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Uninstall - How To Remove Ubuntu and Put Windows Back On
Uninstall - How To Remove Ubuntu and Put Windows Back On
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HowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?
IhaveabsolutelynoexperiencewithLinux,andIdesperatelyneedtogetmycomputerbackupandrunningagain
withWindows.
HowdoIremoveUbuntuandreinstallWindows?
windows uninstall
editedApr3at17:51 communitywiki
19revs,12users46%
JosevKing
2 Ifollowedthisguide,specificallyBIOSboot,andwasabletogetWindows10installedoverUbuntu.usandfriends
Aug18'15at2:49
1 Andnoneoftheaboveisontopic)YouremoveanOSbyinstallinganother.SoUbuntuisnotanissuehere.Get
anofficialWindowsandfollowTHEIRinstructions.RinzwindAug9'16at14:07
5 Thereisnoneedtoremoveanoperatingsysteminordertoinstallanother.Followtheinstructionsfor
installingWindowsfromtheWindowsinstallationmedia,andtellittooverwriteeverything.Inmyopinion,how
todosoisoutofthescopeofthiswebsite.thomasrutterAug11'16at23:28
Note:manyoftheanswersonthisquestionareaboutremovingUbuntufromdualbootbutkeepingWindows
(whichisabitcomplicated),whileotheranswersareaboutremovingUbuntufromsingleboot(whichiseasy:just
formatthediskwhileinstallingWindows).Thequestionisnotclearifit'saboutdualbootorsingleboot.wjandrea
2daysago
14Answers
ToremoveUbuntu,youwillneedaWindowsRecoveryCDorInstallationCD,oraUbuntuLive
CD.
Note:Ifyoudon'thaveaWindowsInstallationorRecoveryCDavailable,youcandownloadthe
Windows7ISOfile(contactDigitalRivercustomersupportassaidinMicrosofthelppage).You
cannotinstallWindowswithoutagenuinePurchasedProductKeythough,astheseISOfilesare
100%legalandwillonlyinstallasanEvaluationcopyfor30dayswithoutaproductkey.
ToremoveGRUB:
1.GrabaWindowsrecoverymediaorinstallationCDandbootfromit.Youshouldseethisona
recoverymediaCD.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 1/8
201756 uninstallHowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?AskUbuntu
AndyoushouldseethisonaninstallationmediaCD.Click"Repairyourcomputer"and
youshouldseeascreenlikethefirstimage.
3.RebootandbootintoWindows.ThenfollowthestepsbelowtoremovetheUbuntupartitions.
(ImagesfromHowtoGeek )
Ifyoudon'thaveaWindowsrecoveryCDoryouareconstrainedtodownloadandburntheISO
filesmentionedbefore,youcanuseBootrepair.Itisatoolthatfixesmostboot
problems(WindowsorUbuntu).IsuggestusingaWindowsCDifpossible.
Tousebootrepair:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 2/8
201756 uninstallHowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?AskUbuntu
1.BootfromaUbuntuliveCDorUSB
2.Typetheselinesintheterminalonelineatatime.
sudoaddaptrepositoryppa:yannubuntu/bootrepair
sudoaptgetupdate
sudoaptgetinstallbootrepair
3.SearchforBootRepairintheDashandlaunchit.
TofixyourcomputerwithBootrepair,simplyclickthe"RecommendedRepair"button.Then
followthestepsbelowtoremovetheUbuntuPartitions.
TodeletetheUbuntuPartitions:
4.GotoStart,rightclickComputer,thenselectManage.ThenselectDiskManagementfrom
thesidebar.
5.RightclickyourUbuntupartitionsandselect"Delete".Checkbeforeyoudelete!
6.Then,rightclickthepartitionthatisontheLeftofthefreespace.Select"ExtendVolume".
GothroughtheWizardandFinishit.
7.Done!
