Gnu Grub Issue with Windows XP
 

I have just installed Ubuntu 5.04 on a clean HD in my computer which is running Windows XP Pro on main HD. The Boot Drive for Windows has Drive letter F: The HD on which Ubuntu is installed is drive letter C: The Ubuntu installer seems to have written something called Gnu Grub to the F: drive which is fine in that it allows me to start from either Windows or Ubuntu but Ubuntu is the default. I want to remove the HD with Ubuntu from this machine (as it is used by my children and the need to choose OS's at startup is an unnecessary complication for them) but when I removed the Ubuntu HD the Windows system will not start because or Gnu Grub Error 17.

My question is can I get rid of Gnu Grub from my Windows boot disk without damaging the existing installation? I have tried System restore and that doesn't work.

Thanks.

System restore won't help you, because it only saves the TOP-LEVEL Window$ configuration. It doesn't save the MBR etc.
You can repair WinXP's MBR by booting from the WinXP CD, and selecting 'repair' instead of 'install'. Good luck!

Thanks. I tried repairing from the XP CD but that didn't work either. I have seen some references to FIXMBR on some other forums but does anyone know if this option leaves the rest of the Windows installation unchanged?

WinXP (Oh, God, we're talking about this on a Linux forum!) can be reinstalled totally, the data won't get erased. Just make sure you don't delete any partition, don't wipe out your HD and don't choose a 'new installation', just a 'repair' / 'upgrade'. It happened to me several times and all I did to get my XP back was 'repair' from the CD.
Good luck!