[SOLVED] Removing Ubuntu from a Vista Laptop difficulties

[F1reblade]

Hi, My brother bought an Acer Laptop which was configured with Ubuntu Dual boot using Grub with Vista Home Premium. He asked me re remove Ubuntu which I thought I could do by simply using the recovery disk to restore the Laptop to the factory condition. This didn't work and I now find that Vista will not boot at all, although Ubunto does. Can anyone help me remove Ubuntu and put this back to Vista only please? I have never used Ubuntu before so in this field I am a complete novice. Thanks!

[oz]

Hello and welcome!

You'll need to remove GRUB from the MBR, then you can delete the Linux partitions. Go to a terminal in Ubuntu and run the following command to clear the master boot record only, leaving partition tables alone:

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

Once that's done, you should be able to use your Vista installation disk to restore the Windows bootloader and remove the Linux partitions.

[F1reblade]

Hi and thanks for the advice. Please can you explain to me what a "Terminal" is in Ubuntu. I have never used Linux before so I am unfamiliar with the terminology.

[oz]

Hi and thanks for the advice. Please can you explain to me what a "Terminal" is in Ubuntu. I have never used Linux before so I am unfamiliar with the terminology.

Look for it in your Applications menu, or there might be an icon for it on one of the panels running across the top or bottom of the screen. It should say Terminal, or Gnome Terminal.

Note that you'll need the user password in order to run the command because sudo will ask for it, and of course, any actions you take must be at your own risk, because we assume no responsibility for what users do to their computers.

[F1reblade]

Hi, thanks for the rply once again. I have found the "Terminal" but I am unable to access it. When I double click on it a new page appears and the only button is to remove Terminal which is obviously a bad move LOL. What am I doing wrong? Cheers

[oz]

In Linux, most things are single-click rather than double-click like in Windows. When I double-click the terminal icon, two terminal windows open which is to be expected, so I'm unable to duplicate the issue that you are having. Maybe someone else has seen what you describe and can reply.

[twoHats]

Hi F1reblade...

Let's start from another direction.

I assume you have Vista on dvd. If you boot from the installation dvd the MBR should not come into it at all. When the installation asks about partitions, tell it you want to use the whole disk. That should get rid of your linux partition.

Let us know how it works.

[F1reblade]

Hi and thanks for replying and you are right to assume I have the Vista DVD's. Trouble is when I used the restore discs, and I have tried twice now, it doesn't give the option to allocate the disc space as you suggest, it just goes through the restore cycle but then won't allow Vista to run at all. Would removing the HDD from the laptop and inserting it into an enclosure with a view to plugging this into my Desktop and wiping the HDD clean work?

[oz]

If you want to try it, you could also boot from a liveCD such as the Parted Magic LiveCD (it's a small download and quick burn to disk), then go to a terminal and run the command I suggested above. The only thing you'd do differently is leave off the "sudo" part of the command. You should get a quick message about records in and records out, then your MBR should be cleared.

Note that this liveCD also has partitioning utilities on it that will easily handle your partitioning chores. In fact, this particular liveCD is my single disk disk toolbox!

[F1reblade]

Thanks for the reply Ozar, unfortunately I can't run the Terminal because I can't find it. The only place I can find Termianl is in Applications-Ubuntu Software Centre-Accessories. In here there is a tick against the application but when I single click nothing happens, conversely, when I double click a new page opens but the only option is to "remove" there is no run etc