Ubuntu on external hard drive not booting
I'm new to ask ubuntu so I apologize if this question has already been asked or if it's in the wrong thread.
I had a question regarding my external hard drive, with Ubuntu installed in it, not being recognized by my computer.
Some background:
I downloaded Ubuntu using a Mac on a USB flashdrive a few weeks ago, then using that USB, I used it to boot my Mac and use the USB to install Ubuntu permanently on an external hard drive I bought. It all went really well and I was able to get Ubuntu working. However, the external hard drive only works on that specific computer. If I boot my Mac with the external hard drive connected, I can choose either iOS or Ubuntu. But, if I connect the external hard drive to a Windows based computer, like my HP Notebook, the computer will either not even display the external hard drive or it'll say "selected boot device failed." I've tried changing the BIOS settings but nothing really works and I'm scared I may change settings and ruin my computer or files.
I was under the impression that it didn't matter what computer you use to install Ubuntu, it should be bootable on any device. But, it seems like my hard drive is only bootable on my Mac. I'd like to be able to boot the external hard drive on any computer. Do you guys think I might have messed up the installation? How could I fix this issue?
I would truly appreciate any advice/help.
Thank you!
-Juan
boot hard-drive external-hdd
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
add a comment |
I'm new to ask ubuntu so I apologize if this question has already been asked or if it's in the wrong thread.
I had a question regarding my external hard drive, with Ubuntu installed in it, not being recognized by my computer.
Some background:
I downloaded Ubuntu using a Mac on a USB flashdrive a few weeks ago, then using that USB, I used it to boot my Mac and use the USB to install Ubuntu permanently on an external hard drive I bought. It all went really well and I was able to get Ubuntu working. However, the external hard drive only works on that specific computer. If I boot my Mac with the external hard drive connected, I can choose either iOS or Ubuntu. But, if I connect the external hard drive to a Windows based computer, like my HP Notebook, the computer will either not even display the external hard drive or it'll say "selected boot device failed." I've tried changing the BIOS settings but nothing really works and I'm scared I may change settings and ruin my computer or files.
I was under the impression that it didn't matter what computer you use to install Ubuntu, it should be bootable on any device. But, it seems like my hard drive is only bootable on my Mac. I'd like to be able to boot the external hard drive on any computer. Do you guys think I might have messed up the installation? How could I fix this issue?
I would truly appreciate any advice/help.
Thank you!
-Juan
boot hard-drive external-hdd
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
1
Yes, you messed up the installation. Sorry, Every OS needs a bootloader, a piece of code that tells the computer where to start loading the kernel and OS. From your description, your bootloader is on the Mac instead of on the external drive. Portable installs of Ubuntu can be tricky because the installer defaults are not designed for that particular use case. This means that new users make a lot of mistakes. One option for a portable install is to physically disconnect the internal drives to ensure the bootloader gets written to the correct drive.
– user535733
Jan 4 at 17:23
With UEFI, you have to have an ESP - efi system partition on your external drive with boot files for UEFI boot. Easiest was is to disconnect or turn off in UEFI the internal drive so only external seen by installer. Otherwise you must manually partition.askubuntu.com/questions/743095/… If you have both drives connected, grub will default to first drive, normally internal drive. You can copy /EFI/ubuntu to external drive & then copy again to /EFI/Boot & rename shimx64.efi to bootx64.efi. UEFI only boots bootx64.efi from exteranl drives.
– oldfred
Jan 4 at 18:27
add a comment |
I'm new to ask ubuntu so I apologize if this question has already been asked or if it's in the wrong thread.
I had a question regarding my external hard drive, with Ubuntu installed in it, not being recognized by my computer.
Some background:
I downloaded Ubuntu using a Mac on a USB flashdrive a few weeks ago, then using that USB, I used it to boot my Mac and use the USB to install Ubuntu permanently on an external hard drive I bought. It all went really well and I was able to get Ubuntu working. However, the external hard drive only works on that specific computer. If I boot my Mac with the external hard drive connected, I can choose either iOS or Ubuntu. But, if I connect the external hard drive to a Windows based computer, like my HP Notebook, the computer will either not even display the external hard drive or it'll say "selected boot device failed." I've tried changing the BIOS settings but nothing really works and I'm scared I may change settings and ruin my computer or files.
I was under the impression that it didn't matter what computer you use to install Ubuntu, it should be bootable on any device. But, it seems like my hard drive is only bootable on my Mac. I'd like to be able to boot the external hard drive on any computer. Do you guys think I might have messed up the installation? How could I fix this issue?
I would truly appreciate any advice/help.
Thank you!
-Juan
boot hard-drive external-hdd
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
I'm new to ask ubuntu so I apologize if this question has already been asked or if it's in the wrong thread.
I had a question regarding my external hard drive, with Ubuntu installed in it, not being recognized by my computer.
Some background:
I downloaded Ubuntu using a Mac on a USB flashdrive a few weeks ago, then using that USB, I used it to boot my Mac and use the USB to install Ubuntu permanently on an external hard drive I bought. It all went really well and I was able to get Ubuntu working. However, the external hard drive only works on that specific computer. If I boot my Mac with the external hard drive connected, I can choose either iOS or Ubuntu. But, if I connect the external hard drive to a Windows based computer, like my HP Notebook, the computer will either not even display the external hard drive or it'll say "selected boot device failed." I've tried changing the BIOS settings but nothing really works and I'm scared I may change settings and ruin my computer or files.
