Make Ubuntu dual boot windows 7

[Mazamin]

Hi everyone,
time ago I removed windows from the main hard disk and installed ubuntu on an external hard disk.
Now i boot my pc into ubuntu from that external hd.
I want now to dual boot on the external hard disk or the main hard disk windows 7.
How can i do?

 

[Duo8]

Install Windows 7 to the main drive?

 

[Mazamin]

Install Windows 7 to the main drive?

How?

 

[nastys]

First, install Windows 7 to the internal HD without plugging the external one. After it's finished installing, simply boot the external HD from the Boot Menu of your BIOS/UEFI. If you want Windows to show in GRUB, open a terminal and type:

sudo update-grub

followed by your password. Then set the first boot priority to the external drive in the BIOS/UEFI settings.

 

[Duo8]

How?

Get the installer on a DVD or USB then install it on the main drive.

btw why would you boot off an external drive?

 

[Mazamin]

First, install Windows 7 to the internal HD without plugging the external one. After it's finished installing, simply boot the external HD from the Boot Menu of your BIOS/UEFI. If you want Windows to show in GRUB, open a terminal and type:

sudo update-grub

followed by your password. Then set the first boot priority to the external drive in the BIOS/UEFI settings.

Yes, but i don't have windows installed

Get the installer on a DVD or USB then install it on the main drive.

btw why would you boot off an external drive?

I'll try it

 

[nastys]

Yes, but i don't have windows installed

That's why I said "First, install Windows 7 to the internal HD without plugging the external one."

 

[Mazamin]

That's why I said "First, install Windows 7 to the internal HD without plugging the external one."

Sorry, eheh

 

[FAST6191]

2 main options.

1) You manually select the boot disc. When you power on your PC it will say something like "press f8 for boot options" (might also be f12 or something else entirely). From there you can select the external, a DVD, a the internal hard drive....

2) You install some kind of jump loader. Traditionally people would do this to boot a PC from a device that the BIOS did not support, mainly USB. However you can install a boot loader on a device of your choice and then get it to boot from that, it will then display an options screen and allow you to pick between them.

If you are the only one using the machine and you only want to go into windows occasionally then I would probably just opt for 1). If multiple people want it and they are not as tech capable then have fun getting 2) sorted. Sometimes it is painless but other times it gets very annoying.

If you prefer a Windows based bootloader then I like http://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/
If you prefer a Linux based bootloader then you have a few options, I am not sure what Ubuntu is doing these days (newer versions of windows and UEFI changed a few things) but normally it is Grub ( https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2 ) that is used. You have probably already seen something like this where it says "ubuntu some version" and on the next line is says "ubuntu some version (single user mode)" and gives you a few seconds to choose.

Both will allow you to choose between Linux and Windows and whatever else you want in there. I like and use both for various things.

 

[Duo8]

GRUB is used on Ubuntu and supports UEFI as well (even Secure Boot). During setup it should automatically add an entry for avery bootloader/OS on the drive (not sure if it works on another drive).

 

[nastys]

GRUB is used on Ubuntu and supports UEFI as well (even Secure Boot). During setup it should automatically add an entry for avery bootloader/OS on the drive (not sure if it works on another drive).

Ubuntu is already installed, so it won't add Windows automatically and has to be done manually, with sudo update-grub.