Switch back from Mint to Windows?

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Head_on_a_Stick

Are "Secure Boot" and "UEFI" enabled in your firmware (BIOS) settings?

If your disk has a GUID partition table then you will need to have UEFI mode & Secure Boot enabled; if it is an MBR-type disk then the `dd` command will wipe the bootloader.

If your Mint system is booting in UEFI mode then you will need to delete the entry in your motherboard's NVRAM using the `efibootmgr` command I gave (prefix it with `sudo`).

ill check in the bios now hold up.

Amarildo · 03-27-2015, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theycallmereece

reece@reece-SATELLITE-C50-A-1DV ~ $ sudo fdisk
[sudo] password for reece:
Usage:
fdisk [options] <disk> change partition table
fdisk [options] -l <disk> list partition table(s)
fdisk -s <partition> give partition size(s) in blocks

Options:
-b <size> sector size (512, 1024, 2048 or 4096)
-c[=<mode>] compatible mode: 'dos' or 'nondos' (default)
-h print this help text
-u[=<unit>] display units: 'cylinders' or 'sectors' (default)
-v print program version
-C <number> specify the number of cylinders
-H <number> specify the number of heads
-S <number> specify the number of sectors per track

same thing ?
i give up i guess im stuck with linux -_-

You're not issuing the command correctly. 'fdisk' is just a program, you need to tell it what to do. Example: "fdisk -l" will list all devices such as HD's and CD's.

Here's my output, as a reference:

Quote:

XX@XX:~$ su -
Password:
root@XX:~# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xec497085

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2048 1936750591 1936748544 923.5G 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 1936752638 1953523711 16771074 8G 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 1936752640 1953523711 16771072 8G 82 Linux swap / Solaris

root@XX:~#

As seen above, my HardDrive is "/dev/sda", so I want to execute dd on it to erase the MBR:

Code:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

Then:

Code:

# efibootmgr -b * -B

But remember to keep a backup of your MBR BEFORE doing the commands above:

Code:

dd if=/dev/sda of=/home/your-username/mbr bs=512 count=1

Then to restore it (in case the UEFI command above doesn't work):

Code:

dd if=/home/your-user/mbr of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

A little tutorial on DD:

"if=/" means the input. It could be a JPG image, or "/dev/zero". dd will then read that file which cotains only "0000000000000". Or if it's the jpg image it will write it on the "of=/output", which again, could be any device you want.

of=/output means the output, it could be a HDD, a fash drive, a partition... make sure to list them correctly before issuing the DD command as it will literaly destroy data if issued wrong.

bs= tells 'dd' what blocksize it will write. The MBR is only 512 bytes, so that's what we tell it to do.

count= well, this is pretty simple. Unless we want to fill the entire drive, we tell dd to write that 512byes of zeroes just once.

So for example, if I have a JPG image that I want to fill in my flash drive, I'd first discover where that image is, e.g /home/amarildo/Pictures/mypicture.jpg . Let's assume now that my flash drive is "/dev/sdb". So, in order to fill that flash drive with the picture, I select the picture as INPUT and the drive as OUTPUT. Pretty simple, right?

Code:

dd if=/home/amarildo/Pictures/mypicture.jpg of=/dev/sdb

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 04:08 PM

My laptop is now f***ed every time I boot up it says no bootable device please restart system :'(

rokytnji · 03-27-2015, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theycallmereece

My laptop is now f***ed every time I boot up it says no bootable device please restart system :'(

Now is the time to boot the Windows 8 install DVD.

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rokytnji

Now is the time to boot the Windows 8 install DVD.

Tried to it said "checking media..." "[fail]

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 04:24 PM

It lets me install my Ubuntu disk and Linux mint 17.1 but not my windows disk :/

Head_on_a_Stick · 03-27-2015, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theycallmereece

It lets me install my Ubuntu disk and Linux mint 17.1 but not my windows disk :/

Your Windows disk must be damaged.

Can you get a new copy?

You can download an ISO image of Windows 10 legally from here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/preview-iso

Be warned that it has an active key-logger (read the licence agreement)...

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Head_on_a_Stick

Your Windows disk must be damaged.

Can you get a new copy?

You can download an ISO image of Windows 10 legally from here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/preview-iso

Be warned that it has an active key-logger (read the licence agreement)...

That's exactly what I'm downloading on my old desktop haha, thanks guys. If this works.. I'm sure this will work. Thank you !!!

joe_2000 · 03-27-2015, 05:49 PM

If I may say so... You are in the wrong forum for your question. No offense meant, but if I was in your shoes I would post in a Windows forum to ask questions on how to install windows.

Anyways, have you looked at your laptop manual? Nowadays most laptops ship with a recovery partition that allows you to do a factory reset using a certain key combination at boot time...

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 06:11 PM

I literally signed up and posted that forum without looking sorry. I would like to thank you all for your help because my laptop is running windows 10 perfectly. Your life savers ! I expected to receive a reply within a couple of days but you guys where really quick, so I thank you very Muchly!

joe_2000 · 03-27-2015, 06:16 PM

Really hope you did not overlook this very true warning:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Head_on_a_Stick

Be warned that it has an active key-logger (read the licence agreement)...

Unlike in the Linux World, you cannot expect to get things for free from MS... You pay with your private data.
But I guess that's your call at the end of the day. Good luck

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe_2000

Really hope you did not overlook this very true warning:

Unlike in the Linux World, you cannot expect to get things for free from MS... You pay with your private data.
But I guess that's your call at the end of the day. Good luck

I'm so use to windows though, I understand what your saying but I find Linux hard to get use to, I used it for a few days and disliked it, maybe I'll find a Linux version that's right for me one day...

joe_2000 · 03-27-2015, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theycallmereece

I'm so use to windows though, I understand what your saying but I find Linux hard to get use to, I used it for a few days and disliked it, maybe I'll find a Linux version that's right for me one day...

It certainly can't be right for everyone. But if you decided to give it a try there must have been one reason or another.
So the way I see it it's a pity that you only ever signed up with LQ to get help with uninstalling Linux, rather then signing up a few days earlier and getting help with the things you were struggling with.
If one day you decide to give it another go, make sure to come back here and ask for advice, possibly even before installing so as to make sure that you choose the right distro to begin with.

theycallmereece · 03-27-2015, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe_2000

It certainly can't be right for everyone. But if you decided to give it a try there must have been one reason or another.
So the way I see it it's a pity that you only ever signed up with LQ to get help with uninstalling Linux, rather then signing up a few days earlier and getting help with the things you were struggling with.
If one day you decide to give it another go, make sure to come back here and ask for advice, possibly even before installing so as to make sure that you choose the right distro to begin with.

I'll sure be back tomorrow for help dual booting Linux and windows. That way I have the best of both worlds. I need to learn how to install things on Linux the terminal is hard to use/understand. But I will definitely be usining it again. Which forum should I post in/look through tomorrow to help dual boot and beginners guide for Linux ?
Thanks in advance.
(Ps I disabled the key logger with a few commands)

ardvark71 · 03-27-2015, 06:55 PM

Hi Reece...

The copy of Windows 10 you installed is a technical preview, I don't think it will last indefinitely. I'm pretty sure at some point Microsoft will disable it or certain features at some point. Your best bet would be to restore Windows 8 from your hard drive's restore partition, if it's still there and your DVD isn't working correctly.

If not and your system is still under warranty, give the manufacturer a call and see what your options are. If it's not under warranty, take it to a local repair shop and have them install it.

Regards...