I was under the impression that it didn't matter what computer you use to install Ubuntu, it should be bootable on any device. But, it seems like my hard drive is only bootable on my Mac. I'd like to be able to boot the external hard drive on any computer. Do you guys think I might have messed up the installation? How could I fix this issue?
I would truly appreciate any advice/help.
Thank you!
-Juan
boot hard-drive external-hdd
boot hard-drive external-hdd
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
asked Jan 4 at 16:45
jnm8jnm8
11
11
1
Yes, you messed up the installation. Sorry, Every OS needs a bootloader, a piece of code that tells the computer where to start loading the kernel and OS. From your description, your bootloader is on the Mac instead of on the external drive. Portable installs of Ubuntu can be tricky because the installer defaults are not designed for that particular use case. This means that new users make a lot of mistakes. One option for a portable install is to physically disconnect the internal drives to ensure the bootloader gets written to the correct drive.
– user535733
Jan 4 at 17:23
With UEFI, you have to have an ESP - efi system partition on your external drive with boot files for UEFI boot. Easiest was is to disconnect or turn off in UEFI the internal drive so only external seen by installer. Otherwise you must manually partition.askubuntu.com/questions/743095/… If you have both drives connected, grub will default to first drive, normally internal drive. You can copy /EFI/ubuntu to external drive & then copy again to /EFI/Boot & rename shimx64.efi to bootx64.efi. UEFI only boots bootx64.efi from exteranl drives.
– oldfred
Jan 4 at 18:27
add a comment |
1
Yes, you messed up the installation. Sorry, Every OS needs a bootloader, a piece of code that tells the computer where to start loading the kernel and OS. From your description, your bootloader is on the Mac instead of on the external drive. Portable installs of Ubuntu can be tricky because the installer defaults are not designed for that particular use case. This means that new users make a lot of mistakes. One option for a portable install is to physically disconnect the internal drives to ensure the bootloader gets written to the correct drive.
– user535733
Jan 4 at 17:23
With UEFI, you have to have an ESP - efi system partition on your external drive with boot files for UEFI boot. Easiest was is to disconnect or turn off in UEFI the internal drive so only external seen by installer. Otherwise you must manually partition.askubuntu.com/questions/743095/… If you have both drives connected, grub will default to first drive, normally internal drive. You can copy /EFI/ubuntu to external drive & then copy again to /EFI/Boot & rename shimx64.efi to bootx64.efi. UEFI only boots bootx64.efi from exteranl drives.
– oldfred
Jan 4 at 18:27
1
1
Yes, you messed up the installation. Sorry, Every OS needs a bootloader, a piece of code that tells the computer where to start loading the kernel and OS. From your description, your bootloader is on the Mac instead of on the external drive. Portable installs of Ubuntu can be tricky because the installer defaults are not designed for that particular use case. This means that new users make a lot of mistakes. One option for a portable install is to physically disconnect the internal drives to ensure the bootloader gets written to the correct drive.
– user535733
Jan 4 at 17:23
Yes, you messed up the installation. Sorry, Every OS needs a bootloader, a piece of code that tells the computer where to start loading the kernel and OS. From your description, your bootloader is on the Mac instead of on the external drive. Portable installs of Ubuntu can be tricky because the installer defaults are not designed for that particular use case. This means that new users make a lot of mistakes. One option for a portable install is to physically disconnect the internal drives to ensure the bootloader gets written to the correct drive.
– user535733
Jan 4 at 17:23
With UEFI, you have to have an ESP - efi system partition on your external drive with boot files for UEFI boot. Easiest was is to disconnect or turn off in UEFI the internal drive so only external seen by installer. Otherwise you must manually partition.askubuntu.com/questions/743095/… If you have both drives connected, grub will default to first drive, normally internal drive. You can copy /EFI/ubuntu to external drive & then copy again to /EFI/Boot & rename shimx64.efi to bootx64.efi. UEFI only boots bootx64.efi from exteranl drives.
– oldfred
Jan 4 at 18:27
With UEFI, you have to have an ESP - efi system partition on your external drive with boot files for UEFI boot. Easiest was is to disconnect or turn off in UEFI the internal drive so only external seen by installer. Otherwise you must manually partition.askubuntu.com/questions/743095/… If you have both drives connected, grub will default to first drive, normally internal drive. You can copy /EFI/ubuntu to external drive & then copy again to /EFI/Boot & rename shimx64.efi to bootx64.efi. UEFI only boots bootx64.efi from exteranl drives.
– oldfred
Jan 4 at 18:27
add a comment |
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1
Yes, you messed up the installation. Sorry, Every OS needs a bootloader, a piece of code that tells the computer where to start loading the kernel and OS. From your description, your bootloader is on the Mac instead of on the external drive. Portable installs of Ubuntu can be tricky because the installer defaults are not designed for that particular use case. This means that new users make a lot of mistakes. One option for a portable install is to physically disconnect the internal drives to ensure the bootloader gets written to the correct drive.
– user535733
Jan 4 at 17:23
With UEFI, you have to have an ESP - efi system partition on your external drive with boot files for UEFI boot. Easiest was is to disconnect or turn off in UEFI the internal drive so only external seen by installer. Otherwise you must manually partition.askubuntu.com/questions/743095/… If you have both drives connected, grub will default to first drive, normally internal drive. You can copy /EFI/ubuntu to external drive & then copy again to /EFI/Boot & rename shimx64.efi to bootx64.efi. UEFI only boots bootx64.efi from exteranl drives.
– oldfred
Jan 4 at 18:27