AnothernotefromTanner:Ifyouareusinganextendedpartition,youmighthavetoremovethe
bigextendedpartitiontomakethespaceunallocated.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 3/8
201756 uninstallHowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?AskUbuntu
editedApr13at12:24 answeredMay28'12at23:18
Community EmersonHsieh
1 4,823 5 27 54
7 Ratherthanacrosspostedanswer,thisanswerisactuallyeditedtoaccountforthe(substantial)differences
betweenthetwoquestions.+1EliahKaganMay29'12at0:40
4 Youmaywanttoaddthatyouhavetodeletethepartitionstwicetomakeitunallocatedbeforeyoucanextendthe
volume.TannerJul13'12at18:04
SoIfollowedthesesteps.ButwhenIdeletedthepartitions,itshowedupasfreespace(notunallocated).The
extendoptionoftheleftpartitionisnotavailable.TruMay14'13at6:32
1 Thanks.IntheendIusedathirdpartydiskmanagementutilitytomergethevolumes.TruMay16'13at5:50
1 Theline"youcannotinstallWindowswithagenuinepurchasedproductkey"hasaminorerror.Theword"with"
shouldread"without".(Can'teditthisasthechangeistoosmall.)user111667Jun23'14at10:50
1.BootaliveCD/DVD/USBwithUbuntu
2.Choose"TryUbuntu"
3.DownloadandinstallOSUninstaller.
4.Startthesoftwareandselectwhatoperatingsystemyouwanttouninstall.
5.Apply
6.Whenallisover,rebootyourcomputer,andvoila,onlyWindowsisonyourcomputerorof
coursenoOS!
editedJul31'16at9:33 answeredJun19'12at2:46
karel Atem18
29.5k 10 70 84 1,310 9 17
3 Hey,howcanyouremoveasOSbeingatthemomentunderthatOS?Howstep6mayexistifafterstep5there
shouldbenoanyUbuntu?GreenJul1'13at19:02
2 @Atem18What#Greenaskedis:WhathappensifIdothisonanondualbootsystem?(uninstalltheonlyOS
currentlyrunning)LucioJul25'13at16:45
4 Green,thetoolisusedfromalivesession.Lucio,iftheharddiskcontainsonlyoneOS,thenthetoolwon'tallowto
removeit.LovinBuntuJul31'13at22:14
4 @LucioifthereisonlyoneOSonthecomputer,thenasimpleformatingwilldothejob.Atem18Aug2'13at
13:40
1 TomakemyWindowsharddrivebootableagainIhadtobootwiththeWindowsDVDandthengotoRepair
computer,Command,andthenrun bootrec/fixmbr andthen bootrec/fixboot .NowIcanfinallybootinto
WindowswithoutdependingonGruborUbuntuoraworkingsecondharddrive.sammygAug3'13at20:30
Firstdownloadbootsect.exeintotheDownloaddirectory.
Inthenewcmd.exewindow,cdtoyourdownloaddirectory.forexample cdC:\Users\Lalu
Patel\Downloads ._assumingyourusernameis"LaluPatel".
TheninWindows
1.OpentheControlPanel(AllItemsview),andclickontheAdministrativeToolsicon.then
closetheControlPanelwindow
2.ClickonComputerManagementin AdministrativeTools ,thenclosetheAdministrative
Toolswindow.
3.IntheleftpaneunderStorage,clickon DiskManagement .seethis .
4.Selectthethepartitionwith unknown type.itistheUbuntupartition.RightClick>Delete
partition.
5.NowtheformerUbuntupartitionbecomesanunallocatedspace.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 4/8
201756 uninstallHowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?AskUbuntu
6.Selecttheleftpartitionofthenew unallocatedspace .
7.Rightclickonthepartition>clickon ExtendVolume .
8.ClickontheNextbutton.
9.TypeinhowmanyMB(1GB=1024MB)youwanttousefromtheunallocatedspaceto
extendtheselectedpartition(step5)into,thenclickontheNextbutton.seethis .
Note:Ifyouwanttousealloftheunallocatedspacetoextendinto,thentypeinthe
maximumavailablespaceshownfortheunallocatedspace.
10.ClickontheFinishbutton.You'redone.
Source:bootsect,diskmanagement
editedMay19'15at20:11 answeredMay15'12at13:45
kleinfreund Anwar
132 11 45.1k 15 117 204
1 @lalupatel,Youcanacceptthisasananswer,ifitdoeswhatyouwant.AnwarMay16'12at13:43
@bcbc:Therearesituationswherethisisnotsoeasy(boughtalaptopwithoutWindowsrecoveryCDandthehard
diskcontainingtherecoverypartitionbroke...).tienneMay15'15at8:07
@tiennedoesthiswork:windows.microsoft.com/enca/windows7/I'dpreferthattodownloadinganexefrom
dropboxthatmayormaynotbethecorrectversion.bcbcMay15'15at15:20
1 WorkedonWindows8!ThankscdontsDec16'16at2:02
Ifyoudon'thaveaWindowsCDanddeletedtheUbuntupartition
Scenario:
YouwanttoremoveUbuntu,anddeletedtheUbuntupartitionfromwithinanotherOS.Now,
yourcomputerwontboot("nosuchpartition")andyoulackaWindowsRecoveryCDtofixit.
