How to access Windows 8.1 after partition install?

asked 2015-04-11 01:30:32 -0600

updated 2015-04-11 23:56:25 -0600

mether
7061 ●43 ●67 ●111 https://fedoraproject....

Ok, so today I had a bright idea to install Linux. I felt like trying Fedora 21. So I made sure Fedora was in it's own partition, witch I am still sure is in it's own partition. (About 98%) But now I have no access to Windows 8.1. I am also (probaly related) unable to mount my windows partition and my extra HDD. I recieve this error:

Error mounting /dev/sdb4 at /run/media/Quest/D6081141081121D3: Command-line `mount -t "ntfs" -o "uhelper=udisks2,nodev,nosuid,uid=1000,gid=1000,dmask=0077,fmask=0177" "/dev/sdb4" "/run/media/Quest/D6081141081121D3"' exited with non-zero exit status 14: Windows is hibernated, refused to mount. Failed to mount '/dev/sdb4': Operation not permitted The NTFS partition is in an unsafe state. Please resume and shutdown Windows fully (no hibernation or fast restarting), or mount the volume read-only with the 'ro' mount option.

I am regretablely new to linux. But correct me if I'm wrong; After I get this to mount I should be able to add Windows added to grub with very little effort.

So I would greatly appreciate help with:

*mounting my windows partition

*adding Windows to grub

Thanks for any help.

Edit: Heres my parted -l results:

 [Quest@localhost ~]$ sudo parted -l
Model: ATA ST31000322CS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
 1      32.3kB  1000GB  1000GB  primary


Model: ATA ST3750640AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 750GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: pmbr_boot

Number  Start   End    Size    File system  Name                          Flags
 1      1049kB  316MB  315MB   ntfs         Basic data partition          hidden, diag
 2      316MB   420MB  105MB   fat32        EFI system partition          boot, esp
 3      420MB   555MB  134MB                Microsoft reserved partition  msftres
 4      555MB   645GB  644GB   ntfs         Basic data partition          msftdata
 5      645GB   645GB  1049kB                                             bios_grub
 6      645GB   645GB  524MB   ext4
 7      645GB   750GB  105GB                                              lvm

sudo lsblk:

[Quest@localhost ~]$ sudo lsblk
NAME            MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda               8:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
└─sda1            8:1    0 931.5G  0 part 
sdb               8:16   0 698.7G  0 disk 
├─sdb1            8:17   0   300M  0 part 
├─sdb2            8:18   0   100M  0 part 
├─sdb3            8:19   0   128M  0 part 
├─sdb4            8:20   0   600G  0 part 
├─sdb5            8:21   0     1M  0 part 
├─sdb6            8:22   0   500M  0 part /boot
└─sdb7            8:23   0  97.7G  0 part 
  ├─fedora-root 253:0    0    50G  0 lvm  /
  ├─fedora-swap 253:1    0   3.9G  0 lvm  [SWAP]
  └─fedora-home 253:2    0  43.7G  0 lvm  /home

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I will assume you did a default F21 installation and thus have GNOME for desktop environment.

1) Press the Super key (i.e. Windows key).

2) Type "Terminal"

3) Click on the the "Terminal" icon that appears in the search results.

4) In the terminal, type sudo parted -l. It will ask you for the sudo password. If you are an administrator, then this is just your password. Post the output in the question. Repeat for sudo lsblk.

This is to see the partitions in your system and the mountpoints in F21, respectively.

cgonz31 ( 2015-04-11 11:13:57 -0600 )edit

If you're dual booting, you HAVE to disable the fast boot feature in W8. If enabled, W8 will hibernate some files. If you then boot F21 instead of W8, the hibernated files may be corrupted.

cgonz31 ( 2015-04-11 11:17:32 -0600 )edit

Also, if this a new F21 installation, you should definitely update F21. In the terminal, type sudo dnf update . After the updates are finished, reboot into F21.

cgonz31 ( 2015-04-11 11:19:04 -0600 )edit

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answered 2015-04-11 16:10:38 -0600

cgonz31
1109 ●10 ●27 ●44

updated 2015-04-11 18:24:43 -0600

Here is my understanding of your outputs. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

1) The 1 TB disk, /dev/sda, is just a data disk. Not relevant to the dual-boot setup.

2) The first partition in the second disk, /dev/sdb1, is a hidden partition. Probably a Windows recovery partition or an OEM partition. What is it exactly?

3) The Windows 8.1 partition (644 GB) is the 4th partition in the second disk, /dev/sdb4.

