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Restoring the Master Boot Record to your Windows OS

Posted By Paul\HellNoire In Category: Computer // Linux

May
25
2010

To many of us, Linux is a hit and miss kind of deal. There are some of us who hate it with an undying passion and refuse to use it ever again after being stung once. I can understand how and why people would do such a thing, especially when I first started out with Linux, with Ubuntu 7.10, I decided that I immediately hated it, and would never use it again.

The only problem is, to uninstall it, you can’t simply delete the operating system itself as I found out back then, and still forget sometimes even now. This is because your bootloader is often changed from the default Windows Bootloader to either GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader) or LILO (LInux LOader) which overwrote your default bootloader. And unlike how some people think, you can’t add Linux to your Windows Bootloader very easily (I’ve heard it done only as rumours). Today, I’m going to show you how to restore your Windows Bootloader.


To restore your bootloader, you need either a copy of the OS you’re trying to boot into, such as a Windows XP disk if you’re restoring XP, Windows 7 DVD if you’re restoring Windows 7, etc. You can also use one of the recovery disks, such as the Windows Vista Recovery Disk or Windows 7 Recovery Disk that have been passed around many times. For XP users though, there’s only Ultimate BootCD For Windows. The use of all them generally are the same more or less, that you boot into the CD, then switch into either the Recovery Console (Windows XP) or use the System Recovery Options Command Prompt (Windows Vista/7). Then comes the nitty gritty: typing the following codes into that command box.

For Windows 7 and Vista, it’s:

bootrec.exe /fixmbr

For Windows XP, it’s

fixmbr

For those that would like an even easier way, there is a program by the name of MBRFix that looks promising, but I haven’t tried it, so I can’t offer any help with it. After fixing your Master Boot Loader so you can boot into Windows only, you can then delete the Linux partition via your Computer Management/Disk Management or via any third party partitioning tool you’d like.


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    • leofelix

      Hi Hellnoire
      great post.
      I didn’t know MBR fix tool, thank you.
      Just downloaded:)

    • mark

      GrEaT pOsT

    • scythe

      ahh cheers raymond, just what i needed, im using xp and ubuntu 10.4 on my netbook atm, and it auto loads ubuntu and my little brother cant use it.

    • Marlowe

      Hi Raymond, I have used this MbrFix tool a few times before (on XP and Vista). UBCD4Win includes this software. It works. :)

    • VIJAY KULKARNI

      Great post !! I too hate ubuntu :(

    • David

      Nice guide HellNoire, keep it up!

    • Shuvra

      Man this goes a long way to fix MBR problem! Thanks Paul…

    • http://starboykb.blogspot.com starboykb

      Thank for the tips! Glad to learn more from you. and keep this guide

    • person

      Paragon rescue kit express is free and does a pretty good job of fixing the MBR :) http://www.paragon-software.com/home/rk-express/

      However I recently had a problem where no matter what I did the MBR could not be fixed – I had the “element not found” error… the only way to fix it was to start a new windows 7/vista install then cancel it after it says [Expanding files: 100%] … then reboot and run startup repair and it was fixed.

    • Stax

      Thanks Paul,

      there are also 32bit ms-dos programs called bootsave.com and bootrest.com to save and restore the MBR. 32bit means they DON’T work in Vista or Windows 7! Use them on a bootable ms-dos cd or usb-stick.

    • Stax

      And as the older PC-dudes know: booting in MS-DOS is much much faster :)

    • Tez

      linux can easily be added to your windows boot loader using software like “EasyBCD” or” Vista Bootloader pro” I’ve done it on multiple computers

    • tri quarter

      you can also use the windows 98 boot disk to fix XP. (same) Type fixmbr and it works!!

    • coolczone

      HellNoire, I remember my scenario was like this: I deleted linux partition and the only choice at boot was windows. I might be wrong since this was long time ago. So what you are saying is that deleting Linux partition will make your dual boot machine unable to start in to windows. If this is the case than probably the method you described will work the same way after you delete the Linux partition.
      I am a newbie to linux (never sticked to long since I am unable to use the command line) but with the new ubuntu 10 I am sold. It really is a beauty.

