Linux install apparently destroyed my Windows MBR or Boot partition (Win7 on a separate hard drive)
 

There are 3 hard drives, with Win7 Pro 64-bit on 500GB Disk0

(sda1) Fat32 labeled "Filesystem, EFI"
(sda2) labeled "MS reserved"...

(...are the only places I see where the Win7 boot information could be - I assume the FAT32 partition contains the Boot Info)

(C) (sda3) NTFS labeled "C-System"
(D) (sda4) NTFS Labeled "D-NTFS-Data"

----------------------------

I couldn't find out what I needed to know about Linux without actually installing it {on 500GB Disk1 sdb (ext4), partitioned as sdb1 (/boot) (sdb5 (/) FileSystemRoot, sdb6 (/Swap), sdb7 (/home). (Rufus).

However, the Ubuntu 20.04 Linux install apparently destroyed/overwrote my Windows MBR and/or Windows7 Boot Loader, so that now I cannot boot into Windows 7. I'm desperate because all my work software is on the window disk drive.

I have Acronis True Image files of Partition C (Win7 System), as well as backups of Partition D (my data) and I have tried to restore the C partition (including track 0) by booting from CD and restoring an image. This did not work, I suppose because the problem is not in Partition C, but in the two preceding (but hidden if I remember correctly) first two partitions. When I tried to boot from CD and "Repair" the Win7 install (I don't remember seeing anything that would allow me to "restore" the MBR or Boot Loader), that did not work either.

I tried to re-install Windows7, but apparently the CD I have won't do a clean install.
I do have an old Windows XP CD that IS an install CD - is the boot info the same in both Win7 & XP?

I read what's on the forum that pertained to this problem. Nice to know I'm not the only one this has happened to, but I didn't understand the suggestions well enough to implement them.

I had been concerned that Windows would not play nice with Linux - I had no idea that installing Linux would kill Windows like this.

Can any of you help me with steps 1,2,3 etc., in plain English, that I need to do to be able to boot into Windows again? I'm dead in the water and wouldn't be writing this if I couldn't get into Linux. However, I have work that I cannot do in Linux at this time, and also the Firefox that Linux installed is so old that profile-data- transfer doesn't even exist in it, plus after a few uses, Firefox lost formatting and often won't render pages correctly enough to use. I tried to find a Linux Firefox v80 that I could install to this distro, but found I have to "wait till Ubuntu updates it".

I'm just about ready to cry right now. I hope one of you brilliant help-givers can help me get back into Windows7. Thank you for being so generous with your time to provide this forum to help boneheads like me. --AnneF
.

generate a boot-info file and post so someone can give good advice.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Info
on a side note windows 7 isn't normally installed in efi mode but legacy/csm mode. If the ubuntu is installed in efi mode, the grub boot-loader won't be able to boot windows 7. If windows 7 is still intact you may be able to go into the bios boot menu, select the hard drive option, not sure what it will be called, it won't have efi in the name.

I second all said above - even if the bit about EFI doesn't make any sense to you. We really that boot info data.

I might also add that you shouldn't attempt any more recoveries - especially do not use that XP disk. In all likelihood everything is ok, and you just need to get into the BIOS and select the correct entry to boot Win7.

Thank you. I didn't get as far as producing a report...

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update
Simple tool to repair frequent boot problems.

Website: https://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home
More info: https://launchpad.net/~yannubuntu/+a...tu/boot-repair
Press [ENTER] to continue or Ctrl-c to cancel adding it.
...................................................................> I PRESSED "ENTER" HERE
sudo apt-get install -y boot-Error: retrieving gpg key timed out.
iubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install -y boot-info && boot-info
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package boot-info
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

Looks like I need a pkg called "boot-info" that I don't have?
How would I get that? --AnneF

I did try to change the boot order with the windows HD first in line (I'm 99% sure I did that) with no boot at all resulting, just errors saying either nothing or that something wasn't found. I'll do that again and I'll post back only if it worked.


AnneF

This is another way to produce the boot-info file https://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/files/

I was wrong. When I moved the Windows Disk to the top of the boot order list, it did try to boot windows, but didn't get far.
It was rough white on black, kind of like safe mode, with a progress bar that said, "Windows is loading files". Then it gave me a black screen and then apparently fell through the bios boot order to the Linux Disk and booted Linux.

Did I do something wrong while trying to get the boot-repair report? Or am I missing a file/pkg called "boot-info"?

AnneF

P.S. I have to logoff now, but I'll check back in the morning. Thank you so much for your assistance with this.

Thanks. Do I have something in Ubuntu 20.04 that will burn the ISO to a CD? --Anne


BTW I'm running Win7 Pro 64-bit, if that makes any difference.

Open a terminal run these two commands,

right-click the iso should give an option to burn to cd.
The two commands in the previous post should allow you to install and run the boot-info script.

No,
It doesn't matter what version of windows 7 your using.

.
Hi y'all, I'm back, but still with no joy. Here's what I've done so far today...

I changed my BIOS boot sequence back to (1) USBstick, (2) CD/DVD, (3) sdb-Ubuntu, (4) sda C:Windows

I tried to burn the boot-repair-disk-64bit.ISO to DVD:
I put a new DVD into reader...
Right-clicked .ISO file & chose the wrong item ( (these are not exact quotes, just what I remember)
Right-clicked .ISO file again & chose to OPEN WITH OTHER APP, and then from the resulting window, chose "DISK IMAGE WRITER" (A window opened Titled: "RESTORE DISK IMAGE, showing <disk boot-repair-disk-64bit.ISO> as source and asked me for destination, however CD/DVD was greyed out and not selectable.)
I have tried this with the ISO both mounted and unmounted.

