Installed Zorin will not display dual boot option with Windows 7
 

I installed Zorin from USB alongside Windows 7 but Dual Boot selection screen does not display, boots straight into Zorin.

Tried some options offered in Ubuntu Help but I could not get them to correct the problem which was compounded by the fact that the information procedure steps were not shown clearly enough for me to understand and follow.

Some steps in the Terminal Window required sudo to be typed first but this was not demonstrated in the sample command line.

I only have a Boot/Installation USB.

One of the suggestions discussed Boot-Repair which I could not find.

There was discussion on finding the Partition Label but was confusing as to which part of the string was required to be used.

I need an informative complete outline with all the steps set out clearly to get me back into Windows 7

Regards
Graham

Follow from the above part solution found
*
Ubuntu and Zorin problems.

I have had Ubuntu 12.04 LTS installed as dual boot with windows for a couple of years. Instead of leaving things alone I decided to replace Ubuntu with Zorin because reviews said it was the best Linux/Ubuntu operating system.

I had decided in the past to only install a second operating system using Wubi because I did not have to worry about partitioning. Unfortunately I ignored my intuition and un-installed Ubuntu.

I then tried to install Zorin but it required some partition creation. Unfortunately I was not sure exactly was required because I was not a Linux geek. Nevertheless I created a partition and named it Zorin.

I them sucessfully installed Zorin then disaster struck. On restart the dual boot window did not display and it booted straight into Zorin. There was no way I could back into Windows 7.

I spent around 8 hours trawling the internet for a solution with a lot of result about modifying grub and a lot of misleading information. All suggestions demanded a thorough knowledge of grub and terminal commands and the various types advice were all short on the keep it simple principle for non-geeks.

Command lines would be given in the solutions without the sudo prefix and it was hours before I worked it out. When one is asking for help tell them everything.

Some advice required modifying grub but with no help in locating grub.

Boot-Repair was suggested and I downloaded I created a Boot-Repair CD, however it did not help. I still could not boot into Windows 7.

I eventually discovered that opening the Terminal Ctrl+Alt+T and typing
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub the grub opened. Advice also said to type sudo update-grub after alterations to grub

Further advice was found about changing the actions of the boot times etc but this had no effect on the dual boot problem.

After about 8 hours of searching I came across someone who knew the answer. The GRUB_DEFAULT=0 needed to be changed to "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda3)" or something similar to /sda3.

First Step. Determine the Windows OS' position in the grub menu. To do this, open a terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T and type the following: grep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg

This will list the grub menu entries. I'll use my grub menu as an example:

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
menuentry "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" --class windows --class os {

You will then select the Windows partition, in my case "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" including the double quotes and copy it.

Second Step. Open the /etc/default/grub file. To do this, type the following in the terminal:
gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub
It will open the /etc/default/grub file with gedit. Look for the GRUB_DEFAULT=0 line and change it's value from 0 to the selected Windows menu entry by pasting it. . ie in this example "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)"

# If you change this file, run 'sudo update-grub' afterwards to update

GRUB_DEFAULT="Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda3)"
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=13
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

After which, you need to update grub by typing sudo update-grub

On reboot Windows 7became available.

The next problem was that Ubuntu would freeze at the Login Window and no amount of uninstalling and reinstalling Ubuntu would solve the problem.

So I went from not being able to access windows (solved) to not being able to log into Ubuntu. I tried Boot-Repair to no avail. I did Windows restore to a date before installing the ill fated Zorin to no avail. I think the only solution is to reinstall Windows 7.

Lesson if you cannot install with the operating system with Wubi it is not worth the effort for amateurs.

Regards
Graham

*Ubuntu and Zorin problems.

I have had Ubuntu 12.04 LTS installed as dual boot with windows for a couple of years. Instead of leaving things alone I decided to replace Ubuntu with Zorin because reviews said it was the best Linux/Ubuntu operating system.

I had decided in the past to only install a second operating system using Wubi because I did not have to worry about partitioning. Unfortunately I ignored my intuition and un-installed Ubuntu.

I then tried to install Zorin but it required some partition creation. Unfortunately I was not sure exactly was required because I was not a Linux geek. Nevertheless I created a partition and named it Zorin.

I them sucessfully installed Zorin then disaster struck. On restart the dual boot window did not display and it booted straight into Zorin. There was no way I could back into Windows 7.

I spent around 8 hours trawling the internet for a solution with a lot of result about modifying grub and a lot of misleading information. All suggestions demanded a thorough knowledge of grub and terminal commands and the various types advice were all short on the keep it simple principle for non-geeks.

Command lines would be given in the solutions without the sudo prefix and it was hours before I worked it out. When one is asking for help tell them everything.

Some advice required modifying grub but with no help in locating grub.

Boot-Repair was suggested and I downloaded I created a Boot-Repair CD, however it did not help. I still could not boot into Windows 7.

I eventually discovered that opening the Terminal Ctrl+Alt+T and typing
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub the grub opened. Advice also said to type sudo update-grub after alterations to grub

Further advice was found about changing the actions of the boot times etc but this had no effect on the dual boot problem.

After about 8 hours of searching I came across someone who knew the answer. The GRUB_DEFAULT=0 needed to be changed to "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda3)" or something similar to /sda3.

First Step. Determine the Windows OS' position in the grub menu. To do this, open a terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T and type the following: grep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg

This will list the grub menu entries. I'll use my grub menu as an example:

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
menuentry "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" --class windows --class os {

You will then select the Windows partition, in my case "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" including the double quotes and copy it.

Second Step. Open the /etc/default/grub file. To do this, type the following in the terminal:
gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub
It will open the /etc/default/grub file with gedit. Look for the GRUB_DEFAULT=0 line and change it's value from 0 to the selected Windows menu entry by pasting it. . ie in this example "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)"

# If you change this file, run 'sudo update-grub' afterwards to update

GRUB_DEFAULT="Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda3)"
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=13
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

After which, you need to update grub by typing sudo update-grub

On reboot Windows 7became available.

The next problem was that Ubuntu would freeze at the Login Window and no amount of uninstalling and reinstalling Ubuntu would solve the problem.

So I went from not being able to access windows (solved) to not being able to log into Ubuntu. I tried Boot-Repair to no avail. I did Windows restore to a date before installing the ill fated Zorin to no avail. I think the only solution is to reinstall Windows 7.

Lesson if you cannot install with the operating system with Wubi it is not worth the effort for amateurs.

Regards
Graham

Ubuntu, ( which zorin is based on )
stopped displaying the grub boot menu, can't remember when I think it was recently 13.04

edit /etc/default/grub ( as root )

make sure it has
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
or some none zero number ( seconds )
also , if it exists comment out ( start line with # )
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0

then