4) I'm almost certain that W8 came pre-installed with the PC in UEFI mode while you just installed F21 in BIOS/Legacy/CSM mode. The reasons are:

a) EFI System Partition (ESP) near the beginning of the disk (used by W8).

b) A small partition with BIOS_GRUB flag (used by F21).

Problem:

It is highly recommended to install operating systems (OSs) using the boot firmware. If W8 came pre-installed in UEFI mode, then F21 MUST be installed in UEFI.

Solution:

1) Erase the F21 partitions (Partitions 5,6,7 in Disk 2).

2) Install F21 in UEFI mode. Look here for details on making a UEFI-bootable USB. Note that 32-bit UEFI booting is not supported by F21. You will have to use a 64-bit image. If your PC is not 64-bit capable, you CANNOT install F21 in UEFI mode.

Assuming you have a 64-bit PC, after the UEFI F21 installation you have to add W8.1 to the GRUB2 menu. Usually, GRUB2 will recognize Windows and add an automatic entry. If it works, problem solved. If the automatic entry does not work, you have to add a custom entry to GRUB2 to point to the W8.1 bootloader. This link below has all the details:

https://ask.fedoraproject.org/en/ques...

This link is for installing Fedora and erasing Windows. Skip the instructions to erase Windows. All the other instructions will work to setup a UEFI dual-booting system with Windows and Fedora.

Bit of Advice:

Back up your data before working with partitions and OS installations. You are literally a few clicks away from wiping all your data if you make a mistake.

Mounting the W8 Partition:

After the F21 installation, the W8 partition should appear in the Files application. You should be able to mount it. Disable fast boot in W8 to prevent any corruption of the files.

EDIT:

Since you have no UEFI support, your only other option is installing both OSs in BIOS/Legacy/Mode.

On the previous machine, W8 was installed in UEFI. It is the standard for PCs with the W8 logo. Since the previous machine was store-bought, this is most likely the case. I do not know if there is any way to "transform" a UEFI installed W8 to boot in BIOS mode.

Since you have no valuable data, then I would strongly suggest a reinstall of both W8 and F21 rather than trying to "transform" the W8 installation to BIOS mode.

I am assuming you have access to W8 installation media. You should have the ... (more)

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The first partition is just drivers and a corrupted windows repair. The drive was pulled from a store-bought pc. I am not sure my mobo can support UFEI booting at all. But Ill check and get back to you. I'm not too concerned about my data. all my unreplaceable files are on my 1 tb. and the stuff I truly car about I have old-school copies of. Also my system is 64 bit compatible.

TheBrightChild ( 2015-04-11 16:27:31 -0600 )edit

UPDATE: My Msi 760gm-p23(fx) has no ufei support, witch I assume would mean when I installed windows 8.1 it installed as BIOS. Do I still follow the same steps.

TheBrightChild ( 2015-04-11 16:45:08 -0600 )edit

So, currently, can you boot W8 from your MSI mobo? And you're positive that the mobo does not support UEFI?

cgonz31 ( 2015-04-11 17:22:20 -0600 )edit

No I can't boot to windows 8, period. I can't find any UFEI options in my bios, nor can I find any UFEI claims on the box or the MSI website.

TheBrightChild ( 2015-04-11 17:31:11 -0600 )edit

So I found something you can try to recover the partition, before proceeding with this link, i recommend to do a dd dd if=/dev/sdb4 of=/media/<some_external_hdd_of_1T>/backup.img copy of the partition, it will take a lot of time but you could give it more then just one try to recover it.

giumbai ( 2015-04-11 18:06:54 -0600 )edit

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answered 2015-04-11 15:58:33 -0600

giumbai
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updated 2015-04-11 16:00:31 -0600

To answer at one of your problem, windows has fast boot option and is always activated you can manually deactivate if you want and you will want, otherways you cant mount in linux after windows was shutdown, it can only work after a restart, and if you try to force it's hand you may lose your data. A link on how to deactivate it.

Don't know way you can't boot in windows immediately after Fedora install but you can try grub-customizer.

You can install it by running:

sudo yum install grub-customizer

It automatically searches for all operating systems and adds them to the boot menu just need to save the configuration and you are all done. I did not tested on fedora but it should work great!

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Good link to disabling fast boot in W8.

As for the second issue, GRUB customizer is not the answer. GRUB customizer will NOT fix his problem. You CANNOT chainload to a UEFI OS from an F21 installed in BIOS/Legacy/CSM mode.

cgonz31 ( 2015-04-11 16:17:58 -0600 )edit

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How to access Windows 8.1 after partition install?

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