment" which I guess is why I can get to that recovery screen that I think you'd usually see booting from an ISO. Can I just reinstall from that?

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 3:58 PM

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hang on

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 3:59 PM

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yup, no worries

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:00 PM

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ok you're still able to boot into linux on this computer right?

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:00 PM

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yeah

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:00 PM

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I would first venture to boot the Windows Installer ISO, and do a thing

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u have it right?

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:01 PM

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Just the first download on this page, right? https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:01 PM

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looks right

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:02 PM

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Ok. Then yeah. I'll get that and add it to my ventoy

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oops nope. that's an exe

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:03 PM

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ok (obviously if it doesnt install right, then u'll need to make a media creation tool, on another Windows PC, onto a fresh USB stick of at least 8 GB i think)

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but ya find the ISO.

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try with Ventoy for now

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:03 PM

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Alright. What are you suggesting I try?

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:05 PM

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whatever u had working.. windows 10 or 11.. just install. I was gonna say try to recover the bootloader, but nvm.

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so to prepare the disk,

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go into gparted, delete 3 partitions. The large screwed up NTFS one, the ms reserved, and the ms recovery one.. apply changes, then reboot to the Windows installer. dont format anything.. just leave as unallocated space, and windows installer should pick it up and set it up with u.

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:08 PM

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Gotcha. And do I just need the gparted package, or do I need gparted-common as well?

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nevermind its a dependency

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:10 PM

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no i'd rather u do it from the live USB

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which it already is included on

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the mint stick

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however, if u dont have access to it, then u will need to install gparted on your main mint install.

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:11 PM

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No, I can do it from Mint on ventoy.

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:11 PM

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ya u can choose either way

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:12 PM

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snow pelican No, I can do it from Mint on ventoy.

ok do that

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:28 PM

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keep in mind that after you install Windows, its installer may alter or delete something in the EFI partition to make Linux unbootable. In such case, run the Boot Repair tool in the mint live desktop.

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also, don't forget to turn off Windows Fast Startup, as the first order of business once it gets installed.

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:29 PM

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👍

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with those partitions marked for deletion, I now have two separate unallocated segments. is there a way to combine them/does it matter?

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:49 PM

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snow pelican with those partitions marked for deletion, I now have two separate unallocated s...

you may choose to move the linux partition to the far right.. up to you. it will have to rewrite any used amount of data on that, so give time.

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 4:53 PM

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I'll just grow the Linux partition to include the ~500mb on the right. then I don't need to worry about the time to move files or it messing with the boot

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 4:54 PM

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ahh

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 5:05 PM

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what do you make of this. this is after installing windows and restarting

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 5:10 PM

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um..

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oh prob cuz the old boot entry was there from before in the EFI partition

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trial and error it

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 5:11 PM

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👍

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well I have no idea where it was stored. but it says it has a backup of my pc from 3 days ago. I stg, was Microsoft storing backups on the cloud without my knowledge? even more reason to be on Linux

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 5:32 PM

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lol

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wow eh.

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well it must be an online storage. That would likely show up in your OneDrive. (check via web)

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not a bad thing I guess if you don't have super secret files.

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 5:44 PM

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turned out it wasn't as much of a backup as it seemed lol. but anyway. I can boot to both windows and Linux now! Last thing: is there a way/need to remove that extra windows boot entry

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 5:48 PM

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yes. I think on the Hirens CD there's a thing called Easy BCDedit

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just be sure to keep right entry.

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and keep your Ventoy USB intact in case dualbooted Linux needs repair

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 5:54 PM

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it's telling me this

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 6:06 PM

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oh idk much about this. make a new post for that in misc-support

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 6:07 PM

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will do. thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate it

languid fiber Jul 3, 2024, 6:10 PM

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you're welcome! please mark the post as solved.

snow pelican Jul 3, 2024, 6:10 PM

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I can't find how to do that on mobile, which is all I have access to atm

#Windows partition broken after installing mint