Dual Boot - Dual Disk - set Zorin as boot priority

Installing Zorin OS
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Hi there, not really sure where this should be posted.

Firstly please note that I have a old HP z210 with a bios that doesn't have 'fast boot', 'secure boot' or anything modern like that. Windows power options > fast startup is disabled (just in case).

I am very happy with Z 'core' on my desktop and would like to make it the priority/default when booting up.

However, there is not option for ubuntu in the bios settings > boot order list of devices.

Note - Grub only comes into the process AFTER I have chosen "ubuntu" from the boot list, by firstly pressing "ESC".

Meaning to get to Zorin, I always have to press 'ESC',

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select "ubuntu" from the list, every time I start the computer. (ONLY the first "Unbuntu" goes to Zorin, the 2nd & 3rd go to windows)

There is no ubuntu device to set as the priority/default.

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none of them go to Zorin.
If I choose the 'Samsung SSD' that contains the Zorin installation, it will boot into windows.

Ideas anyone?
cheers CD

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If I understood correctly, when you simply turn on the computer it boots into Windows directly? Based on on the boot order shown, that makes sense. When you installed Zorin OS on the other drive, you created a separate EFI partition there. I would expect that placing the Samsung SSD on top of the list would boot into Zorin OS (first you'd see the GRUB menu from that drive). Have you tried that?

Note that you would be in the same situation if you need to boot into Windows.

1 Like
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Hi there, thanks for your reply.

Yes you understand correctly.

If I disable the EFI boot options, and just have 'Legacy Options' available, then I can move the Samsung SSD to the top (the priority device) of the boot list. Yes that works, excellent, thanks for that.

However, I was under the 'illusion' that I needed to keep the EFI booting option for Zorin to be able to boot!, that I was doing a good thing in avoiding using the grub, because it can be damaged by a windows update, somewhere down the line.

In fact during my very first trial installations of Zorin, I was hung up on the idea that I did needed to maintain the efi boot option in the bios, and I somehow had to get the windows bootloader out of the 'Legacy Options' and into the EFI list. It was to do with the fact that Zorin was installed when the disk was a GPT type, but windows was installed as MBR.
I don't know what all that means other than I can have many partitions on a GPT disk, unlike MBR.

Anyway, that misunderstanding has been debunked, so thanks yet again. Just goes to show how mistracked I was.
cheers CD