Solved How do I unpartition and remove ubuntu from my hard drive?

david1 · Apr 24, 2009

ok, so...I got this ubuntu 8.10 CD and it made like second operating system, which I didn't want. It actually partitioned my hard drive where I now can choose from windows vista or ubnuntu, (I don't want ubuntu) so, my question is.... How do I unpartition and remove ubuntu from my hard drive?

Please help (A.S.A.P.) -causing even more problems to my pc

Thanks,

~David~

Brink · Apr 24, 2009

Hello David,

Could you post back a screenshot of Disk Management? It will help us determine how your partitions are setup and to give a better suggestion.

Barman58 · Apr 24, 2009

Hello david,

What I appears to me is that you have a standard Ubuntu dual boot with Vista that has been set up by Ubuntu.

The problem is that Ubuntu by default over-writes the standard windows boot loader with the Linux grub loader.

I assume you are not a "Linux Expert" so need to make your changes from within Vista. To do this you will need a Vista Boot DVD, to repair the system after you remove Linux.

If you post back in addition to Shawn's request, if you have a bootable vista install disc we should be able to guide you through it

dinesh · Apr 24, 2009

Is it just an empty entry at startup or you have a seperate partition for ubuntu alongwith vista?

david1 · Apr 24, 2009

ok so what do you mean by, a screen shot of the disk management? Do you mean like a picture file of what the installation cd looks like?

~David~

Brink · Apr 24, 2009

David,

It would be like the screenshot below from Computer Management. You can type in diskmgmt.msc in the Start menu search line and press enter to open Disk Management directly though.

iTragedy · Apr 25, 2009

I'm actually having the exact same problem.

I divided my partition and gave ubuntu 20 GB of it, and the ubuntu didn't install correctly.

Heres my screenshot:

david1 · Apr 25, 2009

...but how exactly do I take a screen shot of it without using a digital camera or any other kind of camera? Because I don't have a camera for my pc. I do have a digital camera though, but don't think it will work. wut about a camera phone? will that work?

~David~

Brink · Apr 25, 2009

David,

This can help show you how to take a screenshot using the Snipping Tool in Vista, then upload the saved screenshot image to your post here.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/148532-how-use-snipping-tool-vista.html

david1 · Apr 25, 2009

ok .....so I just figured out how to take a screen shot of the diskmgmt.msc, I downloaded a program from Free Software Downloads and Reviews - Download.com, (which is also known as cnet.com) . so ok, here is the screen shot as an attachment below:

SWAT · Apr 25, 2009

If you have installed Ubuntu through Window's and not through Booting the Disc, then you simply go to Control Panel > Add Remove Programs > Right Click and Uninstall Ubuntu 8.10.

dinesh · Apr 25, 2009

SWAT said:
If you have installed Ubuntu through Window's and not through Booting the Disc, then you simply go to Control Panel > Add Remove Programs > Right Click and Uninstall Ubuntu 8.10.

Ubuntu can be installed only by booting thru the disk.
1: There is no Add/Remove option in Control Panel.
2: Its called as Programs and Features.

Brink · Apr 25, 2009

david1 said:
ok .....so I just figured out how to take a screen shot of the diskmgmt.msc, I downloaded a program from Free Software Downloads and Reviews - Download.com, (which is also known as cnet.com) . so ok, here is the screen shot as an attachment below:

David,

I'm not familiar with Ubuntu installations, but do you have a OEM Vista. From looking at your Disk Management, the 55 MB EISA partition looks like it's for the OEM Applications and Drivers, the Recovery D: partition is to do a factory restore of Vista with, and the C: drive is your Vista. I do not see anything that looks like it may be Ubuntu. :confused:

You might check while in Vista, using METHOD TWO in the tutorial below, to see if Ubuntu is listed and if you can delete it's entry to remove it from the Windows Boot Manager screen at startup.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/82664-boot-partition-default.html

brummyfan · Apr 26, 2009

dinesh said:
SWAT said:

If you have installed Ubuntu through Window's and not through Booting the Disc, then you simply go to Control Panel > Add Remove Programs > Right Click and Uninstall Ubuntu 8.10.

Click to expand...

Ubuntu can be installed only by booting thru the disk.
1: There is no Add/Remove option in Control Panel.
2: Its called as Programs and Features.

No Dinesh, SWAT is right and if one installs Ubuntu using "wubi" method it can be uninstalled through Control Panel in windows.

Barman58 · Apr 26, 2009

Ok,

First, these procedures are not guaranteed to work and so it is essential to ensure that you have backups of all irreplaceable data before you consider it, and a method of re-installing Vista if the worst happens

Due to the way that a standard install of Ubuntu replaces the Windows bootloader with it's own Grub loader any un-installation will require a Vista boot dvd with which to repair the boot sector.

