Arch Linux

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

Hey, i hope this is the right place to ask.

I have just installed arch linux manually. I installed os-prober and uncommented the line from grub's config, however it isnt detecting windows 11's bootloader meaning i cant boot into windows, any help please

lsblk output:

NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1     259:0    0   1.9T  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:2    0   100M  0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2 259:3    0     4G  0 part [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p3 259:4    0   1.9T  0 part /
nvme1n1     259:1    0 931.5G  0 disk
├─nvme1n1p1 259:5    0    16M  0 part
└─nvme1n1p2 259:6    0 931.5G  0 part

thank you so much

euromatlox

Member

Registered: 2017-02-10

Posts: 149

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

I suppose you have done (final) configuration inside the succesfully installed Arch Linux ?
The os-prober possibly cannot find windows in so called Live environment (installation media Linux). Happened to me recently (Arch & Win10).
I'll mention that I have all bootloaders in the same partition, one sata SSD drive only.
Also in my installation no SWAP, some opinions around web do not recommend it on SSD..and I have enough memory anyway.

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
sda      8:0    0 953.9G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0     1G  0 part /boot
├─sda2   8:2    0   128M  0 part 
├─sda3   8:3    0   400G  0 part 
├─sda4   8:4    0   700M  0 part 
├─sda5   8:5    0   150G  0 part /
└─sda6   8:6    0 402.1G  0 part /home

Last edited by euromatlox (2024-08-25 22:10:44)

kermit63

Member

Registered: 2018-07-04

Posts: 370

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

check if windows is installed in UEFI/gpt mode. If Arch is installed in UEFI and windows isn't, then os-prober won't be able to detect it.

---

Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

check if windows is installed in UEFI/gpt mode. If Arch is installed in UEFI and windows isn't, then os-prober won't be able to detect it.

how would i check that?

euromatlox

Member

Registered: 2017-02-10

Posts: 149

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

To be more sure:

Look for a folder /sys/firmware/efi
If it exists, UEFI, if not MBR.

And for gpt check:

parted -l
(small letter L)

kermit63

Member

Registered: 2018-07-04

Posts: 370

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

fire up a search engine and find out for yourself. I did just that before posting this, and the search results gave me a variety of choices.

---

Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

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Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

it isnt detecting windows 11's bootloader

Was /dev/nvme0n1p1 already on the disk when you installed Arch or did you create that yourself? Did you format it?

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

it isnt detecting windows 11's bootloader

Was /dev/nvme0n1p1 already on the disk when you installed Arch or did you create that yourself? Did you format it?

i created and formatted it using cfdisk. it is disk label gpt

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

fire up a search engine and find out for yourself. I did just that before posting this, and the search results gave me a variety of choices.

that was obviously the first thing i did. none of the solutions worked.

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

check if windows is installed in UEFI/gpt mode. If Arch is installed in UEFI and windows isn't, then os-prober won't be able to detect it.

both are installed in uefi mode, on two different ssds

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

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Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

/dev/nvme1n1p1 doesn't look big enough to be a Windows EFI system partition

Is it FAT-formatted and does it contain a file called bootmgfw.efi? That's the Windows EFI loader.

If it is present on /dev/nvme1n1p1 then mount that before running os-prober so that it can be found.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

/dev/nvme1n1p1 doesn't look big enough to be a Windows EFI system partition

Is it FAT-formatted and does it contain a file called bootmgfw.efi? That's the Windows EFI loader.

If it is present on /dev/nvme1n1p1 then mount that before running os-prober so that it can be found.

where should i mount it to?

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

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Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

How about /mnt/? It doesn't really matter as long as you don't "cover up" part of the system that's used to run grub-mkconfig & os-prober.

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2024-08-26 13:22:22)

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

/dev/nvme1n1p1 doesn't look big enough to be a Windows EFI system partition

Is it FAT-formatted and does it contain a file called bootmgfw.efi? That's the Windows EFI loader.

If it is present on /dev/nvme1n1p1 then mount that before running os-prober so that it can be found.

where should i mount it to?

and then what commands should i run after sudo os-prober to regenerate the grub config etc?

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

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Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GRUB#G … d_grub.cfg

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GRUB#G … d_grub.cfg

thank you. where do i mount the windows efi partition to though?

