Many Ubuntu Linux users choose to boot the Linux-based operating system with Microsoft Windows 10, either by selecting it during installation when configuring Ubuntu or after the fact, loading it with Grub.
Most of the time, Ubuntu can detect and configure Microsoft Windows 10 automatically, without any problem. However, in some rare cases, the Ubuntu Linux operating system cannot find Windows 10 and causes problems for those trying to configure a dual boot.
If you are trying to configure Ubuntu Linux and Windows 10 on the same system, and you cannot find out why Ubuntu will not detect it, we can help you. Here's how to fix Ubuntu by not detecting Windows 10!
Fix Ubuntu not detecting Windows 10 during installation
The Ubuntu installation tool searches for alternative operating systems during installation. Normally, a separate hard disk drive running Windows 10 or a Windows 10 partition is automatically detected with Os-Prober, a sophisticated operating system analysis tool.
If Windows 10 is not recognized, it probably means that Windows 10 has not shut down properly and needs quick maintenance before the Ubuntu installer can see it.
Close the Ubuntu Linux installation tool and restart your Windows 10 PC. From there, follow the step-by-step instructions to clean your Windows 10 installation.
Step 1: When logging into Windows 10, go to the "My Computer" section and locate the main hard disk "C: ".
Step 2: Right-click on the hard disk «C: », find the option «Properties» and select it to open the configuration area of the C: drive.
Step 3: In the settings area, search for “Tools” and select the “Check” button in “Error checking”.
Step 4: If you select "Check", Windows 10 will automatically scan the C: drive for errors and correct them if they are present.
Step 5: Open the Windows 10 command prompt window in the app menu. Then, once the “Command Prompt” application appears in the menu, right-click on it and select “Run as administrator”.
Working with the control window
Step 6: When the user account control window opens on the screen, saying, "Do you want to allow this application to make changes to your device?", Select "Yes." If you select “Yes”, you will access a command line window with system level access.
With the command line open, run the chkdsk command below. Note that this should only be executed if the "Error checking" analysis in step 4 has not found any error.
chkdsk C: / F
Step 7: After executing the chkdsk command, a command prompt will appear on the command line, indicating that you need to reboot to execute the command. Select «Y» to restart.
Step 8: Let the chkdsk command run. When it finishes running, boot into Windows 10.
Once you have uploaded the Windows 10 backup, click "Shut down" to safely shut it down. Then, connect the Ubuntu USB stick and start the system to try again to install Ubuntu. The installation application should now detect Windows 10 in the installation process.
Fix Ubuntu that does not detect Windows 10 after installing Ubuntu
Not all users who intend to start Windows 10 and Ubuntu double start planning to install operating systems on the same hard drive. Many Linux users have two hard drives: one for Linux and one for Windows 10.
If you have installed Ubuntu on your PC, the Ubuntu installer should automatically detect the Windows 10 hard drive. If you don't, here is how to fix it.
Step 1: Boot into Ubuntu Linux on your PC. Once booted, open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard.
Step 2: Use the lsblk command to detect what is the label of the drive of your Windows PC, as well as the names of the partitions. In this example, it will be "/ dev / sdb", and the partitions we will work with are "/ dev / sdb1", "/ dev / sdb2", "/ dev / sdb3", and "/ dev / sdb4".
Step 3: Run the fsck tool on each of the partitions of the Windows 10 drive to clean any dirty part of the drive. Be sure to replace each instance of "/ dev / sdb" with your actual Windows 10 partition names.
sudo fsck -y / dev / sdb1
sudo fsck – / dev / sdb2
sudo fsck – / dev / sdb3
sudo fsck – / dev / sdb4
Step 4: Install the Os-prober package on Ubuntu Linux using the Apt command below.
sudo apt install os-prober
Step 5: In the terminal, using the update-grub command, force Ubuntu to manually update its bootloader.
sudo update-grub
Last steps
Step 6: Observe the terminal warning and make sure that Ubuntu detects Windows 10. You will know that the Os-prober works if you see it in the output. If the update-grub command does not recognize your Windows 10 hard drive, the fsck command may not be enough. Consider starting on the Windows 10 drive with your BIOS, run chkdsk, and then run the update-grub command again.
Step 7: Restart your Ubuntu installation. During the boot process, take a look at the Grub bootloader. If the process is successful, Ubuntu will have detected Windows 10 and will have added it as a boot option.
