Pressing F8 on startup suddenly loads GRUB menu?! Huh??


  1. Posts : 29
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (SP1)
       #1

    Pressing F8 on startup suddenly loads GRUB menu?! Huh??


    Dear Forum Users,

    I'm having a very mysterious problem plaguing my PC. I bought my PC not too long ago, it was brand new, and the hard drive which came with it was new as well (but I did a full NTFS format anyway before installing Windows 7).

    At some point when I was in a situation where I needed to load the Windows boot menu in order to enter Safe Mode, when I clicked F8 I was extremely surprised to see that some kind of a "GRUB Loader Menu" with a red background was loaded instead.

    I have since done a search on the internet and found out that the GRUB Loader menu is related to Linux installations and having dual boot systems with both linux/windows installed.

    The thing I don't understand is where the heck did this come from since I never installed Linux on my new PC ever?!

    The only thing I can think of is that after receiving my new PC I also hooked up into it my WD Caviar Green 1TB hard drive from my previous computer, which DID have an Ubuntu Linux installation on it at one time, but I have since removed it and also removed the Linux partition which was on that drive way before hooking it up to the new computer.

    I mean it makes absolutely no logical sense to me that the "GRUB Loader Menu" would somehow "crawl out" of the no longer existing Linux installation/Partition which was previously on that drive and "install" itself instead of the Windows boot menu, however I cannot even remotely imagine anywhere else from where this could come from.

    Looking at my HD's via "Partition Wizard" confirms that there are no Linux partitions/installations on ANY of my hard drives. They're all single partition drives formatted in NTFS and the amount of overall space matches their capacity so there are no possible "hidden partitions" on them which for some reason are undetectable but are eating up space.

    But, most importantly I want to figure out how to get rid of this stupid GRUB Menu??

    I tried loading windows recovery tools from the Win7 install disk and via the command prompt I typed in:

    BootRec.exe /fixmbr


    But that did not make it go away. I know that in the past when dealing with Windows XP, running the "fixmbr" command would always get rid of any linux loaders, but such is not the case here.

    Any thoughts? Suggestions? I'm at a complete loss both as to how this thing got on my computer and most importantly on how to make it go away!

    Thank you very much!!

    quanzaboy
    Last edited by quanzaboy; 05 Jan 2011 at 16:11.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 14
    Windows 7 32-bit
       #2

    Try booting from your CD with your windows 7 disk, enter the recovery console (press R when it asks you whether you want to install windows etc.) When you're at the console, type:

    fixmbr
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 29
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (SP1)
    Thread Starter
       #3

    minimeister said:
    Try booting from your CD with your windows 7 disk, enter the recovery console (press R when it asks you whether you want to install windows etc.) When you're at the console, type:

    fixmbr
    Hi minimeister and thank you for your response, however could it be that you haven't read my post all the way through?

    As I mentioned I have already tried fixing the master boot record, but to no avail. Also in windows 7 unlike in XP the fixmbr command is:

    BootRec.exe /fixmbr

    Anyone else?

    Thanks!
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 57
    Win7 Ultimate x64 7601
       #4

    Sounds like your pc is using a grub loader to bypass windows activation.
    Was it bought from a reputable source?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 29
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (SP1)
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Carbon6 said:
    Sounds like your pc is using a grub loader to bypass windows activation.
    Was it bought from a reputable source?
    Wow! That's the last thing I expected it to be! My copy was actually installed in the lab where I bought it from!

    So this definitely means that my copy of Windows is illegal?

    Also, if I will then have to buy a new copy of Windows will I need to reinstall it in order to get rid of this GRUB menu?

    Thanks!
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #6

    [/QUOTE]
    Also, if I will then have to buy a new copy of Windows will I need to reinstall it in order to get rid of this GRUB menu?

    Thanks![/QUOTE]

    YES.

    All Linux code must be deleted.As you have had linux on the HD you need to do a Clean all & full format.
    Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
    Partition or Volume - Delete
    Partition or Volume - Create New
    Partition - Mark as Active

    Try a full clean & full format in command prompt.
    1) Boot DVD & Press Shift+F10 (for command prompt)
    2) Boot DVD, & Command Prompt at Startup
    (for command prompt)

    Type in command line
    DISKPART
    LIST DISK
    SELECT DISK # (win HD)
    CLEAN ALL
    CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
    SELECT PARTITION 1
    ACTIVE
    FORMAT fs=NTFS
    ASSIGN
    EXIT
    EXIT

    Pressing F8 on startup suddenly loads GRUB menu?! Huh??-pic12.png

    SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation
    How to Remove Linux and Install Windows XP
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 57
    Win7 Ultimate x64 7601
       #7

    Well, its only a guess tbh, as no hard evidence is present, so don't assume the worst yet.
    I am aware of how it works, but i don't recall ever being able to get into it with f8.

    If you reboot, and as *soon* as the bios screen is done, tapping R or ESC is the usual way to raise the grub4dos menu.
    Try that, if you can't get the menu after a few tries, there may well be another explanation for the situation.

    Also, what options/entries does the menu have?

    And no, you won't have to reinstall if you don't want to.
    If it is using a loader, you can remove it, clean the bootcode, and buy a licence from M$
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 21:36.
Find Us