Acer Aspire E15 will not dual boot

I installed Ubuntu 14.04 onto my Acer Aspire E15. The PC has a 500 Gigabyte HDD.

During the installation it divided the HDD into separate partitions. However every time I turn on the PC it goes directly into Windows 8.1. It doesn't allow you the opportunity to select which OS you want to use.

Question 1: How do I set the PC so it will allow me to select the OS?

Question 2: And if #1 isn't possible. How to I remove Ubuntu from the PC and recover the partition for Windows

Solution 1:

Recently, I bought an Acer Aspire ES1-512 for a college course. As it happens this course requires the students to use Ubuntu. After several unsuccessful attempts to install Ubuntu alongside Windows. I believe I have an answer that allows you to install Ubuntu 14.04.2 alongside Windows 8.1 on an Acer Aspire ES1-512.

Some of the steps are from memory, so if something doesn't work please let me know.

Steps for Installing Ubuntu:

1. Turn on the laptop and press F2 as soon as you see the "Acer Explore Beyond Limits" screen. This will take you into the UEFI/BIOS screen.
2. If this is the first time you have entered the UEFI/BIOS section there are some adjustments that need to be made.
3. Using the cursor keys highlight the menu item "Main."
4. Network Boot: [Disabled]
5. F12 Boot Menu: [Enabled]
6. D2D Recovery: [Enabled]
7. Wake on LAN: [Disabled]
8. SATA Mode: [AHCI Mode]
9. Touchpad: [Advanced]
10. xHCI Support: [Enabled]
11. Cursor over to the "Security" menu item.
12. Set Supervisor Password to one of your choosing.
13. Disable "Password on Boot."
14. Cursor over to the "Boot" menu item and arrange these items.
15. Boot Mode: [UEFI]
16. Secure Boot: [Enabled]
17. Arrange the boot devices as follows
18. ATPI CDROM:
19. HDD:
20. USB HDD:
21. USB FDD:
22. Network Boot - IPV4
23. USB CDROM:
24. Network Boot IPV6
25. Windows Boot Manager
26. Press F10 to Save your modifications and Exit BIOS.
27. Open the DVD tray and insert your LiveDVD of Ubuntu. Close the DVD tray and restart your laptop.
28. When you restart, if the boot order is set correctly you should boot up in Ubuntu. If not go back into the "Boot" item in the BIOS menu and make sure the laptop's DVD is at the top of the boot devices.
29. Select the option "Install Ubuntu alongside Windows." The installation program will divide the Windows partition. My Acer Aspire has a 500 Gigabyte HDD. The installation program divided it like so:
30. Files (27.2 GB) /dev/sda4(ntfs) 253 GB
31. Ubuntu /dev/sda5(ext4) 231 GB
32. Wait for Ubuntu to install. This will take awhile.
33. After Ubuntu is installed you will be instructed to reboot your laptop. After you select reboot you will be instructed to remove the Ubuntu DVD from the DVD ROM drive. Warning: If you think the laptop will now boot up and let you choose which OS you want to run. I am afraid you will be disappointed. The only OS recognized by the UEFI firmware at this time is Windows.
34. Restart the laptop as we did back in Step 1.
35. Use the right cursor key to highlight "Security" and use the down cursor key to highlight "Select an UEFI file as trusted for executing" and press Enter.
36. The "Security" window will show HDD0 in white letters. Press the Enter key.
37. On my laptop two items; they look like folders show up: "EFI and Temp." Highlight EFI and press Enter.
38. These folders are displayed: ., .., ubuntu, Microsoft, Boot, and OEM. Highlight ubuntu and press Enter.
39. Another set of folders are listed: ., .., shimx64.efi, grubx64.efi, and MokManager.efi. Highlight "grubx64.efi" and press Enter.
40. The "Add an new file" window will appear in the middle of the screen with the question: "Do you wish to add this file to allowable database?" In the "Boot Description" type in grubx64.efi and press the Enter key twice.
41. Press F10 to Save and Exit BIOS.
42. Now restart the laptop and return to the BIOS menu. Cursor over to the "Boot" item and you will see a ninth boot file added: "EFI File Boot 0: grubx64efi." If you choose to leave the boot order alone. Whenever you turn on your laptop it will boot up in Windows.
43. Or you can move the ""EFI File Boot 0: grubx64efi" to the eight position and boot up in Ubuntu.

For stealth reasons you can let your laptop default boot into Windows, but if you need Ubuntu when you power on the Laptop press the F12 key repeatedly until the "Boot Manager's" window opens. There should be two options.

1. Windows Boot Manager
2. grubx64efi

To boot Ubuntu highlight the grubx64efi and press Enter. For Windows highlight Windows Boot Manager and press Enter.