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

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Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

Please see my reply in post #13.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

Please see my reply in post #13.

thank you, i missed that

when doing sudo mount /dev/nvme1n1p1 /mnt I get this error message, any help?

mount: /mnt: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/nvme1n1p1, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.
       dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.

dmesg gives this error amongst other things i think are unrelated

[ 6683.870028] r8169 0000:08:00.0 enp8s0: Link is Down
[ 6684.031545] amdgpu 0000:12:00.0: [drm] *ERROR* dc_dmub_srv_log_diagnostic_data: DMCUB error - collecting diagnostic data
[ 6686.176978] r8169 0000:08:00.0 enp8s0: Link is Up - 1Gbps/Full - flow control rx/tx
[ 6762.881283] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6762.881383] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6762.881453] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6762.881517] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): bogus number of reserved sectors
[ 6762.881519] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): Can't find a valid FAT filesystem
[ 6762.881582] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: Primary boot signature is not NTFS.
[ 6762.881585] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: try to read out of volume at offset 0xfffe00
[ 6788.211164] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=1da14, Correct links count -> 2.
[ 6788.211617] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=1c3e6, Correct links count -> 2.
[ 6788.259473] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=6e1a, Correct links count -> 7.
[ 6788.260991] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=706f, Correct links count -> 3.
[ 6788.266356] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=73cf, Correct links count -> 4.
[ 6788.292993] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=8669, Correct links count -> 2.
[ 6788.293774] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=8667, Correct links count -> 2.
[ 6788.302078] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=241a4, Correct links count -> 4.
[ 6788.304725] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=2415e, Correct links count -> 4.
[ 6788.305109] ntfs3: nvme1n1p2: ino=2429c, Correct links count -> 4.
[ 6798.673957] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6798.674138] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6798.674281] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6798.674416] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): bogus number of reserved sectors
[ 6798.674418] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): Can't find a valid FAT filesystem
[ 6798.674561] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: Primary boot signature is not NTFS.
[ 6798.674564] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: try to read out of volume at offset 0xfffe00
[ 6805.440779] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6805.440931] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6805.441067] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6805.441204] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): bogus number of reserved sectors
[ 6805.441205] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): Can't find a valid FAT filesystem
[ 6805.441343] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: Primary boot signature is not NTFS.
[ 6805.441346] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: try to read out of volume at offset 0xfffe00
[ 6872.626079] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6872.626237] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6872.626375] EXT4-fs (nvme1n1p1): VFS: Can't find ext4 filesystem
[ 6872.626512] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): bogus number of reserved sectors
[ 6872.626513] FAT-fs (nvme1n1p1): Can't find a valid FAT filesystem
[ 6872.626649] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: Primary boot signature is not NTFS.
[ 6872.626652] ntfs3: nvme1n1p1: try to read out of volume at offset 0xfffe00

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

Please use code tags for terminal output, it makes it more readable.

Looks like /dev/nvme1n1p1 isn't an EFI system partition.

Is there any chance Windows could have been using /dev/nvme0n1 to hold the ESP?

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

Please use code tags for terminal output, it makes it more readable.

Looks like /dev/nvme1n1p1 isn't an EFI system partition.

Is there any chance Windows could have been using /dev/nvme0n1 to hold the ESP?

when i installed it i explicitly selected my 1tb drive (nvme1n1p1) also can you explain to me what ESP is?

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

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Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

"ESP" is short for "EFI system partition", which is needed to boot an operating system in UEFI mode.

Can we see the output of

parted --list

^ That should positively identify any EFI system partitions.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

"ESP" is short for "EFI system partition", which is needed to boot an operating system in UEFI mode.

Can we see the output of

parted --list

^ That should positively identify any EFI system partitions.

Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 2048GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name         Flags
1      2097kB  1076MB  1074MB  fat32        EFI          boot, esp
2      1076MB  2048GB  2047GB  ext4         endeavouros

Model: Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB (nvme)
Disk /dev/nvme1n1: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name                          Flags
1      1049kB  17.8MB  16.8MB               Microsoft reserved partition  msftres, no_automount
2      17.8MB  1000GB  1000GB  ntfs         Basic data partition          msftdata

Head_on_a_Stick

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From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

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Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

Curiouser and curiouser...

/dev/nvme1n1 has a GUID partition table, which should mean that Windows is installed in UEFI mode but there is no EFI system partition

If Windows was originally installed in UEFI mode, where is it's ESP?

If Windows was originally installed in non-UEFI mode, why does the disk have a GUID partition table?

I cannot answer these questions.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

1nvm

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 12

Re: Arch linux + Windows 11 dualboot problems

Curiouser and curiouser...

/dev/nvme1n1 has a GUID partition table, which should mean that Windows is installed in UEFI mode but there is no EFI system partition

If Windows was originally installed in UEFI mode, where is it's ESP?

If Windows was originally installed in non-UEFI mode, why does the disk have a GUID partition table?

I cannot answer these questions.

ugh windows, thanks for your help though