Arch Linux

saltbringer

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 25

Dual boot Arch/Win11 setup only boots Windows unless manual override

Installed Arch (to dual boot with Win11) on my HP laptop.  I used Archinstall, with custom partition setup of 1gb EFI, 20 gb swap, and 350gb main partition at /boot, /, and /home, respectively.  Systemd as bootloader, not GRUB. 

Unfortunately, Windows always loads first and I cannot specify otherwise in the BIOS (picture 1). However, during the boot process, I can mash F9 to specify boot device (picture 2). There, I can select my Linux partition (second option) for my preferred experience. Does anyone know how to make my BIOS recognize this partition so I can save the configuration instead of manually selecting boot device every time?

Pictures of BIOS: https://imgur.com/a/4Gxiji7

Output from efibootmgr -v: https://pastebin.com/f3cyhasZ

I've tried changing the boot order with efibootmgr -o 0001,0000, but it doesn't hold up after reboot.  Kinda feels like Windows or something is overriding it.

I saw that the wiki notes this, regarding HP laptops:

Even if UEFI, Arch Linux and (e.g.) GRUB are correctly configured and with the correct UEFI NVRAM variables set, the system may not boot from the HDD/SSD. The problem is that HP hard coded the paths for the OS boot manager in their UEFI boot manager to \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi to boot Microsoft Windows, regardless of how the UEFI NVRAM variables are changed.

The recommended way to deal with this is:

The latest HP firmware allows defining a “Customized Boot” path in the UEFI pre-boot graphical environment. Select the “Customized Boot” option in the UEFI pre-boot graphical environment under “Boot Options” and set the path to your OS boot loader on the ESP (see EFI system partition), e.g.:

\EFI\grub\grubx64.efi

Always verify the correct path to the .efi file. Also, adjust the device boot order (also in the UEFI pre-boot graphical environment) to boot this entry first.

I don't think I have this option in my UEFI pre-boot UI.  Has anyone had experience with this before?

I do have this.  I can manually select my bootloader, boot into Arch, but after restart the same thing happens and it goes straight to Windows again.  So basically this option is like what I have been doing (F9, select partition) but with more steps and doesn't really resolve my issue.

Lastly, I saw another user post about a similar experience with a non-HP PC who found success with flat out deactivating the Windows boot loader partition... thinking about going this route if nothing more viable arises.

Last edited by saltbringer (2024-12-23 14:32:40)

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: Dual boot Arch/Win11 setup only boots Windows unless manual override

Does the Arch boot entry persist if you use the Windows ESP instead of a newly created partition?

Rod Smith (author of gdisk) has some suggestions about this:

https://www.rodsbooks.com/efi-bootloade … ive-naming

None are very pretty though, and Wndows will fight you.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,634

Re: Dual boot Arch/Win11 setup only boots Windows unless manual override

What is the output of

efibootmgr -u

?

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saltbringer

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 25

Re: Dual boot Arch/Win11 setup only boots Windows unless manual override

output of

efibootmgr -u

BootCurrent: 0001
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,0001,2001,2005,2002,2004
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager	HD(1,GPT,e3ee273f-7ce2-47b5-8313-894a647fc8d8,0x800,0x82000)/\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi䍒
Boot0001* EFI Hard Drive (5YD7N013711907E0X-SK hynix BC901 HFS001TEJ9X108N)	PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x2,0x4)/Pci(0x0,0x0)/NVMe(0x1,AC-E4-2E-00-4A-A1-3B-77)/HD(5,GPT,88639c76-20c6-419b-b52c-a50cbf7dd293,0x130b2800,0x200000)䍒
Boot0003* Windows Boot Manager	HD(1,GPT,e3ee273f-7ce2-47b5-8313-894a647fc8d8,0x800,0x82000)/\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi䥗䑎坏S
Boot2001* EFI USB Device	䍒
Boot2005* Internal Hard Disk or Solid State Disk	䍒

saltbringer

Member

Registered: 2024-08-25

Posts: 25

Re: Dual boot Arch/Win11 setup only boots Windows unless manual override

anyone had experience disabling the windows boot partition?  i actually tried with 

efibootmgr -b 0 -A

efibootmgr -b 0000 -A

but it says

Could not set active state for Boot0000: No such file or directory

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 9,003

Website

Re: Dual boot Arch/Win11 setup only boots Windows unless manual override

I'm pretty sure that entry is created by the motherboard firmware. I have a similar entry in my machine even though I wiped Windows weeks ago. Read the linked I supplied in my last post for further explanation.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî