Window 10 BCD destroyed after MX Linux 18 install [SOLVED]

[gsm]

I did a fresh install of MX Linux 18 64-bit on my HP Pavilion m8180.nl-a, which has also Windows 10 installed.
Problem: MX Linux was booted, when i tried to boot Windows 10

Windows 10 installation on this PC is at:
sda (Samsung SSD drive):
sda1 500 MB
sda2 142 GB
sdc (Hitachi disk drive):
sdc1 930 GB (Windows 10 data)

I installed MX Linux 18 at:
sda6 30 GB (/)
sdc2 1 Gb (/boot)
sde4 141 Gb (/home)

I selected to install Grub at sdc MBR

After the reboot from sdc (Hitachi) MX Linux booted and everything looked fine.
However when trying to boot from sda (Samsung SSD) MX Linux 18 was booted instead of Windows 10.
I could easily repair this with the commands bootrec /fixmbr and bootrec /rebuildbcd, after booting from the setup USB stick of Windows 10.
I can still boot MX Linux from sdc after this repair.
Everything is fine now and i tested with update-grub and with MX-Tools Boot options (making small changes), to see if the problem would come back in this way.
But sda was not overwritten again with Grub. So it looks good now.

Any ideas what possibly went wrong during or after the installation of MX Linux 18 ?

[fehlix]

Any ideas what possibly went wrong during or after the installation of MX Linux 18 ?

Probably something to do with the chosen partitions to install MX Linux.
To get a better picture what was done please show output of these commands from terminal command line
System info including all partition info:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxloprz

and
partition layout

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sudo fdisk -l

Text-output between code-tags [code] please [/code].

[gsm]

System info:

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System:    Host: mx-m8000 Kernel: 4.19.0-1-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 6.3.0 
           Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3 Distro: MX-18.1_x64 Continuum Feb 9  2019 
           base: Debian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch) 
Machine:   Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: Berkeley v: 1.xx serial: <filter> 
           BIOS: American Megatrends v: 5.04 date: 06/23/2007 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core2 Quad bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Core Merom 
           rev: 7 L2 cache: 4096 KiB 
           flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 19151 
           Speed: 1600 MHz min/max: 1596/2394 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1596 2: 1596 3: 1596 
           4: 1596 
Graphics:  Device-1: AMD Caicos [Radeon HD 6450/7450/8450 / R5 230 OEM] vendor: ASUSTeK 
           driver: radeon v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.0 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.2 driver: radeon resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: AMD CAICOS (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.19.0-1-amd64 LLVM 7.0.0) 
           v: 3.3 Mesa 18.2.6 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 82801I HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel 
           v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.19.0-1-amd64 
Network:   Device-1: Intel 82566DC-2 Gigabit Network vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: e1000e 
           v: 3.2.6-k port: c000 bus ID: 00:19.0 
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 3.02 TiB used: 10.69 GiB (0.3%) 
           ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Samsung model: SSD 860 EVO 250GB size: 232.89 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Hitachi model: HDT721075SLA380 size: 698.64 GiB 
           ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Hitachi model: HDS721010DLE630 size: 931.51 GiB 
           ID-4: /dev/sdd vendor: Western Digital model: WD10EARS-00Y5B1 size: 931.51 GiB 
           ID-5: /dev/sde vendor: Western Digital model: WD3200AAJS-56M0A0 size: 298.09 GiB 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 29.87 GiB used: 10.48 GiB (35.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6 
           label: rootMX18.1 
           ID-2: /boot size: 970.2 MiB used: 75.8 MiB (7.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc2 label: boot 
           ID-3: /home size: 144.15 GiB used: 138.7 MiB (0.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sde4 
           label: homeMX 
           ID-4: swap-1 size: 1000.0 MiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sde2 label: N/A 
Unmounted: ID-1: /dev/sda1 size: 500.0 MiB fs: ntfs label: Door systeem gereserveerd 
           uuid: 1A444A104449EED7 
           ID-2: /dev/sda2 size: 142.78 GiB fs: ntfs label: N/A uuid: E02A648C2A646210 
           ID-3: /dev/sda3 size: 29.56 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A 
           uuid: 6a512d5a-93fe-4f77-ae76-394b9bffeebe 
           ID-4: /dev/sda4 size: 1 KiB fs: <root required> label: N/A uuid: N/A 
           ID-5: /dev/sda5 size: 29.52 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A 
           uuid: 3f4cfa3a-bce9-46e7-8495-22942dbcb287 
           ID-6: /dev/sdb1 size: 698.63 GiB fs: ntfs label: Back-up uuid: DE507A3B507A1B0B 
           ID-7: /dev/sdc1 size: 930.53 GiB fs: ntfs label: Data uuid: 01D496F619044B20 
           ID-8: /dev/sdd1 size: 1 KiB fs: <root required> label: N/A uuid: N/A 
           ID-9: /dev/sdd2 size: 8.59 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A 
           uuid: 2599bfbb-3e57-4b7a-b216-9878113745a4 
           ID-10: /dev/sdd3 size: 78.52 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A 
           uuid: c6bb2f02-8e35-41ab-acf0-faeb5c6e8b83 
           ID-11: /dev/sdd4 size: 9.90 GiB fs: swap label: N/A 
           uuid: 51373f46-b114-4523-9d52-f7a948d2145e 
           ID-12: /dev/sdd5 size: 406.74 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A 
           uuid: 96ac8317-9459-4fa1-99dc-11dffdd7d870 
           ID-13: /dev/sdd6 size: 427.74 GiB fs: ntfs label: Back-up2 uuid: 4EAAC754AAC736ED 
           ID-14: /dev/sde1 size: 8.05 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A 
           uuid: aff817a0-fbbb-456e-8827-d9523d84bdca 
           ID-15: /dev/sde3 size: 141.60 GiB fs: ext4 label: N/A 
           uuid: 783c658b-2d34-4918-bcb7-6fa5d7b48756 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 44.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: radeon temp: 42 C 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/antix.list 
           1: deb http://iso.mxrepo.com/antix/stretch stretch main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.nl.debian.org/debian/ stretch-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list 
           1: deb http://ftp.nl.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free
           2: deb http://security.debian.org/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list 
           1: deb http://nl.mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ stretch main non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera-stable.list 
           1: deb https://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free #Opera Browser (final releases)
           No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/various.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list 
           1: deb http://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main
Info:      Processes: 193 Uptime: 2h 44m Memory: 7.79 GiB used: 795.0 MiB (10.0%) Init: SysVinit 
           runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 6.3.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.12 inxi: 3.0.29 

partition layout:

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Disk /dev/sda: 232,9 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x036f0f1f

Device     Boot     Start       End   Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sda1            2048   1026047   1024000   500M  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda2  *      1026048 300449791 299423744 142,8G  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3       300449792 362438655  61988864  29,6G 83 Linux
/dev/sda4       362438656 488265727 125827072    60G  f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5       362440704 424345599  61904896  29,5G 83 Linux
/dev/sda6       424347648 488265727  63918080  30,5G 83 Linux


Disk /dev/sdb: 698,7 GiB, 750156374016 bytes, 1465149168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xbb99fce8

Device     Boot Start        End    Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1        2048 1465145343 1465143296 698,7G  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT


Disk /dev/sde: 298,1 GiB, 320072933376 bytes, 625142448 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x92152dbe

Device     Boot     Start       End   Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sde1            2048  16879615  16877568     8G 83 Linux
/dev/sde2        16879616  18927615   2048000  1000M 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sde3        18927616 315887615 296960000 141,6G 83 Linux
/dev/sde4       315887616 625141759 309254144 147,5G 83 Linux


Disk /dev/sdc: 931,5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x1982e1d9

Device     Boot   Start        End    Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sdc1  *    2054144 1953523711 1951469568 930,5G  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sdc2          2048    2054143    2052096  1002M 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order.


Disk /dev/sdd: 931,5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x2bd2c32a

Device     Boot      Start        End    Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sdd1        203470846 1953519615 1750048770 834,5G  5 Extended
/dev/sdd2  *          2048   18023532   18021485   8,6G 83 Linux
/dev/sdd3         38793216  203470845  164677630  78,5G 83 Linux
/dev/sdd4         18024448   38793215   20768768   9,9G 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdd5        203470848 1056473087  853002240 406,8G 83 Linux
/dev/sdd6       1056475136 1953519615  897044480 427,8G  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT

Partition table entries are not in disk order.

[fehlix]

Windows 10 installation on this PC is at:
sda (Samsung SSD drive):
sda1 500 MB
sda2 142 GB
I installed MX Linux 18 at:
sda6 30 GB (/)

You have choosen to have the "/"-root partition (/dev/sda6) and the same drive /dev/sda
as WinOS is installed on.
By selecting GRUB install target "MBR", you have chosen to overwrite the "Master Boot Record" of drive /dev/sda, hence you cannot boot into Window from BIOS. BIOS will consult the MBR record to load the corresponding boot-loader, which is now the GRUB-boot loader.
Note you have not "Window 10 BCD destroyed .." as you wrote in the subject line.
But just overwritten the MBR, that has nothing to do with BCD destroyed (false alarm).
You could even boot into WinOS after having overwritten the MBR by grub,
which is what I always do as a 2nd alternative the start WinOS bootmanger's BCD.
So the main issue is you have chosen the wrong drive to place "/"-root partition of MX Linux into,
as you have only one MBR on a drive, which can only hold one boot-record either GRUB or WinOS.
HTH

[gsm]

Thank you for this clear explanation.

I could and did select sdc for MBR installation during the install procedure.
I want to have the root partition on sda6 because of the speed of the SSD drive.
I can still boot Linux MX from sdc (Hitachi drive) without having changed anything there since the installation of MX.
So the MBR must somehow also have been written to sdc and the /boot is at the first partition (sdc2) on that drive.
So it seems that MBR is also always written by MX Linux to the drive where the root partition is on. This is not the case with e.g. Ubuntu and Mint.

The BCD must then have been damaged by messing around with Windows 10 setup and not by the MX installation.
At least i had to replace the MBR and also to rebuild the BCD :-).

[fehlix]

At least i had to replace the MBR and also to rebuild the BCD :-).

Further the automatic generated grub boot-entry for WinOS is a chainloader into one of those winOS partitions, either sda1 or sda2. Originally it is PBR of sda1 (hidden) holds the boot-record to chainload into winloader. But even this is not always true, sometime it is also sda2. Marking the wrong partition as boot, can even confuse BIOS further.
The error message you got from winos is not really helpful.
Most of the time you can just chainload into /bootmgr on sda1 from grub despite the error message.

The boot-partition was introduced for luks-enrcypted install, and is really not needed for un-encrypted install.
I would even say the boot partition for un-encrypted install does not provide much benefit but only creates confusion. I do recommend to leave boot as subfolder of /-root partition without any extra partition for boot.

[gsm]

Ok. It seems that i destroyed the BCD myself, using Windows setup, after the Windows boot loader was gone and replaced by the MX Linux version.

The Windows boot loader is normally replaced by a Linux (grub) version after a standard installation procedure for any Linux distro and can perfectly be used to boot Windows and/or Linux.
I prefer however that the Windows boot loader is not being replaced, because otherwise the product update for Windows 10 (each half year) might fail.
Also i don't have to repair Windows when i should remove Linux from the system.

I use my PC to test Windows 10 and MX Linux, Deepin, Manjaro or other distributions.
For speed reasons the SSD is used for the system part of all those four systems and that makes the configuration a little bit complex, risking that something might go wrong.
I must say that MX Linux is my favorite with a lot of applications and tools and also with the best performance.

[gsm]

I did a fresh installation of the latest version of 64-bit MX Linux. Everything went well, without a boot partition this time. The MBR is now located at sdd (The MBR for Windows is at sda). Manjaro and Deepin permanently removed.

[gsm]

Very strange:
I repeated the above and did the installation once again. This time Windows 10 at sda1 and sda2 was missing after the installation of MX Linux.
I had to repair Windows 10 again with setup, until the point where files have been loaded 100%.
Then i canceled the Windows 10 installation. Boot for Windows 10 was repaired this way (Bootrec /FixMbr did not work).
The root partition is at sda3, Home at sdd2 and swap at sdd1.
I am sure that i did select the sdd drive for MBR and Grub install.
I did the installation again, because changing the Boot options (MX Tools) caused a corrupted Grub and also Windows 10 was missing.
There was no splash and all options were gone (all blank in the MX Boot options tool) and could not be set again.
I think that setting the MX Boot options went wrong when i changed them and applied them a second time before rebooting the MX Linux system.
My final conclusion is that MX Linux is not easy to install for a dual boot system with Windows 10, when Windows 10 is on the same SSD where the MX Linux Root partion is added.