Early this year I installed Linux Mint 11 first on a computer after I replaced its defective hard drive and subsequently I added Ubuntu 12.04 to the system. I would like to know how to remove Linux Mint 11 properly. Any help will be much appreciated.

julianvb

i would boot up something like gparted live-usb and delete the partitions i didnt want.

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But first, boot into Ubuntu and, as root, run "grub-install /dev/sda" without quotes. That will assure that the Ubuntu grub first stage is written to the MBA and you can continue booting Ubuntu without any problems while you decide what to do with the Mint partition(s).

With regard to the Mint partition, you could:
a. reformat the partition and install another distro.
b. delete the Mint partition and grow the Ubuntu partition to take up the free space.

Bear in mind that any partition operations should be done on unmounted partitions, using something like Gparted running as a livecd.

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Before removing anything run to list your current partitions.
Then run
The last command is run from the OS that you want to keep.

The importance of fstab is that if any of the partitions from linux mint are in the extended partition before the Ubuntu's partitions you'll need to edit fstab accordingly.
For instance, if you have sda 5, 6, 7, 8 & remove sda5 & 6,
sda7 becomes sda5 & sda8 becomes sda6.

As far as removing linumint partitions they can be done from within Ubuntu. Keep in mind that installing grub & editing fstab has to be done before shutdown or reboot or your system will not boot.
Don't forget to update-grub.

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Hi, Everyone,

Thank you so much for your good advice. I'll certainly put it to use.

bigrigdriver,

Do you mean to run Gparted from Ubuntu Live CD in the following instruction?

"Bear in mind that any partition operations should be done on unmounted partitions, using something like Gparted running as a livecd."

julianvb

Personally i'd just boot the preferred OS
Delete/wipe the partitions related to the un-desired
The run update-grub

If don't see what I expect .. do what bigrigdriver suggested ..

Then again.. unless I needed the space, I might leave it there.. as a backup

in the pasted i've tended to 'dual boot' linux/linux , alternating old/new
Eventually the old gets s new Linux installed over it, making it the 'new' new
When happy.. the now old is either 'left as is', or I use the partitions for 'junk'

Been a while since I've done that, I've found Debian 'rolling release' model to be very stable (I currently track testing (Jessie at time of touching a touch screen) )

update-grub alone will not help if os being removed is the first to be installed. Make sure to edit fstab or recovery will be more difficult

Less potential for problems if you just format the partition on which you have Mint and use it for data because if you delete that partition, it will change the partition numbers of other higher numbered partitions. Grub2 is probably installed from Ubuntu as it was the last installed but you should verify that as suggested by bigrigdriver and the post by EDDY1 explains the problems with deleting partitions.

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but the last probably wrote grub to the mbr.

But you are right, I left many details out.

Can you please explain the red , it makes little sense to me

You can erase sda2, sda3 & sda4 as lo.g as they don't contain logical partitions & are not part of the Os that controls gru & MBR.
Logical partitions when erased:
If you remove sda5 the next partition will be renamed to sda5.
If you have vbox
start it up with gparted live
Create partitions on it
1 primary & 1 extended with multiple logical parts
Remove sda5 & reboot
View the new results
If sda5 changes the part # it can affect the fstab especially if system is not using UUID. If Ubuntu 12.04 is using UUID maybe OP will be ok.

Dude! Are you 'drunker' than I?
That makes for little sense

Try it & see
Test in virtualbox

No haven't had 1 but I'll bet you the next 1 that logical partition /dev/# changes after removing the /dev/# preceeding it.

Try what?
Test what?
I know that unless 'dodged' a typical Linux disto will install its own grub

what?


Granted, I'm not sober.. but I'm not so far gone as to not understand that what you wrote makes little sense.

Deleting a Partition
http://gparted.org/display-doc.php?n...lete-partition
Read yellow warning.
However it does say that using UUID's avoids the problem while still changi.g /dev names.

Eddy1, please accept my apologies,
I understand what you meant now.

It has been a long time since I saw a distro default to 'hard coded' /dev/sdaX
UUID seems to be the 'normal', and for good reason (the pitfall you pointed out)