my ex friend put Linux on the computer as a partition i have windows 7 and Linux as a multi boot.. A screen comes up to select OS he put the put boot.ini file or whatever the boot partition of Linux on a separate hard drive so it would work when u restart the computer it would come up with a menu i want to ether format or put a different version of Linux on there or find out how to recover the root password i cant find it anywhere and don't remember it please help I know how to format but i don't want to screw the window 7 partition up cause everything under that partition btw the Linux xbuntu the new version thanks


*** sorry for misspelled words i was in a hurry and i can agree none of it made any since lol but thank you

Were there any questions in there? Use proper English, otherwise I'll lose my patience and stop replying.

I could barely gather that you want to recover your root password for Xubuntu. Which version?

You should have a recovery option when you boot such as "Xubuntu Kernel X.X... blah (recovery)". Select that and it will boot you right into single user mode. Then you can passwd root or any other user.

Linux doesn't have a boot.ini. If you used wubi to install then it's using the Windows boot loader. If you used the live CD to install then it's using grub or grub2 as your boot loader (depending on your version of Xubuntu).

**********************************************i just fixed it if u read how i edited the post lol

Were you able to try anything I suggested?

screen came up and said Unbuntu Linux 3.0.0-15 generic pae (Recovery Mode) so i hit that and went to another screen came up with another menu (recovery menu)
resume
fsck
remount
root
nothing would work it froze so maybe formatting and reinstall will do the trick i just don't want to court my windows partition on the boot order

Well try installing Ubuntu instead of Xubuntu because it sounds like Xubuntu bit the dust. I don't know anything about Xubuntu but Ubuntu is very Windows friendly. When you're formatting just read all of the options very carefully and be sure that you're not installing by "Use whole drive".

If you're stuck on a particular menu option or install page and you don't know which option you should choose then hold off, post a screenshot here of what it says and ask what it means/what you should do.

The other way to go is to visit a local tech shop and ask if they would install Ubuntu for you without destroying your Windows installation. If they support that then they should know what they're doing. Though that costs money so I'd still say just do it yourself very carefully.

Ubuntu provides pretty decent instructions for how to burn it to a CD.

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

Also here's some good CD burning software which I like to use if you don't want to have what they use.

http://www.imgburn.com/

So basically your process goes like this.

1. Download Ubuntu 11.10 32 bit from here.
2. Burn that to a blank burnable CD using imgburn by selecting "Burn Image to CD" and selecting ubuntu-11.10-desktop-i386.iso and pressing burn.
3. Shutdown your computer with the CD in the drive. Start your computer again with the Ubuntu CD in the drive.
4. The Ubuntu CD will state say in the Menu "Try Ubuntu". That means it will boot up to a live distro which won't affect your hard drive.
5. Once you've booted up into the Live version of Ubuntu there should be a shortcut on the desktop to install Ubuntu. Just follow the on screen instructions and be careful about what options you choose so that you aren't formatting your Windows installation.

Try that now and get back to me with your progress and we'll try to proceed from there.

Xubuntu is the same thing as Ubuntu, except it doesn't use the Unity desktop environment but instead xfce.
nikescomputers, You need to write your questions more clearly, is what sage14 is meaning; he wasn't talking about spelling mistakes. I had to reread your question about four times, think, reread specific parts and think again, reread the whole thing one more time, just to get lucky to understand.

Ok, i think Sage is right, it's finished, do a resinstall. Ubuntu/Xubuntu don't have a root password, and even if they did, it would be hard to get it back. So what you want to do? is remove Wubi, which will remove Ubuntu; then install it again and set up a whole new xubuntu setup. Here's how to do that, go to this address.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wubi
It has all the information on wubi, and should have been your first place you'd go to, to get information. scroll down to the section titled "Un-install from Vista or Win7" and follow the steps of that section. Once that's done, scroll back to the top, of the websight to "Install Ubuntu" section and follow the steps of that section, and that should be it.

excuse me im new to linux so how can i write clearly if i dont understand linux funny

You could start by not running 6 sentences into one. Periods, proper capitalization, and not using "text speak" spelling will also make your posts easier to understand. If we have to concentrate on what your sentences mean, it distracts from concentrating on the problem itself.

please don't misunderstand, I wasn't trying to be rude, just informing you or how bad your post was. I think I managed to understand what you are trying to accomplish and I supplied you with a websight and steps to help you out.

nikescomputers, have you tried anything which as been suggested? Are you stuck on anything? Please let me know.

SAM