Recently, I installed Debian on a separate section of my laptop’s hard drive, and I am experiencing some unusual and consistent unexpected behaviors.
- The first issue is that whenever I switch to the Windows partition after using Debian, the system clock is incorrect.
- The second problem is that the Wi-Fi on Windows becomes dysfunctional after using Debian, as I am utilizing the non-free iwlwifi drivers in Debian. However, I can resolve this by disabling and then re-enabling the wireless network adapter.
During the startup process, Debian displays error messages suggesting that it is encountering some difficulty in loading the network interface, although it always functions correctly on startup.
Although these issues are not particularly disruptive since there are straightforward solutions, such as synchronizing the system clock and resetting the network adapter, I am concerned that there may be a configuration issue that could lead to problems in the future, and I would prefer to address it now.
2 Answers
Introduction
Dual-booting a PC with two different operating systems is a great way to take advantage of the strengths of each OS. However, it can also lead to some unexpected issues, especially when partitioning the hard drive. In this blog post, we will discuss some strange issues that arise while swapping partitions on a PC dual-booting Windows 10 and Debian.
Issue 1: Windows Clock is Wrong After Booting Debian
One of the most common issues faced by users while dual-booting is the inconsistency in the system clock. The system clock is used by both operating systems to record the time of various events. The clock on the Windows partition may become incorrect every time you boot up after booting into Debian. This issue arises because Windows uses the local time while Debian uses UTC time.
To fix this issue, you need to tell Windows to use UTC time instead of local time. You can do this by following these steps:
- Open the Registry Editor by pressing the Windows key + R and typing “regedit”.
- Navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTimeZoneInformation
- Right-click on the empty space and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name the value “RealTimeIsUniversal”.
- Double-click on the value and set it to 1.
Once you have made this change, the clock on your Windows partition should remain accurate even after booting into Debian.
Issue 2: Wi-Fi on Windows is Broken After Booting Debian
Another issue that you may face while dual-booting is the inconsistency in the Wi-Fi connectivity. The Wi-Fi on Windows may become broken after you have loaded up Debian, which is using the non-free iwlwifi drivers. During startup, error messages from Debian suggest that it has some difficulty loading the network interface.
To fix this issue, you need to reset the network adapter on Windows. You can do this by following these steps:
- Open the Device Manager by pressing the Windows key + X and selecting Device Manager.
- Expand the Network adapters section.
- Right-click on your wireless network adapter and select Disable.
- Wait for a few seconds and then right-click on the adapter again and select Enable.
Once you have done this, the Wi-Fi on your Windows partition should start working again.
Issue 3: Grub Bootloader is Not Showing up
Sometimes, after installing Debian alongside Windows, the Grub bootloader may not appear during startup. This issue arises because the Windows bootloader takes precedence over the Grub bootloader.
To fix this issue, you need to set the Grub bootloader as the default bootloader. You can do this by following these steps:
- Boot into Debian.
- Open the terminal and type “sudo grub-install /dev/sda”.
- Type “sudo update-grub”.
Once you have done this, the Grub bootloader should appear during startup, giving you the option to choose between Debian and Windows.
Issue 4: Debian is Not Recognizing Windows Partitions
Sometimes, Debian may not recognize the Windows partitions on your hard drive. This issue arises because Windows uses a different file system (NTFS or FAT32) than Debian (ext4).
To fix this issue, you need to mount the Windows partitions manually. You can do this by following these steps:
- Open the terminal and type “sudo fdisk -l”.
- Identify the partition you want to mount.
- Create a directory to mount the partition by typing “sudo mkdir /mnt/windows”.
- Mount the partition by typing “sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /mnt/windows”. Replace “/dev/sda1” with the partition you want to mount.
Once you have done this, you should be able to access the Windows partitions from Debian.
Issue 5: Unable to Share Files Between Windows and Debian
Another issue that you may face while dual-booting is the inability to share files between Windows and Debian. This issue arises because Windows and Debian use different file systems.
To fix this issue, you need to create a separate partition that can be accessed by both operating systems. You can do this by following these steps:
- Open the Disk Management tool on Windows by pressing the Windows key + X and selecting Disk Management.
- Identify the partition you want to shrink to create free space.
- Right-click on the partition and select Shrink Volume.
- Enter the amount of space you want to shrink and click Shrink.
- Create a new partition by right-clicking on the unallocated space and selecting New Simple Volume.
- Select a drive letter and format the partition as NTFS.
Once you have done this, you can access the shared partition from both Windows and Debian.
Issue 6: Unable to Boot into Debian After Updating Windows
Sometimes, after updating Windows, you may not be able to boot into Debian. This issue arises because Windows updates can overwrite the Grub bootloader.
To fix this issue, you need to repair the Grub bootloader. You can do this by following these steps:
- Boot from a Debian live CD or USB.
- Open the terminal and type “sudo fdisk -l”.
- Identify the partition where Debian is installed.
- Mount the partition by typing “sudo mount /dev/sdaX /mnt”. Replace “/dev/sdaX” with the partition where Debian is installed.
- Type “sudo mount –bind /dev /mnt/dev”.
- Type “sudo mount –bind /proc /mnt/proc”.
- Type “sudo mount –bind /sys /mnt/sys”.
- Type “sudo chroot /mnt”.
- Type “sudo grub-install /dev/sda”.
- Type “sudo update-grub”.
- Exit the chroot environment by typing “exit”.
- Reboot your system.
Once you have done this, the Grub bootloader should appear during startup, giving you the option to choose between Debian and Windows.
Conclusion
Dual-booting a PC with two different operating systems can lead to some unexpected issues, especially when partitioning the hard drive. In this blog post, we discussed some strange issues that arise while swapping partitions on a PC dual-booting Windows 10 and Debian. We also provided solutions to fix these issues. By following these solutions, you can ensure that your dual-boot system runs smoothly without any unexpected behavior.
The initial issue is that whenever I switch to the Windows partition after using Debian, the clock is incorrect. The reason for this is that Windows expects the hardware RTC to store local time with the timezone offset applied, whereas Linux prefers UTC time. To resolve this problem, an article on changing Windows to interpret the RTC as UTC is suggested.
The second issue is that the Wi-Fi on Windows becomes dysfunctional after using Debian while utilizing non-free iwlwifi drivers. First, it is recommended to check for any updates to linux-firmware or a newer kernel branch, like from Debian’s backports repository.
Additionally, it’s worth verifying whether there are any updates for the Windows driver on Intel’s website. If those options don’t work, a “service” can be created on Debian that powers off the entire Wi-Fi adapter at the PCI device level during shutdown, compelling Windows to reinitialize it anew, which may solve the problem.