Wubi

How do I uninstall ubuntu?

Asked by L Maunder

I have installed version 10 inside windows 7 (64 bit) to see if I like it.
Initially it came up with a choice of OS at boot - which is no problem - but now shows a list of all drives with options as well; before the choice screen. It has taken a bit of trial and error to get the choice but I can now boot. However, this makes life too complicated and adds time to the already slow boot process. I have decided to give up on the trial as my system seems to have slowed down.
The problem is that the uninstall stops with an error that a file does not exist. I have tried from inside ubuntu and that also says files do not exist.
Where do I go from here?

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#1

Normally uninstalling wubi is very easy, but I'm a bit concerned at your description of "shows a list of all drives with options as well". I'm not sure what this means. Can you download and run the bootinfoscript (instructions available at http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/ ) and paste the results to http://pastebin.ubuntu.com/ and then take the address and return that here. I'll take a look and see what's going on, then give you feedback if there's anything strange as well as instructions to uninstall.

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#2

Ok I reread - looks like you've already partially uninstalled. If you cannot run ubuntu anymore, then don't bother with the bootinfoscript - just follow the manual uninstall guide from here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide#How%20do%20I%20manually%20uninstall%20Wubi?

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#3

That last link I posted didn't work correctly (launchpad doesn't do html well) - the question mark at the end is needed - just add it manually. Or look for section 4.2 in the table of contents of the guide.

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L Maunder (lmaunder) said : 		#4

Hi, Thanks for the replies.
Sorry for the delay in a reply. I usually only go on the net for an hour before going to bed. If I don't I can waste whole days.
I was unable to re-install as it found the previous version and wanted it uninstalled before a re-install; then it would tell me there was a file missing. However, your wikilink to manual uninstall seems to have got it out of windows at last.
Now all we have are the same screens on boot (grub) then windows dual boot. As I said, I can live with the windows one as it is a simple choice, but the grub one would confuse my wife - quite apart from wasting time. Do you have ideas about how I get rid of the grub in my computer?

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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#5

So I am a bit confused still. It seems like you might have had both a wubi install and a normal partitioned install. So the first thing you see is a grub menu (says "GRUB 1.9x...." at the top of the screen?) and then you get the windows boot manager showing "Windows and Ubuntu". And you still see both screens?

a) If you've uninstalled Wubi then you can get rid of the Ubuntu option in the Windows boot manager, by downloading and running easyBCD. Just delete that Ubuntu entry.
b) if you have a direct Ubuntu install you no longer want then you'll need to replace the grub bootloader in the MBR.

I'd prefer to see the bootinfoscript before providing instructions just to make sure what is going on. You can use the links in my first response for doing that.

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L Maunder (lmaunder) said : 		#6

Hi,
Thanks for the assistance. I have found a cd I made of 'parted magic' which has a suite of programs for the linux ignorant such as myself. This allowed me to 'remove' grub and the first screen. I now only have the second (windows) screen and it now shows my former version of windows 7 (32 bit). I have other issues with this pc and thought it may be the hdd. I bought a second drive and added it in as a new 'c' drive with a 64 bit version on it. The new choice screen now gives me the option of 32 or 64 bit, which is neat and I can live with it.
All I need now is a way of tracking down the original issue and kill it.
Best wishes and thanks again.
Lawrence