    • ibheck

      very useful tips, thank you very much

    • Anurag

      ya u can also easy bcdedit …which is a good utility to restore default windows bootloader in a good user friendly environment

    • hyena

      PCLinuxOS fan here. Well I still hang onto Win XP and dual boot, cos XP cost. However just to add my two cents to MBR and uninstalling Linux, I thought this a really helpful article at the Forum:
      http://www.raymond.cc/forum/linux/9367-how-to-remove-ubuntu-linux-from-dual-boot-tutorial.html

      You can so easily stuff your Windows install collect as much info as you can.

      Thanks Paul\HellNoire, excellent article, plus been enjoying them on a daily basis for a while, cheers mate !

    • JawadKho

      It took me a while to find this out myself and I’ve used it multiple times since.

    • KaYaN

      Is this the same way to make Windows OS as default??

    • nivek_hcerg

      with wubi you won’t have this problem.

    • norman

      thanks paul….

    • Paul\HellNoire

      @scythe, there is a Startup Manager in the repos in Ubuntu that will provide you with a way of making Windows the default.

      @Marlowe, Good to hear someone’s used it. Like I said, never had to use it myself because I’ve been able to get away with the built in commands.

      @VIJAY KULKARNI, I might hate Ubuntu these days but I certainly do like Linux. So please be sure to know that I will be covering it again ;)

      @person, didn’t know it could fix the MBR… but I’ve never had that happen myself. I’ve read about it, and I know it’s finicky when it’s the default MS Windows Bootloader… it’s why I’m happy using GRUB believe it or not. The legacy version mind you, before GRUB2.

      @Stax, I believe Raymond wrote about those, to be honest. But Vista and 7 are also 32 bit… so why wouldn’t it work for them?

      @Tez, thanks for the heads up. Like I said, I heard it as rumours… no one I know is that odd to be using the MS Bootloader by choice, since it’s so easy to break. Most of them rely on GRUB, with one or two using GRUB2 and one or two using LILO. But to each their own, and whatever fits your needs.

      @tri quarter, good to know but I don’t have any 9X CDs lying around lol, I have a Windows 2000 one though…

      @coolczone, that’s exactly what I’m saying, that if you delete Linux first, you won’t be able to boot into Windows, since the bootloader is inside Linux at the time. It’s good to hear another happy user of Linux lol

      @hyena, yet another helpful article on our forum… believe me, there’s a lot of them ;)

      @JawadKho, yeah, it’s not common knowledge but once you’re learned it, you keep it in your head.

      @KaYaN, god no. Install Startup Manager in Ubuntu’s repos and adjust your GRUB config file from there.

      @nivek_hcerg, while this true, Wubi also introduces new problems. For example, you won’t be running Linux at full speed as you need to be in Windows to use it. It’s why I always religiously suggest a dualboot.

      To everyone else thanking me, you’re quite welcome and thank you in return for reading this article. :)

    • KaYaN

      How to do this Hell “Install Startup Manager in Ubuntu’s repos and adjust your GRUB config file from there”

    • Paul\HellNoire

      sudo apt-get install startup-manager or install it via the software center

    • http://www.zuarsoftware.blogspot.com Software Collection

      great..ijust use windows cd and then use command promt to fix this

    • Paul\HellNoire

      @Software Collection, yep. It’s kinda funny because I’ve had people want to shoot me for command line Linux work, when you have to do the same with Windows sometimes.

    • hyena

      @Paul\HellNoire, “It’s kinda funny because I’ve had people want to shoot me for command line Linux work, when you have to do the same with Windows sometimes.”

      It is funny, there’s still the command line in Windows which people happily use for greater control over their Windows beast , lol.

    • http://www.ittech.cz.cc sunkumarspace

      lovely post i like it

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