Getting Rid Of Grub...

[RobDude]

Alrighty - so my attempts at using Linux haven't gone so great. Anyway, I decided to boot up into Vista again.

I can't.

When I select Vista - I get an 'Error 13: Invalid or Unsupported Executable Format'.

Can someone please tell me the quickest and easiest way to get rid of Grub and go back to what I had before Linux?

[RobDude]

Also - not to spam; but Ubuntu is the distro I had installed. Dunno if that makes a difference.

I tried using Vista's recovery tools; it detects the fact that my boot-up is all screwed up, but when it tries to repair it, it gives a permissions error.

Any help is greatly appreciated; my computer is essentially a paperweight until I can resolve this

[mahlerfan]

The standard way to install the Windows bootloader over grub is to execute fixmbr in Windows under a dos prompt. That reinstalls the Windows bootloader in the MBR and all is good.

[Agent-X]

Or you could probably get a rescue cd, delete all the partitions, and then use a restore CD. However, that would delete all of the data on your hard drive. You'll want to look into how the Windows MBR works before taking such a step.

[RobDude]

The standard way to install the Windows bootloader over grub is to execute fixmbr in Windows under a dos prompt. That reinstalls the Windows bootloader in the MBR and all is good.

I've heard of (and used once) fixmbr as part of the Windows XP Recovery console.

But I've got Vista, and a Vista CD. It has a command prompt - but it seems like a regular 'ol command prompt. I did a dir /a /s *fixmbr* and found nothing.

[RobDude]

Or you could probably get a rescue cd, delete all the partitions, and then use a restore CD. However, that would delete all of the data on your hard drive. You'll want to look into how the Windows MBR works before taking such a step.

Yeah - I was really hoping I could do this without formatting my computer.

So basically, I should find a Windows support forum to get help on repairing the Windows MBR?

[Agent-X]

I don't know anything about Vista. You can recover stuff with Linux live-cd's though. I don't know much about the Vista file system. I haven't studied how it manipulate the harddrive. I suppose I should read a book on it, though.

Microsoft's TechNet Forums

If things still work the same, what happens when you install Linux with a dual-boot is like this:

1) It deletes the Windows MBR (Master Boot Record)
2) It replaces it with GRUB (graphical bootloader [Linux's version of MBR])

You could probably edit the GRUB file and have it point towards your Vista partition on your harddrive.
Afterwards, you would be able to access Windows Vista.
UPDATE
Try this: http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/mep...nto-vista.html

[devils casper]

But I've got Vista, and a Vista CD. It has a command prompt - but it seems like a regular 'ol command prompt. I did a dir /a /s *fixmbr* and found nothing.

check this Post.

[mahlerfan]

I've heard of (and used once) fixmbr as part of the Windows XP Recovery console.

But I've got Vista, and a Vista CD. It has a command prompt - but it seems like a regular 'ol command prompt. I did a dir /a /s *fixmbr* and found nothing.

Oh sorry to hear that. Well good luck!