UEFI: How to repair kali-linux grub dual boot with Windows 10

[_defalt]

If you have dual booted kali with Windows 10 then most probably you are running PC with UEFI firmware. The booting process of UEFI is completely different from that of BIOS. Right after installation or after updating your UEFI, do you find that kali is missing from boot menu options? You can see the entry of Windows boot manager but there is no entry of kali in boot menu.

The reason can be failed grub installation or Windows major updates.
If you update UEFI it deletes the entry of kali from NVRAM.

If you update UEFI from 1.x to 2.x then entry of Grub is removed from the boot-menu. Follow next post if you did this
If you update UEFI from 1.x to 1.y then it remains there.

Boot into kali live USB and follow the instructions:

mount /dev/sda* /mnt
mkdir mnt/dev
mkdir mnt/proc
mkdir -p /mnt/sys/firmware/efi/efivars
mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
mount --bind /sys/firmware/efi/efivars /mnt/sys/firmware/efi/efivars
mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi
mount /dev/sda+ /mnt/boot/efi
mount -o remount,rw /dev/sda+ /mnt/boot/efi
mkdir /mnt/hostrun
mount --bind /run /mnt/hostrun
chroot /mnt
mkdir /run/lvm
mount --bind /hostrun/lvm /run/lvm
grub-install /dev/sda
update-grub
exit
umount /mnt/dev
umount /mnt/proc
umount /mnt/sys/firmware/efi/efivars
umount /mnt/sys
umount /mnt/boot/efi
umount /mnt/hostrun
umount /mnt/run/lvm
umount /mnt
REBOOT

/dev/sda* is your linux filesystem. Like mine is /dev/sda6
/dev/sda+ is your EFI partition which is most likely /dev/sda1.
Use fdisk -l to list all partitions.
/dev/sda in grub-install /dev/sda is the name of your storage device, not the name of partition. Use fdisk -l to see the name of your stoage device.

If you are in grub rescue mode, then run these commands to reconfigure grub:

ls
set root=(hd0,gptx)
set prefix=(hd0,gptx)/boot/grub
insmod normal
normal

ls(LS) lists all the partitions of your hard drive like this (hd0) (hd0,gpt1) (hd0,gpt2). You can make some guesses which one is your kali filesystem to replace the variable x in gptx.

Once you boot into kali open terminal and type:

grub-install /dev/sda
update-initramfs -u
update-grub

[_defalt]

Sometimes when you reinstall Kali, the installer shows this error executing grub install dummy failed while installing grub and you have to skip this most important step to continue. The above commands are required if grub was not installed during the installation.

However if grub is present in EFI system partition but entry of kali is missing from boot menu options then you don't have to go through those commands. In hp PCs boot menu options, select

Boot from EFI just below the Windows Boot Manager.

Go to System>EFI>kali>grubx64.efi

Once kali boots open terminal and enter these commands

sudo grub-install /dev/sda
sudo update-grub

For DELL users, there is no Boot from EFI option in your boot menu options but if you go to your UEFI settings you can add entry of bootloader from there.

[joed1960]

I do not have Windows installed on my HP laptop, only Kali. The only EFI Boot I have is when I hit F9 when it starts up. There is no grub.cfg file, only grubx64.efi. What do I need to do to boot into Kali?

[_defalt]

That was my mistake. Instead of grub.cfg I was supposed to write grubx64.efi. You should click on this one. Kali will boot. Let me edit my mistake there.

[joed1960]

I'm currently at a grub prompt. I cannot boot into Kali. Tab lists possible command completions...

[_defalt]

You are in grub rescue mode. I think grub no longer remembers that partition in which kali filesystem is. For that run these commands:
ls
set root=(hd0,gptx)
set prefix=(hd0,gptx)/boot/grub
insmod normal
normal

ls(LS) lists all the partitions of your hard drive like this (hd0) (hd0,gpt1) (hd0,gpt2). I think you can make some guesses which one is your kali filesystem to replace the variable gptx. Most likely it is (hd0,gpt2).

Once you boot into kali open terminal and type:
update-grub
grub-install /dev/sda

[joed1960]

I ran the first set of commands. I found gpt2 was correct. After rebooting I'm still left at a grub prompt. I only have Kali installed, if that makes a difference.

[monsterkc]

Hey _defalt. I went through the same problem. The first two commands run fine. When i type insmod normal then an error comes. You can see the error in the image.

