How can I remove Grub boot loader?
 

I first started on Fedora but didn't like how it ran. I switched to Ubuntu and loved it, but after I updated to the 5.04 release, the Grub boot loader was also rewritten. Now when I startup it says "ERROR: 21" and does not continue. I also have Windows XP Proffessional on the main hard disk and I really need to get back on there. Right now I'm stuck using the Live CD of Ubunto just to boot at all. I really need help removing Grub so Windows OS Choice menu takes control again. That way I can reinstall Ubuntu but not the bootloader this time.

1. Boot from your Windows CD.
2. Go to the recovery console (there's an option saying, "press R to repair an installation").
3. Log in to your installation (you'll need the administrator password, if there's one set).
4. Type "fixmbr" without the quotes.

You should then be able to reboot your machine and Windows' boot loader will be there.

Just pop in your windows install cd and enter the rescue mode. At the prompt,

and reboot...you'll get windows back...although you would have to use boot disc to enter linux.

Tux,

I've doen this before, it totally screws up the driver database. I never got my video stuff working again last time I did that.

Also, I know I can install without the boot loader, it gives that option.. How could I put Ubuntu in the Windows OS Choice menu?

Use "dd"
 

Boot into Ubuntu and get a copy of the first 512 bytes of the boot partition. Just google "NTLDR Linux dd" and read the first few hits. It should help you.

I would take the approach of finding-out and fixing what's wrong with grub, which is perfectly capable of booting NT, rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The grub web-site has particulars on what you need to do to get NT up-and-running when grub runs first.

If you simply boot up an NT-rescue disk and rewrite the master-boot-record (which is what the preceding comments do), it sometimes works as expected but that entirely depends upon how the partitions and so-on have been set up on the drive. The NT loader is not smart. Grub is. As justifiably-anxious as you may be to get things working again, a ham-fisted approach might make things worse.

All I want Grub to do is work. It doesn't of course.

By the way, I restored my windows boot loader, and everything is back to normal. I installed Fedora Core 3 on my 3rd hard drive and it's marked as slave because the CD-ROM is marked as master. The fist two drives (windows on master) are setup for just OS and storage (second drive setup as slave (Storage))

Sense the drive im installing to is a slave on the second set of IDE ribbins, would that effect the way the Grub boot loader is detecting? Error 21 translates to Hard disk error. So I'm thinking it's not finding it?

No it isn't--not the last time I checked. Grub can `boot' (chainload) the NT boot loader, which *then* boots windows NT.

hth --Jonas