I have a computer with 3 Hard drives: the main is an NVME with Zorin 15 Ultimate installed, there is a second HDD that is just used for data overflow, and a third little SSD. Onto this third drive I installed the latest Ubuntu, to check it out, and I was hoping for a dual boot situation... what I got instead was a single boot... into Ubuntu only.
I went into the BIOS to try to change the boot order, but now zorin doesn't even show up as an option. I figure this must have something to do with UEFI but I am not knowledgeable enough to be able to fix it. Honestly, at this point, I would just scrap the Ubuntu install, but then I worry I would end up with NO bootable drives.
Is this something anybody has run into? Can it be fixed? It shouldn't be a data wipe, as Ubuntu was installed on another drive and the NVME still shows as encrypted when I look at files through Ubuntu.
Turn off the machine, assuming the machine shuts down normally without a forced shut-down such as a freeze occuring in Ubuntu.
Remove any static build up before "going in" to the machine by touching a removed panel if a desktop, or a radiator if a notebook.
Remove the drive with ubuntu on it.
Replace covers - or leave off if need to reinsert Ubuntu drive
Return the power cord to the PSU before turning on the wall switch, if no wall switch, ensure lead is not in the wall socket before putting power cord back into PSU, then put the plug end into wall socket, then remember to turn the PSU Power switch on the PSU back to on, reboot.
What happened:
Zorin and Ubuntu use the same folder name (ubuntu) in the EFI system partition for their boot loader files. When you install Ubuntu with Zorin already present, it overwrites the previous contents of that folder and sets itself to boot when computer starts.
Zorin should now be in Ubuntu's grub menu, since Ubuntu probes for other OS when it installs. So, you could just boot Zorin from there.
Well, I followed this advice, and unplugged the SATA connection for the ubuntu SSD. When I turned the computer back on, I went into the bios and it still couldn't see Zorin, so I put the drive with Zorin on it highest in the boot order and then fired the computer up.
The message I got was that the drive was that I should "insert bootable media" and restart.
Is my Zorin drive just lost? is there any way to adjust this "grub menu" or to add the drive back to the UEFI?
I've had the same issue with Devuan and Feren OS. It might just need the EFi entry back in BIOS. Also had similar issue after BIOS update. If the BIOS allows it you can save settings. I can on my ASUS motherboard. Something to think about before trying new OS's in the future. If you manually partitioned Zorin you could just reinstall root partition and EFI partition but remember to mark entry for your /home partition and not to format it. If you can see your /home partition from Ubuntu then back it up including your hidden files that begin with a dot.
Also, it set up its own partitions. It had a drive all to itself, but it set up (as I recall) 2 or three separate partitions on that drive, of which two seemed to be for the system itself.
For some reason, I can't get my BIOS to see Zorin at all. Even when I hard set the drive Zorin was on to boot first (in the advanced settings) it still ends up eventually booting Ubuntu.
The good news is that I had everything I needed backed up; the only thing I would really be missing are a bunch of additional apps I installed from a "what else to install after you install Zorin" list I found on the internet. Shouldn't be too hard to manage.