This happens when secure boot is enabled. When secure boot is off, then instead of "grub rescue" , the "grub" command menu opens. I type all the 4 commands there and after even typing the last normal command , it stays there . nothing boots. Please help

[_defalt]

Hey _defalt. I went through the same problem. The first two commands run fine. When i type insmod normal then an error comes. You can see the error in the image.

This happens when secure boot is enabled. When secure boot is off, then instead of "grub rescue" , the "grub" command menu opens. I type all the 4 commands there and after even typing the last normal command , it stays there . nothing boots. Please help

Don't enable secure boot. Kali does not support secure boot. You might have been entering the wrong filesystem. Attachment resolution is very low. Can't see the error.

[TK66]

Hey _defalt. Your commands work but only to start Kali.
When I use the last two commands in the terminal (update-grub and grub-install) it does not mark any error but when I restart my PC, the grub rescue screen continues to appear. I tried to change the installation path to /deb/sda1 which is where I have the Efi partition but no progress.

[Sacredtwig18]

You are in grub rescue mode. I think grub no longer remembers that partition in which kali filesystem is. For that run these commands:
ls
set root=(hd0,gptx)
set prefix=(hd0,gptx)/boot/grub
insmod normal
normal

ls(LS) lists all the partitions of your hard drive like this (hd0) (hd0,gpt1) (hd0,gpt2). I think you can make some guesses which one is your kali filesystem to replace the variable gptx. Most likely it is (hd0,gpt2).

Once you boot into kali open terminal and type:
update-grub
grub-install /dev/sda

ok so when I tried making a live Kali for my dad's old computer he said it was a 32 bit computer and when I tried booting it to the flash drive it brought me to the Grub rescue, I tried my original live for my laptop which is 64 bit and it worked fine, check which image you are using and correct it to your machine

[_defalt]

You were not supposed to reboot. You have to proceed to 2nd set once you boot into kali else the change will not be permanent. Try it again.

[joed1960]

I've run several versions of Linux before, but never encountered this issue. What is the command to boot into Kali?

[_defalt]

There is no command to boot into kali. Grub boots kali. Show the screenshot of where you are getting stuck.

[joed1960]

Once I get done typing "normal" I'm still at a grub prompt.

[_defalt]

I still don't know which grub prompt you are mentioning. Either it is grub rescue mode command-line screen or actual grub menu to boot OS. Show the screenshot of grub prompt. If nothing is working for you the very first post is the right solution.

[joed1960]

I'm attaching two screenshots: one from the grub prompt, the other when trying to run the commands on page one from the Kali Live prompt. I got an error when running chroot. I boot my laptop, hit F9, hit EFI, and drill down to the file that brings me to the prompt. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong.

20170714_154201.jpg

20170714_161244.jpg

[aannaassalam]

How did you opened this kali terminal...
Could you please help with this???

[_defalt]

If rescue commands are not working then the only solution is to use the first post. But doing that is also giving you lot of errors. Show the output of fdisk -l from kali live.

That's an unexpected behavior. After entering normal it should have taken you to grub boot screen.

[joed1960]

Here it is. 20170715_171604.jpg

[_defalt]

Your image links are not working. Anyway If you are unfamiliar with commands then do one thing.

Boot into kali-live. Mount your EFI partiton. Go to /mnt/EFI/kali and replace the grubx64.efi with the one present in this zip file. Do not touch any other thing.

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php...93033474139891

[joed1960]

I appreciate the time you've taken to try and help me with this. I replaced the file with the one in your post. This time I got a grub rescue prompt. Typing the settings in here brought me back to the grub prompt I've mentioned in my earlier posts. I have Kali installed on a VM on my Windows computer, so I'm ok. I'll put a different Linux OS on this laptop. Thanks again.

[_defalt]

You did it all wrong from the start. Here you are telling that you found gpt2 as correct

I ran the first set of commands. I found gpt2 was correct. After rebooting I'm still left at a grub prompt. I only have Kali installed, if that makes a difference.

Now i can see your output of fdisk -l. The link is working again. hd0,gpt3 is the right one. gpt2 is your swap partition. How would you expect it to boot? The right commands are:
set root=(hd0,gpt3)
set prefix=(hd0,gpt3)/boot/grub
insmod normal
normal

It wasn't tough to guess that it might be gpt3.

