Member Avatar for fallopiano

Hi everyone. So I have your average Windows XP emachines PC. Just a few days ago, I booted and installed Ubuntu 9.10 32-bit on my pc, to make it dual booted. I just wanted to see what ubuntu was like. Pretty nifty, nice graphics, etc. So I go to uninstall it (from XP):

C:\Ubuntu\Ubuntu-uninstall.exe

or whatever the dir is. I run it, and then It tells me that Ubuntu is uninstalled. Great! I reboot my pc, but then it tells me from BIOS that I have two operating systems to choose from: Microsoft Windows XP home edition, and Ubuntu. It looked something like this (my lovely mspaint skills :D) But I uninstalled Ubuntu! So i was all like "wtf?" :confused: Being me, I selected Ubuntu and then my pc froze... I freaked out and then powered down my pc :scared:.. So pretty much I have no ubuntu files on my computer what so ever, but it says that ubuntu is an operating system that I can choose from!? I haven't the slightest clue how to get rid of this, and I can't risk messing my pc up. I don't have my XP cds, and I can't afford to reformat my pc, thus losing all of my files.. I'm really in a jam. If you have any comments or suggestions/solutions, please let me know! I would be more than enthusiastic to here from all of you. Thanks!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Quick summary and what's happening (notes on the thread): the symptoms described — Ubuntu files gone but an Ubuntu choice still appearing at boot — are exactly what happens when Ubuntu was installed with the Windows-based Wubi installer: Wubi adds a small Windows boot entry and a tiny loader file on the system drive. The uninstaller can remove the big Ubuntu folder but sometimes the boot-entry or loader file is left behind. See the official Wubi guide for details. (WubiGuide)

Safer, practical fix (keep a backup): make a copy of your boot configuration file before touching it, then remove the extra menu entry using Windows GUI tools instead of hand-editing raw text when possible — System Properties > Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Edit or the BOOT.INI tab in msconfig lets you remove the unwanted line without risking syntax errors. Also show hidden and protected files in Folder Options and look in the root of C: for the small Wubi loader files or the leftover Ubuntu folder; delete those if they exist. Microsoft documents the recommended editing and backup steps. (Edit Boot.ini)

Troubleshooting if something goes wrong: if Windows stops booting after edits, restore the backup copy of the boot configuration immediately. If you deleted a loader file that Windows still needs, you can copy it back from the Wubi winboot folder if it still exists, or use Windows recovery/repair to restore boot files — the Wubi guide documents the common “missing hal.dll” / loader-replacement cases and recovery options. (WubiGuide, Edit Boot.ini)

Final notes: was right to point at the boot menu as the place to fix it — just take the safer GUI route, back up first, and avoid using unfamiliar command-line tools unless comfortable with recovery media.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

hi, you need to edit the boot.ini file to remove the reference to ubuntu ,this one in the example has winxp and win 2000 ,make sure to follow it to the letter ,and ask questions before you edit it if you are not sure ,maybe post a screen shot of your ini file when you open it .
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for fallopiano

thanks so much!! I figured out you can remove an operating system from cmd:

"Removing an Operating System
At the command prompt, type:
bootcfg /delete /ID#
Where # specifies the boot entry ID that you want to be deleted from the operating systems section of the BOOT.INI file (e.g. 2 for the second Operating system that is listed."

Although this would work, cmd told me that bootcfg isn't a command... any suggestions?

Member Avatar for fallopiano

oh ok nvm I found out how to edit my system's boot.ini file. I found a legit copy of bootcfg.exe (my pc didnt have it), but it was in spanish.. ;) anyways this is the contents of my boot.ini file:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu"

should I just take out the C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu" part? Would I have to do anything else? BTW I couldnt find C:\wubildr.mbr

Member Avatar for caperjack

oh ok nvm I found out how to edit my system's boot.ini file. I found a legit copy of bootcfg.exe (my pc didnt have it), but it was in spanish.. ;) anyways this is the contents of my boot.ini file:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu"

should I just take out the C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu" part? Would I have to do anything else? BTW I couldnt find C:\wubildr.mbr

yes just remove that line = C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu"
or just to be safe make window xp the first to boot to and change the time out to about 3 seconds

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for fallopiano

thanks so much!! you really helped!

Member Avatar for caperjack

thanks so much!! you really helped!

your welcome ,good luck
mark post as solve

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