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The dual-boot purple screen - resolved

My laptop has Win 7 Pro on it, and also Ubuntu Linux 16.04.  Windows is a grumpy little OS that feels that it is the only OS in the universe.  Ubuntu Linux realizes that it is not the only OS, just the most trouble-free and flexible-- But Ubuntu does not really care about the issues of other OS's.

To get them both on the same laptop, I usually have to install Windows first, then nudge it aside with Ubuntu.  If all goes well, the two systems mostly get along, but it is not elegant.

On start up, there is a menu of OS's that allows you to select Ubuntu or Windows.  If I choose Windows, I used to see a purple screen with white dashes for a while, then the Win boot menu would come up and all would be well.

After the laptop crashed, I got the purple screen with white dashes, but the Win boot screen did not appear.  I could hear the Win 7 start up tune, but could not see the screen.

It turns out that the purple screen with white dashes is an Ubuntu splash screen that does not quite work right.  I had to turn off the Ubuntu splash.

Zaid Munir figured this one out-- Here's a link;

https://zaidmunir.blogspot.ca/2014/04/purple-screen-on-windows-start-when.html?showComment=1493742064945#c5724782493692471977

Here's my revision of Zaid's instructions:

Start the laptop.  You will see a grub menu something like this;

Select OS to run

 Ubuntu 16.04
Windows 7 on /sda1
Windows 7 on /sda2

Highlight the windows OS of your choice       //*using the down arrow key
Press the 'e' key                               //* to temporarily edit the grub boot logger commands

You will see lines of code that grub uses to load the Windows 7 Operating System.
Among those is a command line that looks like this;

set root= 'hd0,msdos2'                                  //* This tells the computer where the msdos OS is.
Insert this line of code above it, so it looks like this;

set root= ******* quiet splash
set root= 'hd0,msdos2' 

 Press [Ctrl]X                                  //* Grub uses the altered instructions to start the laptop.
Does it solve the problem? 
If it did now you proceed to make the change permanent.

 Ubuntu 16.04 automatically generates GRUB at installation.   GRUB carries a warning not to manually change the GRUB files--Probably because any small (or large) mistake you make will cause the system to not boot the next time around.
HOWEVER, there is an additional file you can change that allows you to add commands to the booting process.  

 It is located here, in the Ubuntu Linux side of the laptop;

 /etc/grub.d/40_custom         //* Note that "grub.d" is a subdirectory of /etc , and 40_custom is the file.

 Start ubuntu
press [Ctrl][Alt][t] to open up terminal
type 'sudo gedit' 
in the editor navigate to /boot/grub/grub.cfg and open the file  //* DO NOT EDIT GRUB.CFG!
In the file select the menu entry for windows and copy it
Now open the file /etc/grub.d/40_custom
Paste the menu entry that you copied previously after the comments on a new line
In the menu entry add the "quiet splash" as done before
Save the file 

Now run 
sudo update-grub
Reboot, enjoy!

 This process will add a new entry to the bottom of the OS system listing when you reboot.  Select the entry at the bottom, and it should work fine

Comments

  1. Emmanuel GoldsteinSeptember 30, 2017 at 3:12 PM

    Or maybe, not such a permanent fix. The purple screen is back!
    I have lately been using an emergency start-up procedure. It is a pain in the neck. I will probably do a good backup, scrub the hard drive, install Ubuntu Linux and then reinstall Windows 7 to run in a virtual machine. Meanwhile, the workaround;

    Start the laptop as usual. If you get the purple screen, wait about 3 to 5 minutes until the Windows login prompt tones ("New York New York...<1>).
    Type in your password and [Enter].
    Wait until login tone confirms Win 7 has started behind the purple screen ("bum-BUP").

    Try a blind restart--
    Hit [Ctrl][Alt][Del]
    Wait 30 seconds
    Hit [Down Arrow] one time.
    [Enter]
    Wait for two-tone exit sound (BUP-bum).
    Hit [Tab][Tab][Tab][Enter]
    Your system should turn off.
    Restart, and it may log in to Windows normally without the purple screen.

    Try to do a Recovery Reboot

    If the above does not work, log into Win 7 blind, as above.
    Unplug the laptop, and pull the battery. This forces an abnormal shutdown.

    Put the battery back in and restart. You should get an error screen on reboot that includes the choice, "Start Windows Normally." Select that, and it should restart without the purple screen.

    Other:
    Your Win system may have a slightly different shutdown sequence, so if you get Win to work, try to write down the steps for a keyboard-only shutdown process (ie., no mouse usage). It can't be good for the laptop to shut it down all the time by pulling the battery. Some newer laptops now have the battery soldered in.
    --Best of luck to all with the purple screen problem! --EG
    ---
    Footnotes
    <1> -- The Win 7 login sounds to me like the first 4 notes of "New York New York" from the musical 'On the Town.' Here's a link;

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7CIgWZTdgw

    I wonder if Microsoft licensed it...

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 13, 2019 at 2:03 AM

    Not working for me.

    ReplyDelete

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