[Taconvino]

This happened to me as well, and found your post. However, this line is confusing me:

grub-install /dev/sda

Is that correct? That's the first mention to "/dev/sda" in the instructions. Thought I'd check first, before causing any problems.

[_defalt]

This happened to me as well, and found your post. However, this line is confusing me:

grub-install /dev/sda

Is that correct? That's the first mention to "/dev/sda" in the instructions. Thought I'd check first, before causing any problems.

/dev/sda is the name of your hard disk. It can be different for different storage units. Always use fdisk -l to see the name of your device.

[Taconvino]

/dev/sda is the name of your hard disk. It can be different for different storage units. Always use fdisk -l to see the name of your device.

I have different disks for Windows and for the Linux I'm trying to install. In my case, Linux partitions are /dev/sdi1, 2 and 3. So I my case, this command should be

grub-install /dev/sdi

Right?

Thanks for this guide and for the reply, and sorry if this question is kind of dumb.

[_defalt]

The name of disk should be that where you want to install grub. In your case /dev/sdi is the appropriate name. Your situation is similar to this: https://forums.kali.org/showthread.p...-on-Hard-Drive

[Taconvino]

Ok! Kept getting stuck on the "grub install" command with different errors (even an "input/output" one that looked dreadful). It turned out to be something completely different. Although my BIOS was reporting "secure boot" as disabled, Windows reported it as "Enabled". I had to update my BIOS to get the correct reading and disable it. After that, setup finished without any errors, and GRUB even shows my Windows disk as a bootable option, which I still haven't tried. Thanks again for taking the time to help me out!

[_defalt]

So did you get it solved or need more asistance with grub installation?

[Taconvino]

So did you get it solved or need more asistance with grub installation?

Everything is running fine. Again, thanks for your help!

[G0dlyLuck]

I posted my fdisk -l output. Which partitions do you want me to mount and where do you want me to mount them to? Also the mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev says it cant find mount point /dev when I mount all partitions to /mnt.

[joed1960]

Through a bunch of research I found it makes a difference how you setup your USB disk to install Kali. I had previously been using unetbootin to create the image for the install. I found Rosa Image Writer, and I was able to install Kali without any issues. Grub installed automatically during setup.

[_defalt]

Through a bunch of research I found it makes a difference how you setup your USB disk to install Kali. I had previously been using unetbootin to create the image for the install. I found Rosa Image Writer, and I was able to install Kali without any issues. Grub installed automatically during setup.

You were choosing the wrong partition when you were encountered with grub rescue mode.

[joed1960]

You were choosing the wrong partition when you were encountered with grub rescue mode.

Case closed.

[AParthenopaeus94]

Through a bunch of research I found it makes a difference how you setup your USB disk to install Kali. I had previously been using unetbootin to create the image for the install. I found Rosa Image Writer, and I was able to install Kali without any issues. Grub installed automatically during setup.

I personally use a windows PC and use a program called Rufus. You can download it here: https://rufus.ie/en-us/

It is very easy to use and also has a log screen so you can monitor the progress and/or errors.

[G0dlyLuck]

root@kali:~# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 238.5 GiB, 256060514304 bytes, 500118192 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: gpt
Disk identifier: CD914108-4C59-49AC-89E2-56C495FD3BC5

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1 2048 616447 614400 300M EFI System
/dev/nvme0n1p2 616448 878591 262144 128M Microsoft reserved
/dev/nvme0n1p3 878592 498274303 497395712 237.2G Microsoft basic data
/dev/nvme0n1p4 498274304 500117503 1843200 900M Windows recovery environment


Disk /dev/sda: 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: gpt
Disk identifier: 7B37B810-43B9-458C-A01B-9CED3B9BF283

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 865132543 865130496 412.5G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sda2 865132544 866183167 1050624 513M EFI System
/dev/sda3 1914009600 1953523711 39514112 18.9G Windows recovery environment
/dev/sda4 866183168 939511807 73328640 35G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda5 939511808 959565823 20054016 9.6G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda6 959565824 967907327 8341504 4G Linux swap
/dev/sda7 967907328 971812863 3905536 1.9G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda8 971812864 1914009599 942196736 449.3G Linux filesystem

Partition table entries are not in disk order.