I couldn't find any choice that offered Create or Burn Disk Image.

I tried again with an empty USB-stick inserted, but USB wasn't offered as a destination at all.
(I know the USB-stick has a Linux-readable file system because Linux shows it with the proper name in the left panel and I've written to it from Linux before.)

I'm assuming the new CD/DVD has FAT32 file system (Ubuntu shows it in left panel as "blank" CD/DVD), but I don't know how to tell if this is true, or not.

================================================================================================

TERMINAL:

I pasted my first try of doing this in the 4th post box from the top. This is my second try. If I made a syntax error, I can't see it.

...............WITH THIS TRY, i HAD A BLANK CD/ROM IN THE READER AND AN EMPTY USB-STICK IN A SLOT
...............(LEFT FROM TRYING TO BURN THE ISO, ABOVE)

xxx@YODA:~$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update
[sudo] password for xxx:
Simple tool to repair frequent boot problems.

Website: https://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home
More info: https://launchpad.net/~yannubuntu/+a...tu/boot-repair
Press [ENTER] to continue or Ctrl-c to cancel adding it.

Ign:1 cdrom://Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS _Focal Fossa_ - Release amd64 (20200731) focal InRelease
Err:2 cdrom://Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS _Focal Fossa_ - Release amd64 (20200731) focal Release
Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs
Hit:3 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal InRelease
Hit:4 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-security InRelease
Get:5 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal InRelease [17.5 kB]
Get:6 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main i386 Packages [1,972 B]
Ign:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main amd64 Packages
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main amd64 Packages
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main amd64 Packages
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main amd64 Packages
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main amd64 Packages
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Err:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main amd64 Packages
Cannot initiate the connection to ppa.launchpad.net:80 (2001:67c:1560:8008::19). - connect (101: Network is unreachable) Could not connect to ppa.launchpad.net:80 (91.189.95.85), connection timed out [IP: 91.189.95.85 80]
Err:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Cannot initiate the connection to ppa.launchpad.net:80 (2001:67c:1560:8008::19). - connect (101: Network is unreachable) [IP: 91.189.95.85 80]
Reading package lists... Done
E: The repository 'cdrom://Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS _Focal Fossa_ - Release amd64 (20200731) focal Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

................BEFORE I TRIED AGAIN, I REMOVED THE CD AND THE USB STICK:

xxx@YODA:~$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update
Simple tool to repair frequent boot problems.

Website: https://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home
More info: https://launchpad.net/~yannubuntu/+a...tu/boot-repair
Press [ENTER] to continue or Ctrl-c to cancel adding it.

........................HERE I PRESSED "ENTER"

Ign:1 cdrom://Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS _Focal Fossa_ - Release amd64 (20200731) focal InRelease
Err:2 cdrom://Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS _Focal Fossa_ - Release amd64 (20200731) focal Release
Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs
Hit:3 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal InRelease
Hit:4 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-security InRelease
Get:5 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal InRelease [17.5 kB]
Get:6 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main i386 Packages [1,972 B]
Get:7 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main amd64 Packages [1,972 B]
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Ign:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Err:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/yannubuntu/boot-repair/ubuntu focal/main Translation-en
Cannot initiate the connection to ppa.launchpad.net:80 (2001:67c:1560:8008::19). - connect (101: Network is unreachable) Could not connect to ppa.launchpad.net:80 (91.189.95.85), connection timed out [IP: 91.189.95.85 80]
Reading package lists... Done
E: The repository 'cdrom://Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS _Focal Fossa_ - Release amd64 (20200731) focal Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

...............EVEN THO THE FIRST SUDO LINE DIDN'T WORK, I RAN THE SECOND ANYWAY TO SEE RESULT

xxx@YODA:~$ sudo apt-get install -y boot-info && boot-info
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package boot-info
xxx@YODA:~$

.......... ideas?? ........... Thanks, Anne

.
Additional Info about CD/DVD:

Verbatim DataLifePlus DVD-R 4.7GB up to 16x

I can't see anything on the DVD writer except DVD+R DL and Multi-Recorder Re-Writable
I'm 99.9% sure I've used these DVDs before on this machine.
I have READ other DVDs on this machine in both Linux and Windows.
.

what happens when you run

This Windows 7 OS is what was installed on this PC (Lenovo 64-bit) when I got it (off lease from a business) and I've not changed it. I've been using it like this for several years (in Windows).

I looked up UEFI and don't believe I have that - I have a legacy BIOS; it still looks the same as what I have had for 10 years or more. I also installed Ubuntu with legacy BIOS. I looked up UEFI before I installed it.

I'm confused as to why it looks like I have UEFI? Where do you see that?

Thanks, Anne

At a guess, it seems like your electronic marvel is searching the cdrom for the relevant info instead of a mirror.

Which would mean you have to edit your sources/mirror list file to place an '#' against the cdrom and remove the '#' from a mirror.

The file you need to edit is /etc/apt/sources.list which will contain a long list of mirrors/websites......... pick a mirror close to you.

The machine is saying it is searching 'cdrom://Ubuntu20.04.1 LTS to do what you have told it to do.
Have you read the man page suggested above?

If you haven't type When you have read enough type q to exit.

Once you have selected your mirror you'll probably need to update your electronic marvel before trying to install anything.

By the way, it is nice to read a relative linux newbie has an external copy of their data safe and secure.