Dual boot: Windows 8 and Fedora 20

BillLee

Member
I am a long-time Linux/Unix person, using Linux since 2001, NeXT OS from 1991, and various flavors of Unix since the mid-80's. I am NOT a Windows user in any manner other than needing to keep a system around for the very infrequent need to use a Windows-only application. Have had several other dual-boot systems over the years but never had this sort of difficulty before.

System is an ASUS R510C pre-configured with Windows 8. I am attempting to install Fedora 20 dual boot. Am using a F-20 installation disk.

I used the Windows disk managment to collect the unused disk space and have installed Fedora 20 there.

I have spent the last several days trying to make it all work with little success.

First install of F-20, I allowed the boot loader to be written to the MBR. Grub2. Rebooting the machine and it took me straight away to the fresh install of F-20. But I could not figure out how to add an option to it to get me back to the Windows 8 installation. And without a Windows system, I could not run EasyBCD.

I downloaded the NeoSoft Windows 8 Recovery and used it to reset the MBR. That allowed me to get back into the Windows system where I could then run EasyBCD. But, of course, that left me with a F-20 install with no boot loader, and everything I tried failed. (Unfortunate that I did the download in the then-working F-20 and cut to DVD, but now it seems the recovery disk doesn't want to boot. And .... )

I re-installed F-20, being very careful about writing the boot loader steps: there simply isn't any way to load that OS using the Anaconda loader and tell it to write the Boot loader to a PBR! So: a system loaded without, figuring EasyBCD or something would help me out. No such luck. (And now my copies of the downloaded software that I paid for is also gone, or so it appears.)

The F-20 installation appears to be valid: I can boot into recovery mode from the installation disk and that allows my to browse around in the installation and "do things".

Problems:
1) The anaconda installer for F-20 does not give me the option of writing the bootloader to the partition. Only option is no boot loader at all or to the MBR. I have attempted to follow instructions for creating a PBR https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/GRUB_2?rd=Grub2 and the GRUB2 documentation that comes with it on my system.
2) Using EasyBCD, I have created a linux option.
3) Every attempt results in the same: the Windows Boot manager failing to start the Linux system with this:
DSC_5494A.jpg

The file mentioned, \NST\AutoNeoGrub1.mbr, is present. What "required file" would be missing or ....?

I am completely stymied now. Any help/suggestions/criticisms/brickbats gratefully accepted! :wtf:

Bill Lee
 
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