Did you turn BitLocker off in windows before trying to install Ubuntu. The boot repair output shows on line 5 that windows is in the MBR which we knew. Line 37 shows nothing on sda5,
line 65 shows 1 OS detected and that is windows. Lline 115 shows no os, no grub, line 122 indicates the partition has no fstab (required to boot) and again, line 192 shows nothing on what should be the Ubuntu system partition: /dev/sda5 81.5G 0%(used)
If you have fast boot, seure boot and bit locker off and still cannot install to /dev/sda, install Ubuntu and the grub boot files to the Ubuntu system partition (sda5) and then use bcdedit on windows to boot Ubuntu. Lots of online tutorials on this.
Dear oldfred and yancek,
Thank you both for your continued help.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot after seeing your latest explanations.
Since my Windows 10 installation is:
legacy/MBR,
very old (refurbished machine),
unsupported now,
and repeatedly causing blocking issues during Ubuntu installation,
whether it makes any sense to keep unsupported Windows 10 at all?
My question:
If I decide to completely remove Windows and install Ubuntu as the only operating system (UEFI mode, GPT disk), will this avoid the complications I’ve been fighting with (MBR limits, mixed boot modes, fast-startup, Bitlocker, hibernation, Windows repairs, GRUB conflict, etc.)?
Are there any risks or complications I should be aware of before wiping the disk and converting it to GPT for a clean Ubuntu-only installation?
I would greatly appreciate your opinion before making this decision.
Thank you again for all your support.
The problem isn’t only the bootloader but the fact that nothing was installed for Ubuntu. Boot repair clearly shows that sda5, which would have been the partition on which Ubuntu would be installed was empty. Did you verify the download of the iso file before writing it to the usb? How did you write it to the usb? Since nothing of Ubuntu was written to the disk, I would have expected some warning/error messages during the attempt to install
If you did not sign up for the extended support for windows 10 it’s pretty risky to use but that is your decision. If you do decide on trying just Ubuntu, make sure you back up any personal data from the windows system to another physical drive first.
Thanks a lot for your response.
Just to clarify one point:
I believe that Ubuntu never got a chance to install anything to sda5 - not even start copying files — because the installer always stopped at the partitioning screen. The “Next” button was permanently greyed out, and the installer refused to continue.
Regarding your other questions:
Yes, the ISO checksum was verified earlier.
The USB was written several times using both Rufus (ISO and DD) and balenaEtcher.
When booting in Legacy mode, the Lenovo goes into a reboot loop (probably because the image is UEFI-oriented).
When booting in “Both" (Legacy+UEFI) BIOS mode, the Ubuntu installer starts, but cannot pass the partitioning screen.
Thank you again for your help and for continuing to guide me through this.
You could try another (less destructive) approach first, which should answer these questions.
Suggestion
Back up your Windows data
Use Rufus to make a USB installation disk (UEFI compatible)
Physically remove the Windows disk Info
UEFI settings - Disable Secure Boot and TPM (and/or similar Trust options)
Attach USB installer disk
Attach another USB disk (min 32GB)
Boot a “Try Ubuntu” live session in UEFI mode
Test your hardware
If you are still using Ubuntu 22.04, open Gparted and create GPT on target disk
Install to second USB using default partitions
Finish installation and power off
Remove installation disk and boot from the target USB
Another option previously suggested would be to install Ubuntu and select to install the Grub bootloader to the Ubuntu partition which shows as sda5 in your boot repair output then create a boot entry from the windows bcdedit. If you are familiar with bcdedit, that might be better but if not, booting from windows is much more convoluted than using Grub as you can see at the link below which explains the whole process in detail.
Whatever you decide, be sure to have good backups of any data you want to keep.
Many that make the leap from Windows to Ubuntu/Linux end up having one program or game that only runs in Windows so then want Windows back. You may want to backup Windows.
I used Quicken in Windows XP and kept XP for several years just for that one app. But Windows updates, Quicken updates took almost all Sat morning where Ubuntu updated in minutes. So removed XP and found an app in Ubuntu that was not quite Quicken but good enough.
Thank you for your suggestions.
I have one question:
When you say “Physically remove the Windows disk Info”, do you mean
physically remove the Windows drive from the laptop,
or
erase the Windows disk partition table (“disk info”),
or
anything else?
I want to be sure I understand correctly before attempting anything.
The word Info is in blue text and I have deliberately repeated it here.
It is a Hyperlink (clickable), which will lead you to a webpage showing how to physically remove the internal disk.
Thank you all again for your patience and expert support.
tea-for-one — I loved your great idea. Thank you for clarifying the link. I reviewed the iFixit guide, and although removing the SSD seems simple, this is a refurbished older laptop and I prefer not to risk damaging aging oxidized connectors or fragile cables. I think it is safer for this device to avoid internal hardware work.
I really appreciate all the suggestions from everyone. I will now pause and begin preparing for the next Ubuntu installation steps. Thanks again for your help and guidance.
Some systems have a UEFI firmware setting for the drives as disabled or similar to remove drive logically. That may also work. And you then can re-inable after Ubuntu install.
Thank you, this is extremely helpful.
I did not know that some ThinkPads allow disabling the internal SSD in the BIOS. I will check the P50 firmware to see whether the drive can be disabled logically instead of removing it physically.
I will report back with the BIOS findings.
Thank you again for your help.