1.CreateaUbuntuLiveCD/USB.
2.BootfromyourUbuntuLiveCD/USBbyselectingitintheBIOSbootoptions.
3.OnceUbuntuloads,openaTerminal( Ctrl + Alt + T ),andrunthesecommands:
sudoaptgetinstalllilo
sudoliloM/dev/sda
answeredFeb17'14at10:39 communitywiki
minerz029
Greatanswer!SincetheuserprobablyalreadyhasthelivediskheusedtoinstallUbuntu,hedoesn'thavetolookfor
awindowsdisk.The liloM optionisquickandefficient....alsoitworkswithallcurrentversionsofWindows.
L.D.JamesJun26'16at23:59
Thanksalot,workedperfectly!AbhirikshmaJul13'16at15:21
Thanksalotforthis.Itcomplements@Atem18'sanswertoreducetheentirerestorationprocesstousinganUbuntu
liveCDandinstallingjusttwoprograms lilo and osuninstaller .kakomaApr18at21:00
Actuallythesolutiontothisisveryeasy,anyonecandoit.Firstthingsfirst.Downloadsomething
calledEasyBCD(there'safreeversion,youhavetodownloaditintoWindowsasit'sa.exe)
http://neosmart.net/download.php?id=1runthroughthesetup.
1.LaunchEasyBCDandgotothesixthbuttondown,EasyBCDdeployment.Sinceyou'rea
WindowsXPuser,selectWritetheWindowsXPBootloadertotheMBRthenpressthebig
redbuttoncalled"WritetoMBR"
2.Nextheaduptothesecondbuttoncalled"EditbootMenu"andselectthefirstoption"Skip
thebootmenu"andclicksavesettings.Congrats,younowhaveWindowsXPbootloader
back,anditwillautomaticallybootintoWindows,butwearen'tdoneyet.Youstillhave
Ubuntuonyoursystem,wewanttochangethat.
3.OpenupdiskmanagementandfindyourUbuntupartitionandtheUbuntuSwapPartition(I
assumeyouknowhowbigitis,[theswapisabouttwogigs,shouldberightnexttotheLinux
partition]).Deletetheswapfirst,andthendeletetheUbuntupartition.Ifdoneproperlyyouwill
getUnaccountedspaceforHDandtheswapwillbecome"FreeSpace"timetoalsofixthat.
4.NextrightclickontheFreeSpacepartition(swapspace)anddeleteitagain,itshould
becomepartoftheunaccountedspace.Nowyoudon'twanttojustleaveallthatempty
spaceonyourHD.RightclickonyourWindowspartitionnow,andclickextendthevolume.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 5/8
201756 uninstallHowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?AskUbuntu
ItshoulddefaultintothemaximumsizeofyourHD,(whichyouwantsoXPhasallthe
space.)andclickcontinue.Thereyougo,it'lldoit'sthingandWindowsXPshouldnowhave
yourentireHD,Ubuntuwillbegone,andyouWillhavetheXPbootloaderback.Hopethat
helpedforyou!
(VideotutorialfromTechHarvestdoingbasicallythesamethingbutonWindows7
http://youtu.be/AAWBZq04Izc )
answeredMar6'12at22:43
Midnight
156 2 12
1 Thankyou.Ireviewedthisoptionanditlookedpromising.HoweverIchosetotryoutthesuggestionsfrom
Pestilenceasitdidnotrequireadditionalsoftware.Iwasthinkingwhyaddtomyissuewithmoresoftware...whenI
mustalreadyhavethetools..ifonlyIknewhowtousethem.IdidalsousetheMicrosoftConsoleDiskManagement
featuretodeletetheswapandUbuntupartition...soTHANKYOUfortheidea.eastavinMar20'12at19:08
Thewayto"delete"Ubuntuistodeletethepartitionit'susing.Thatwillmakethepartition
availableforreformattinganduseinanotherOS.
IfyoucanstillrunWindows,useitsdiskmanagertodeletetheUbuntupartition.Youcouldthen
formatittouseinWindows,orexpandanexistingpartition.
YoucanalsoboottheUbuntuLiveCDandchoosethe"TryUbuntu"option.Afteritloads,findand
rungpartedandremovethepartition.