Disk /dev/sdb: 14.5 GiB, 15597568000 bytes, 30464000 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: 0xbad74d2f

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1 * 64 5456223 5456160 2.6G 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 5456224 5457631 1408 704K 1 FAT12
/dev/sdb3 5457920 30463999 25006080 11.9G b W95 FAT32


Disk /dev/loop0: 2.4 GiB, 2558234624 bytes, 4996552 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

[_defalt]

@Arcaici
set root=(hd0,gpt6)
set prefix=(hd0,gpt6)/boot/grub
insmod normal
normal

Once you boot kali run:
sudo update-grub
sudo grub-install /dev/sda

[Arcaici]

i tried but, it say "error: no such partition" when i type "insmod normal"

[_defalt]

@Arcaici Instead of writing (hd0,gpt6) there, write the actual name of your partition. Run ls to list the name of all partitions and show the output here.

The partition #6 is your kali filesystem. Eg- It can be (hd1,gpt6), see ls.

[stellarix]

I have a problem

I got stuck in umount /mnt/sys
It says umount : /mnt/sys: target is busy

So, i started to skip umount /mnt/sys

But when in the last command umount /mnt it says target is busy too

In step mkdir /mnt/boot/efi says
Cannot create directory *** file exists, when i started reboot, still no grub kali show, directly to the windows

[_defalt]

@stellarix Have you checked in Boot menu options if an entry of grub is present there?

[stellarix]

I checked, there is nothing

[_defalt]

@stellarix I've again run those commands and the entry of grub has been successfully added in my boot menu options. Yeah, the entry was removed when i did a firmware update so i again added it.

I've slightly changed the order of commands so run them again.

There are other 2 users reporting the same. They say that commands are executed successfully but the entry is not generated in the boot menu options. It can be the issue with their firmware.

[tushr]

@_defalt I followed your steps but at the grub-install step I got an error saying:
bash: grub: command not found

Also in the steps mkdir /mnt/boot/efi and /mnt/hostrun it said cannot create directory... File exists
But I still continued and then got stuck at the grub-install step.

I read all the replies here and my laptop specs are a lot similar. I have an hp laptop with windows 10 preinstalled in uefi... I was trying to install kali as dual boot and encountered the problem of grub install dummy failed. My secure boot is off and I have a bootable dvd for kali which I run in efi mode.

[_defalt]

@tushr In kali-live enter mount /dev/sda* /mnt and then show the output of ls /mnt/usr/sbin | grep grub. /dev/sda* is your kali filesytem partition.

[tushr]

@_defalt Sorry for the late reply but I was trying other methods. Actually, my laptop is fairly new so I thought maybe if I try a newer release of kali would it work?... and it did. I downloaded kali-linux-2017.3-amd64 and booted from that. The setup did not stop at grub and it installed successfully past all the grub-install dummy step.

But now another problem rose. My wifi adapter is not being read. In the settings in the wifi tab it says wifi not supported. A key note:
*During installation an error came about some missing firmware files. It said: Some of your hardware needs non-free firmware files to operate. The firmware can be loaded from removable media, such as a USB stick or floppy.
The missing firmware files are: rtl_nic/rtl8168h-2.fw
If you have such media available now, insert it, and continue.
Load missing firmware from removable media? (yes/no)
Also at the network configuration step, the setup is supposed to first scan for lan0 and then wlan0. But during my setup, it scanned lan0 and skipped wlan0. Since I dont have means for LAN connection I had no choice but to choose for configure network later.

After the installation, I connected my phone through tethering and did a apt-get update and apt-get dist-upgrade. It fetched around 1.1GB of data but still no luck. I searched online and heard about backports. But during installation, there was a step which used "make unload" command which gave an error about the linux headers are not installed or missing.
To overcome this, i did a apt-cache search linux-headers and installed the ones corresponding to my version(using uname -r). They got installed but still no luck with the make command.

Sorry for such a long error post but I just think maybe you could connect all these problems. Also I dont think the kali image is corrupted as I installed kali in another laptop using the same image and it worked like a charm.

