Windows 7: Run fixmbr from within Win 7

Per the title, I want to know if it's possible to run fixmbr from inside Win 7...

Okay, here's why I want to do that. Once upon a time, I had dual-booted Win XP and Ubuntu on two different HDD's. I've long since abandoned Ubuntu (just got tired of the constant WIFI games and incessant tweaking), but that drive still has GRUB on it.



So, can I remove GRUB from within the Win 7 environment, or do I need to run the Recovery Console?

Welcome!

I don't think it is possible to run that command from within Windows. You can see my unsuccessful attempts.



Looks like you need to run bootrec from the recovery environment.

Good luck!
~JK

That's probably correct. I don't think cant edit the boot sector of a mounted partition on any OS.

You could check out EasyBCD. It says Vista but I think Windows 7 is the same. The last release was 2008 so that's prolly why it doesn't mention Windows 7.

Repairing the Windows Vista Bootloader - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

I know GRUB can be edited while linux is running, but it still has to restart to apply any changes.

You can run bootsect.exe in 4 ways:

Pop in the Install DVD and use D:\boot\bootsect ------ (where D: is your DVD drive)

Boot to either the Repair CD or Install DVD and go to the command prompt.

Pop in the Install DVD and copy the utility to your Windows\System32 folder and use an elevated command prompt to run it,

If you have EasyBCD the command is in one of their folders so you could copy it to the System32 folder.

I suppose the command you what to use is bootsect /nt60 E: (where E: is the drive letter of the Linux drive.)

Type bootsect /help to see how it works. There are additional switches /force and /mbr if you were to need them.

The fixmbr reference you make is associated with Bootrec and I don't know if it will work on another drive beside the boot drive.

This works on Windows 7 I used it it fix the mbr it will remove grub than it will boot into windows the normal way

I used EasyBCD 2.0 beta here http://neosmart.net/forums/showthread.php?t=642

Use EasyBCD 2.0 beta after doing quick registration to use the beta.

Sometimes it takes deep cleaning to fully remove GRUB from HD. Use Diskpart clean all, DBAN or Partition Wizard CD to zero drive. Back up files as it is destructive.

Thanks, folks, for the welcome and the multiple responses.

Looks like I need to check out those apps - I'll get on this later today and post the results.


Extra Info
In a fit of Linux-itus, I installed ubuntu on the box (again) last night. Per usual, there are a few issues (like no DVD playback...). Still, I have vowed to master the ubuntu monkey and will not be so easily deterred this time around. However, this changes nothing. I still want to get rid of GRUB!

In the end, my goal is to have both of the SATA drives cleansed of GRUB and to have the Ubuntu install nicely sequestered on my remaining PATA disk (itself nicely installed in an external drive bay via cradle).

Thanks, again for the help.
Jon

PS: I am not a Linux-troll, I'm just a Windows guy who feels like I need to know and understand Ubuntu Linux.

Not to bash Ubuntu, I haven't tried it in a couple of years... but if you have broadband accessed through a popular network card you may want to try the One Disk Mandriva. I did the single CD install back when they called it Mandrake 9.1. It was great. It does the initial setup to get basic Linux on your HD, then the first thing it does is initialize your network card and get out on the internet. When you select packages to install, it does it right then. When you boot to an X window manager, all the stuff is there. You just log in.