[SOLVED] Removing GRUB

[Blakes7]

Hi! I'm triple booting with xp, mandriva, and server 2003. I want to remove the xp and mandriva, and install vista and ubuntu, or reinstall xp if I don't like vista. I thought I could use partition magic to remove the mandriva partitions, but it doesn't recognize ext3 files or partition. I know I have to install windows first. I tried booting from the xp disk, figuring I could remove the partitions from there, but it starts up, then checks the disk and locks up. I tried another xp disk with the same result. I figure that has something to do with the GRUB, and I would have to fix the mbr in windows. Am I right, and if I am, how do I solve this problem? I can't use the recovery console, as the install locks up---the screen goes black, after the first screen---Setup is checking your configuration.. Thanks. Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated.

[Jonathan183]

I think PartedMagic is a better partition manipulation tool ...
You can remove grub from the MBR using SuperGrub, you should then find the Windows installation disks work.

[Blakes7]

Thanks for the response. I've been looking for documentation on supergrub, but it's sparse to say the least. Should I fix the mbr on xp, or should I remove GRUB? I'm guessing after I boot the disc, I'll figure out how to use it. If I remove GRUB, I guess I'll have to fix the mbr on xp, then I'll be able to boot to the windows systems and install ubuntu at my leisure, as mandriva won't appear in the boot menu? After I install xp, the drivers and all, then I'll install ubuntu and I can do the partitioning within ubuntu to eliminate mandriva. I think that'll work. Am I right in my assumptions? Thanks.

[oz]

For clearing the MBR (master boot record) only, leaving partition tables alone, you can run the following command from the command line under the Parted Magic LiveCD that was suggested to you above:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1

You'll need to replace /dev/sda with your actual device name such as /dev/hda.

If needed, you can use the fdisk -l command to determine your device name:

fdisk -l

[Jonathan183]

Boot from SuperGrub and select write windows generic code to MBR rather than remove grub. After reboot XP should boot provided partition is marked bootable (if not I think this can be done with SuperGrub as well).

I suggest you use SuperGrub to fix this ... it is the safest way. You can use dd command given by ozar above but be careful you select the correct drive and type values correctly otherwise you may remove the partition table information or hard drive contents .

I don't think SuperGrub needs too much additional documentation, you can boot it and get help and prompts while using it.

[oz]

I don't think SuperGrub needs too much additional documentation, you can boot it and get help and prompts while using it.

Yep, the menu driven prompts on the liveCD itself have always worked for me.

[Blakes7]

Thanks a lot guys---it worked like a charm. So now I'm putting the new windows system on, then I'll install the ubuntu.. Thanks again.