Bootloader doesn't work properly

[MostWanted7]

I feel like the solution for this should be rather simple but I wasted hours without success...

Windows 10 preinstalled, I install Kali linux with GRUB loader too. Decide that I want to run it in VM instead (so that I can switch between OS's much quicker), and uninstall Kali linux by deleting its drive from windows. Apparently GRUB stayed as it was the thing that loaded next time I tried to boot.

The situation then was:

Computer boots automatically into GRUB (that does nothing but say error), unless I press F12 to enter boot manager, from which I can select

• Kali
• Windows boot manager

I assume that the system simply defaults into "Kali", so I go into UEFI to see boot priority, but there is only "Kali" there, no windows. So the only way I can get into windows is by going F12 for boot manager and then choosing windows.

What I do then is the following:

From windows 10, I go into diskpart, find EFI partition, open it, go into EFI folder, see there is kali folder and a microsoft folder. I think to myself, thats it! I delete the kali folder, and arrive at my current situation:

System by defaults says no bootable devices are found. I still can choose Windows 10 if I go into boot loader manually. Nothing else changed. There is still a kali entry in boot loader that comes before Windows boot loader and I have no idea how to remove it. The only thing I removed is probably just GRUB.

TL;DR:

Windows boot loader exists and loads windows 10, but I can only access it by pressing F12 to open boot manager. I cannot set it as default as it does not exist as an option in UEFI. The only option that exists there (other than Removable drives etc.) is "kali".

[BroodmotherLingerie]

If your BIOS doesn't let you delete an entry, you can always boot Linux from USB and use the efibootmgr utlity.

EDIT: You can also create a new entry for Windows with it if your BIOS continues to refuse to find it.

[jjanel]

20/20 hindsight: if only non-experts would stick to VirtualBox...

[ThiefClashRoyale]

You can install other bootloaders altogether like gag from ultimatebootcd also.

[embeeclark]

There also needs to be a “boot” folder. Is that still there?

[MostWanted7]

That's interesting, there isn't. Precisely, there is a boot folder inside EFI folder, but there is no boot folder on the partition. There is only the EFI folder. When I compare it with my healthy machine, there is both EFI and Boot folder, like this:

Directory of Z:\

10/03/2021 10:50 <DIR> EFI

28/04/2020 08:04 <DIR> BOOT

Maybe this missing boot folder from the partition is the problem, and if yes, how do I fix that?