IfWindowsandUbuntuarebothgoneandyouwanttoreinstallWindows,youcanrepartitionand
reformatduringtheinstallation.
edited2daysago answeredMay8'12at1:31
wjandrea jonc
3,045 3 13 31 246 1 4
2 Sincethebootloaderdoesn'tseemtobeworking,youmayalsoneedtorestoretheMBR(masterbootrecord)after
removingUbuntu.YoucanusuallydothatusingaWindowsinstalldisc,ifyouhaveitinsertedwhenyoubootup.
MariusMay8'12at1:34
YouneedtorestoretheMBRthatwasoverwrittenbygrubwhenyouinstalledubuntu.Intheold
days,youranfdisk/MBRonyoursystemdisk.ThewaytodoitinWindowsXPistorunthe
"WindowsRecoveryConsole"whichcanberunfromtheinstallationdiskorinstalledtothehard
driveandrunfromthere.
TheinstructionsforinstallingtheRecoveryConsolearehere:http://support.microsoft.com/?
kbid=314058
However,sinceyoudon'thavetheCDyou'llneedtotryinstallingitfromwhatyouhavealready.
Openuptherundialogue(win+r,orstart>run)andenterthis:
%windir%\i386\winnt32.exe/cmdcons
Thenyouwillhavetorebootintowindowsandselecttherecoveryconsolewhileit'sbooting.
FromthereyouwillneedtorunFIXMBRwhichisdocumentedhere:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en
us/bootcons_fixmbr.mspx
Oncethisisdonesuccessfully,yourcomputerwillbootstraightintowindowsagain.
answeredMar7'12at2:40
pestilence
1,045 9 10
Thanks.Thiswasgood.IfoundmyRecoveryDVDs&RecoveryToolsCD.ThelatterstartedtheMicrosoftRecovery
Console.ItthenaskedtostartminiNTorI386sobasedonyourcommandlineIchoseI386.IthenenteredFIXMBR
withnooptions.ThenEXIT.MicrosoftthenpromptedtochooseSystemRestore,DestructiveReoveryorTURNOFF
andIchoseOFF.WhenIpoweredupagainitbootstraightintoXP&didaCHKDSK.MyXPagainworksasitdid
beforemyUBUNTUexperiment.THANKYOU.NexttimeIwillinstallitinWindowsXPsoIcanusetheadd/remove
featureratherthanthismanualmethod.@MarcoeastavinMar20'12at19:03
Ifyou'reintopaidsoftwareIhighlyrecommendAcronis .Paragonisalsogood.Ithasalotof
interestingoptions.Itallowsyoutodoeverythingyouneedtoinordertodothis.Theorderof
operationsis:
1.GetlivemediathatwillletyouperformalltheseoperationswithoutanOSorMBRbackup.
Seeacronislink.
2.DeletetheUbuntupartitions(probablyanythingthat'snotNTFSorFAT32)
3.Resizeyourwindowspartitiontofillthedisk
4.Applychangesandpossiblyrebootdependingonwhichversionofwhichsoftwareyouhave
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 6/8
201756 uninstallHowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?AskUbuntu
5.Runthe'fixbootproblems'wizardinAcronis.It'smagic.
Alternately,youcouldusesupergrubdisk .Directionsontheirwikiincludescreenshotsandstep
bystepdirections.
editedApr6at21:17 answeredMar7'12at4:31
wjandrea RobotHumans
3,045 3 13 31 20.2k 3 53 93
Ihadalookatthis.SeemedlikeagreatideabutIwaslookingforsomethingtothejobwiththecommandsalready
availabletomeviaXPorUbuntu.eastavinMar20'12at18:59
YoucangointotheDiskManagementutilityanddeletetheUbuntupartition.RightclickMy
Computer,selectManage,DiskUtility.Onceyoudeletethepartition,rightclickMyComputer,
selectPropertiesandgototheAdvancedtab.GointotheStartUpandRecovery,setWindows
asthedefaultoperatingsystemandsettheTimetodisplaythelistofoperatingsystemsto0and
clickOk.
answeredJan24'12at20:50
Marco
39 1
Ifollowyouradviceinthefirst2sentences.Howeverinyour4thsentenceyousaytosetWindowsasthedefaultOS...
ThiscannotbetheproblemthatcausesUBUNTUtobootfirstasitiscurrentlysettoWindowsasbeingthedefault
OS.thereissomethingelsethatisoverridingthisthatwasinstalledbyUbuntu11.10...whatcouldthatbe?
eastavinJan29'12at15:58
IfyoucanbootUbuntutheLiveCD,choose"TryUbuntu"option.Thentryinstallingitagainby
choosingmanualpartitioning,Itisthelastoptioninthe'Prepareyourdisk'step.Reinstallitinthe
samepartitionyoutriedbefore.
