GRUB Error 17 after trying to remove Ubuntu
 

Hey guys I'm new to this forum, so I'm sorry if I say something stupid.

I recently bought a new computer, and I'm giving my old one to my mom for her to use for web browsing and email and stuff like that. The computer had a dual boot with Ubuntu as the default and XP Professional. She already knows how to use Windows, and didn't want to learn how to use the new interface, so I decided to just remove it and let her use XP Pro. I then proceeded to simply reformat the partition containing Ubuntu using the Windows device manager, thinking that with only one operating system, it would default boot that one. Instead, when I rebooted, I got a GRUB Error 17, which apparently means it can't find the partition that it was told to boot from. I used the Ubuntu live cd to look at the partitions and make sure the NTFS formatted windows partition was set to boot, and it was. So what do I need to do to completely remove Linux from the machine and just run Windows?


PS I realize that Linux is not difficult to use and that it is better than Windows in quite a few ways, but my mother wants to just use what she is used to.

And so she shall....

Boot up from the Windows CD, rescue mode, and enter "fixmbr". This re-installs the Windows bootloader.

Thanks for the reply, one small problem though. I seem to have misplaced my Windows CD.

Do you have a floppy drive? If so you can get a win98 startup disk image here:

http://www.svrops.com/svrops/dwnlddisk.htm

Follow the instructions to make a win98 startup floppy, boot off the floppy and at the command prompt run:

> fdisk /mbr

This usually works even with winxp but it is always better to use the winxp cd recovery console with fixmbr.

Go get a Knoppix disk, and do a "install-mbr /dev/hda" (sda if appropriate).
This installs a generic loader by the looks of it. It will boot the partition marked active/bootable. Doesn't have to be NTFS/fat, but presumably will be in your case.