Create a Recovery Disc - Vista Forums

The Grub loader is installed, by default, onto the boot sector of the "active" disk which would normally be the Vista partition. It is possible to set-up Ubuntu to run from the vista boot loader and if this has been done then the removal is just a case of deleting the partition and editing the vista boot loader

To remove the grub loader you need to insert the vista Boot DVD and boot the system, from the install menu you should then choose the repair option and perform a repair install to reset the Vista boot loader.

Startup Repair - Vista Forums

Once Vista is working it should be possible to use the Disk manager in Vista to delete the partition containing Ubuntu and the Linux Swap partition (if present).

It is now possible to use the Vista disk manager to either create a new partition in the space freed up or the extend the Vista partition into this space.

Note if the partitions are not in the order required by the vista disk manager then a 3rd part partitioning tool will be required.

When deleting partitions please be aware that OEM installs of Vista will often contain partitions related to the manufacturers system recovery software.. Deleting or otherwise altering these partitions could make it impossible to restore the original system.

If you do not feel confident in performing the above I would strongly reccommend you contact your local IT professional to get assistance

pjhudson · Apr 26, 2009

Hi-
I just did this and I wouldn't recommend just deleting the partition that Ubuntu was on, anyhow, it's very easy, much easier than I expected-- I copied the following from another forum that I found (Quaint Tech: How to remove Ubuntu from a Vista dual-boot config) here is a post from another user in that topic that I followed-- I outlined in bold red the steps I followed (mbrfix) and it worked like a charm, I'm just trying to figure out now how to get back some extra space on my drive that Ubuntu stole....

If you are stuck in a dual boot with Ubuntu/Vista or triple boot with Ubuntu/Vista/XP and want to remove Linux without affecting XP and /or Vista , there are many options..
If u have a Vista DVD, just boot off it and use the recovery console. Type bootrec /fixmbr
That's it you are done. If you don't have Vista DVD, then there are a few options.
If you have deleted your Ubuntu partition from Windows you might that your system refuses to boot. Download Super Grub Disk and burn it to a cdrom, you can restore Windows after booting from that.

ps: VistaBootPro does not work in this situation, but you can use it to do lots of other cool stuff.

If you can boot into Vista then, there is a easy way. Just follow the steps below:
1. Download MBRFIX.EXE from Download
2. Put it in your C or D drive. It does not matter where. Now right click on it and select security tab. Make it "Run as Administrator"
3. Type cmd in vista search box in start menu and right click it and select run Run as Administrator.
4. In the command prompt go the directory where u have MBRFIX and now type MbrFix /drive 0 fixmbr /vista /yes . This wont work without administrator permissions. Replace 0 with the number of ur drive. Just leave it if u have only one hard disk
That's it reboot and Vista boot manager will be back in place of Grub. Now you can go into Disk manager and format Linux partitions and reclaim the space

Barman58 · Apr 26, 2009

Hi PJHudson,

I think you're probably correct with the order of the steps in my post - it is probably slightly safer to perform them in the order of remove grub then the partitions

.

I will edit my post to re-order the steps

I've actually used both orders successfully in the past and have also found that the auto repair on the Vista DVD has worked without recourse to 3rd party tools.

Saying that I do have a full software toolkit on bootable media just in case things go wrong :D

pjhudson · Apr 26, 2009

Hi Barman58

thanks, my problem was I don't have a vista boot DVD (my vista was pre-installed) and was relieved to find that there was an option for me...

I really like Vista, by the way-- I tried Ubuntu for 6 months and it was great because it made me realize how good Vista is!!! :D I think the most amazing thing is that vista has never crashed on me-- not once, very stable.

Barman58 · Apr 26, 2009

Hi,

The First link I gave above was actually meant for the Vista Users, who like yourself get their copy Pre-installed with the PC and without a Vista DVD.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/141820-create-recovery-disc.html

I would strongly advise anyone in your situation to have a read of brink's tutorial and create the disk, just in case the worst happens.

The disk will not re-install Vista but will allow you access to the system repair options on the regular DVD.

I've recently removed Ubuntu from my personal machine here - not because it was bad, but because I find myself almost full time in Windows 7

.

I support users with Vista and XP so find myself switching back and forth between OS's regularly, would normally have three or four at any one time.

/note to me
must re-install XP on this machine at sometime to make things easier to test issues, My 2003 XP test box is starting to fall apart :D

david1 · Apr 26, 2009

ok thanks Shawn, I shall try that as well. But I did talk to a dell representative and they said they will give me another vista backup cd, so I should be able to reinstall vista and format the (C

drive. but the cd won't get here within 2-3 business days.

But in the mean time, if any one else has any other suggestions, please feel free to give them to me.

Thanks,

~David~

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