FirstdeletetheoldUbuntupartition,(youcanrecognizetheoldUbuntupartitionbylookingat
thepartitiontypecolumn,itshouldhavethetypeas ext4 or ext3 )
Thencreateanewpartitionbyclicking'Add'button.Inthenewdialogchangethe"Donot
usethepartition"with ext4 ,placea'tick'markat'format'checkbox,andinthebottom
selectlist,select / ,thenclickOK.
Checkthat,youchoosethebootloaderinstalldeviceas /dev/sda (ifyouareinstallingonthe
localharddisk).Thenproceed.
Seeifanyerrormessageappears.Ifitcompletessuccessfully,itshouldgiveyoua
messagewithtwooptions"KeeptryingLiveCD"and"RestartyourComputertousenewly
installedsystem".Restartyourlaptop.
Ithinkitshouldwork.
editedJun28'12at15:30 answeredMay8'12at2:42
Anwar
45.1k 15 117 204
Whyaretheresomanyanswersthatseemtohavenothingtodowhatsoeverwiththequestion?Hasanadmin
messedupandmergedtheanswersfromtwounrelatedquestions?thomasrutterAug11'16at23:31
@thomasrutteryes.Iwasmerged.Theanswerwasoriginallyveryrelevant.Anddownvotinganswerbecauseit's
mergedisnotalogicalactionAnwarAug12'16at4:50
AsimplermethodBurnanrBootCDandbootfromit.Whenthemenushowsup,selectyour
Windowspartition.
WhenWindowsloads,inthediskmanagement,rightclickonthebootpartitionandapplytheboot
flag.Restart.
Hopefully,thiswillwork.
Ifitdoes,deletetheLinuxpartitionfromthediskmanagement.You'redone.
answeredJul14'12at7:19
AkshitBaunthiyal
1,998 2 10 18
FromWindows7,installeasyBCD.exe(youcanfinditatwww.softpedia.com)
Runit,andselectRepairMBR
ThendeletesomepartitionsmadebyUbuntu'ssystem.
editedApr6at21:20 answeredMay15'12at13:43
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 7/8
201756 uninstallHowtoremoveUbuntuandputWindowsbackon?AskUbuntu
wjandrea hardianto
3,045 3 13 31 153 3 9
Idon'tunderstandwhyyouthinkthepersonaskingthequestionhasWindowsinstalled.Theyareaskinghowto
installWindows?thomasrutterAug11'16at23:32
BootfromaliveUbuntumediaandwipethepartitiontable(andMBR)outwith ddif=/dev/zero
of=/dev/sdYbs=512count=1 whereYisthedrive.thiswillbe/dev/sdainasingledrivesystem.
Thiscommandwillblastthefirstsectorofthedrivefullofzeroseliminatingthepartitiontable.
InstallthenewOSyouwanttoinstallasifthedrivewerenew.
Note:youmayhavetoincreasethebs(blocksize)orcountfactorsonaGPTdisk.Ihaven't
beenabletofindexactnumbersbutchangingcountto8orbsto4096shoulddothetrick.
editedFeb25'15at15:52 communitywiki
2revs
ElderGeek
1.StartwithaworkingliveCD/USBofUbuntuandchoose"TryUbuntu"
2.CheckthatithasaworkingInternetconnection
3.RunGPartedanddeleteallpartitionsfound.RerunGPartedtocheckthatit'sok.
4.Openterminal( Ctrl + Alt + T )andtype:
sudoaptgetupdate
sudoaptgetinstallmbr
sudoinstallmbr/dev/sda
5.RebootandinstallWindowsnormallyfromoriginalinstallationCD/DVD
edited2daysago communitywiki
3revs,3users53%
ciampix
IfyouhavetheWindowsinstallationmedia,justusethat.TheWindowsinstallerwillletyouformatthedisk,removing
Ubuntu.wjandrea2daysago
protectedbyCommunity Jul25'13at14:39
Thankyouforyourinterestinthisquestion.Becauseithasattractedlowqualityorspamanswersthathadtoberemoved,postingananswernowrequires10reputation
onthissite(theassociationbonusdoesnotcount).
Wouldyouliketoansweroneoftheseunansweredquestions instead?
https://askubuntu.com/questions/133533/howtoremoveubuntuandputwindowsbackon 8/8