[hammondo]

my 2018.1 install was successful but I have no grub boot loader despite agreeing to all grub/MBR items during the install. I only see Windows Boot Management in CMOS and on boot it just boots to Windows. I can run Live Kali from my install DVD

my fdisk -l
root@kali:~# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 465.8 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 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: gpt
Disk identifier: D249AB9A-2FAE-4930-B982-8AE340DAB7E1

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 206847 204800 100M EFI System
/dev/sda2 206848 2050047 1843200 900M Windows recovery environment
/dev/sda3 2050048 2312191 262144 128M Microsoft reserved
/dev/sda4 2312192 722997247 720685056 343.7G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sda5 934809600 976773119 41963520 20G Windows recovery environment
/dev/sda6 722997248 722999295 2048 1M BIOS boot
/dev/sda7 722999296 926652415 203653120 97.1G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda8 926652416 934809599 8157184 3.9G Linux swap

Partition table entries are not in disk order.
Disk /dev/loop0: 2.6 GiB, 2775728128 bytes, 5421344 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

Manual config of grub following instructions above, fails with multiple "no mount point" errors and "command not found" when running update-grub

root@kali:~# mount /dev/sda7 /mnt
root@kali:~# mount -bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount: invalid option -- 'b'
Try 'mount --help' for more information.
root@kali:~# mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
root@kali:~# mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
root@kali:~# mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
root@kali:~# mount --bind /sys/firmware/efi/efivars /mnt/sys/firmware/efi/efivars
mount: /mnt/sys/firmware/efi/efivars: mount point does not exist.
root@kali:~# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi
mount: /mnt/boot/efi: mount point does not exist.
root@kali:~# mount -o remount,rw /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi
mount: /mnt/boot/efi: mount point does not exist.
root@kali:~# mount --bind /run /mnt/hostrun
mount: /mnt/hostrun: mount point does not exist.

[saksham3199]

@_defalt Sorry for the late reply but I was trying other methods. Actually, my laptop is fairly new so I thought maybe if I try a newer release of kali would it work?... and it did. I downloaded kali-linux-2017.3-amd64 and booted from that. The setup did not stop at grub and it installed successfully past all the grub-install dummy step.

But now another problem rose. My wifi adapter is not being read. In the settings in the wifi tab it says wifi not supported. A key note:
*During installation an error came about some missing firmware files. It said: Some of your hardware needs non-free firmware files to operate. The firmware can be loaded from removable media, such as a USB stick or floppy.
The missing firmware files are: rtl_nic/rtl8168h-2.fw
If you have such media available now, insert it, and continue.
Load missing firmware from removable media? (yes/no)
Also at the network configuration step, the setup is supposed to first scan for lan0 and then wlan0. But during my setup, it scanned lan0 and skipped wlan0. Since I dont have means for LAN connection I had no choice but to choose for configure network later.

After the installation, I connected my phone through tethering and did a apt-get update and apt-get dist-upgrade. It fetched around 1.1GB of data but still no luck. I searched online and heard about backports. But during installation, there was a step which used "make unload" command which gave an error about the linux headers are not installed or missing.
To overcome this, i did a apt-cache search linux-headers and installed the ones corresponding to my version(using uname -r). They got installed but still no luck with the make command.

Sorry for such a long error post but I just think maybe you could connect all these problems. Also I dont think the kali image is corrupted as I installed kali in another laptop using the same image and it worked like a charm.

I am having the same problem using killer wifi 6 AX1650i adapter

[_defalt]

@hammondo I edited my original post to remove errors. Run it again.

[hammondo]

Thank you and kudos to you _efalt! I saw no mount point does not exist errors and grub-install and update grub commands ran. I did see this output on update grub however, not sure if this is anything to worry about - and I saw it with and without Internet connectivity during the grub install

generating grub configuration file ...
found background image: /usr/share/images/desktop-base/desktop-grub.png
found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-4.14.0-kali3-amd64
found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-4.14.0-kali3-amd64
WARNING: Device /dev/loop0 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda1 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda2 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda3 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda4 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda5 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda6 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda7 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds
WARNING: Device /dev/sda8 not initialized in udev database even after waiting 10000000 microseconds

After I got the command prompt back I did "exit" then reboot. The DVD was kicked out during the reboot. However I still do NOT see the grub loader during boot. I have fast boot and CSM disabled in the boot menu of my CMOS. I have just Windows Boot Management and P1: Matshashita CDROM/DVD as boot choices with no disk in the DVD drive. With WBM first and P1: second Windows loads. With P1 first and WBM second - this was how CMOS was set at the time of the reboot following the grub install and kicking out the disk - I got "boot disk not found please insert....." interestingly enough. And after swapping WBM/P1 and getting Windows I tried swapping back and I found no P1 option anymore in my boot choices in CMOS.

I'm leaving at that for now. Please advise _defalt of course when you get a chance to do so. I still would really like to have Kali/Windows dual-boot functional on this Asus notebook.

thank you!