Uninstalled Linux OS dual boot with Windows 7 now boot issue.

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  1. Posts : 359
    Windows 7 64-bit
       #1

    Uninstalled Linux OS dual boot with Windows 7 now boot issue.


    Tried Ubuntu & didn't like it so wanted to remove it completely. After deleting & recovering that portion of (G: ) which is where Ubuntu was installed, I couldn't boot in Windows 7. I was able to use my install disk to load into repair. The OS it found was-

    OS -Windows 7
    Partition Size - 122,001Mb
    Location - (F: )

    (F: ) struck me odd as I thought this would be (C: ) I then when to Command promp & used Bootrec.exe /fixmbr enter - then Bootrec.exe /fixboot enter then restarted. The PC booted in Windows 7 & all seems OK but still wondered if the location was correct. I reloaded the install disk as before & when into repair & it still says location as (F: ) which is my backup drive.

    OK, my PC boots but shouldn't the location be (C: ) not (F: )? After all, if (F: ) is removed or goes bad I'd have the non-boot issue again, wouldn't I? If so, how do I write it to (C: )
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  2. Posts : 1,519
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit, Mac OS X 10.10, Linux Mint 17, Windows 10 Pro TP
       #2

    Dual-booting 2 or more Operating Systems can mess up the drive lettering, especially when 1 or more are uninstalled. If Windows is working properly the only issue will be in assuring program installations point to the drive Windows is on. The earlier versions of Windows such as Win98, WinME, etc., were particular as to the drive or partition they were installed on. Part of the situation may be affected by the newer motherboards and HDDs that use SATA connections instead of the older PATA, SATA has only one drive per socket on the board while PATA have one data cable for each socket and can have one or two drives on each cable.

    The easiest/less time-consuming way I've found with such an issue is to backup any user data then boot to a GPARTED CD and wipe the HDDs that have or had an OS installed followed by connecting only one HDD for installing the OS then reconnecting the storage drives. Leaving any of the boot files of a previous OS on an HDD can mess up the boot process, sometimes slows things down when booting.
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  3. Posts : 359
    Windows 7 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Is there a way to use the command prompt window with Windows 7 up & running to "find" the MBR?

    I used msconfig & got this. Does this verify that MBR is actuall on C: ?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Uninstalled Linux OS dual boot with Windows 7 now boot issue.-capture.jpg  
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  4.    #4

    Drive letters are often different in WinRE.

    Please post back a screenshot of Disk Mgmt Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image
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  5. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #5

    I used msconfig & got this. Does this verify that MBR is actuall on C: ?
    You got this all wrong. The MBR is on the first 512 bytes of the Disk - not on a Partition. I guess what you are looking for is the bootmgr. But that would normally be on the system partition and not on C. The C partition is the OS partition and that's what your msconfig says.

    Do as Greg suggested - post a picture of disk management.
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  6. Posts : 359
    Windows 7 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    gregrocker said:
    Drive letters are often different in WinRE.

    Please post back a screenshot of Disk Mgmt Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image
    whs said:
    I used msconfig & got this. Does this verify that MBR is actuall on C: ?
    You got this all wrong. The MBR is on the first 512 bytes of the Disk - not on a Partition. I guess what you are looking for is the bootmgr. But that would normally be on the system partition and not on C. The C partition is the OS partition and that's what your msconfig says.

    Do as Greg suggested - post a picture of disk management.
    Thank you both for helping me!

    Here Disk Management screen grab. G drive is when Linux was installed. As I said in my 1st post, I'm concerned that while repairing boot using the install disk the OS it found said Windows 7 location was F: which I assumed would be C:

    OS -Windows 7
    Partition Size - 122,001Mb
    Location - (F: )


    F: is where all my PC backup is stored (Oops Backup). If it means anything the PC seems normal & boots without a glitch.

    Disk Management says boot is on C: . Is that the same as MBR? Also, G drive no longer a Primary Partition but a simple volume. Is that OK?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Uninstalled Linux OS dual boot with Windows 7 now boot issue.-capture.jpg  
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  7. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #7

    This all looks pretty normal except for disk 3 which is a dynamic disk. Is that a spanned disk (one partition spanning 2 volumes) ??

    For MBR, you might wan to read up on here:
    Master boot record - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    "Boot is on C" only means that the OS is on C. But the bootmgr is on the active partition which is the 100MB system partition.
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  8.    #8

    I already explained F drive letter. Wolfgang explains meaning of Boot label which shows only what partition is booted.

    Is the Dynamic Videos disk actually more than one hard drive you're spanning? Because if not it should not be Dynamic. To convert I back use Option One or it will wipe out data: Convert a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk
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  9. Posts : 359
    Windows 7 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    whs said:
    This all looks pretty normal except for disk 3 which is a dynamic disk. Is that a spanned disk (one partition spanning 2 volumes) ??

    For MBR, you might wan to read up on here:
    Master boot record - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    "Boot is on C" only means that the OS is on C. But the bootmgr is on the active partition which is the 100MB system partition.
    whs, thanks for your post.

    If bootmgr is located on C: in the 100Mb system partition & Windows OS is also on C: , why did it appear as F: while doing the repair? I know you are correct but I don't get that one.

    As for G: disk 3; this is when Linux was installed. I deleted 19Gb ext4 partition & also a 2Gb swap partition, then Extended the volume. G: seems normal but should something else be done to elevate it to a Primary Partition like the other drives?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Uninstalled Linux OS dual boot with Windows 7 now boot issue.-capture.jpg  
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 359
    Windows 7 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    gregrocker said:
    I already explained F drive letter. Wolfgang explains meaning of Boot label which shows only what partition is booted.

    Is the Dynamic Videos disk actually more than one hard drive you're spanning? Because if not it should not be Dynamic. To convert I back use Option One or it will wipe out data: Convert a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk
    Sorry. I was posting & didn't see you new post. I'll followup on this.
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