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Idea #7476: Live CD "Recover from Installing Windows" operation

bug This idea is a duplicate of Idea #1242: Restoring the bootloader by Ubuntu installation CD.
Written by christian.convey the 23 Apr 08 at 17:37. Category: Installation. Related project: Nothing/Others. Status: New
Rationale
I'd like the Live CD have an easy-to-use tool to fix the whole MBR/bootloader/grub menu/etc. setup after you've installed Windows. Here's the deal:

Sometimes we install (or re-install) Windows *after* Ubuntu is aleady on the computer. Since Windows' installer (at least XP's) isn't respectful of other bootloaders, you need to do some work to get Grub properly functioning again afterward. It at least involves:

- adding a Windows menu to /boot/grub/menu.lst
- reinstalling grub to the mbr

However, this is hard to get right without making Windows unbootable. On the other hand, when your doing a clean install of Ubuntu, the Ubuntu installer does a lovely job of properly handling a already-installed Windows partition.

I would like the Live CD to have an easy-to-use option, either in its initial menu or after the Live desktop comes up, that will make everything right again. At most, the user should need to tell it which partition contains the grub/menu.lst file that was previously being used before you installed Windows. It should also automatically modify (if necessary) that menu.lst file so that it has an entry for the new (or re-installed) Windows installation.
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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #7476
Written by christian.convey the 23 Apr 08 at 17:37.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #7476 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

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mehrang wrote on the 23 Apr 08 at 21:11
grub is great, but some kind of recovery tool is really needed...once it crashes, it becomes a real pain in the ass...

In my opinion, the whole boot thing should be reviewed:
- better integretion,
- a gui to maintain it
- a recovery option on the cd + installed on the hard disk (once grub isn't able to find the os's correctly, there should be some kind of restore grub function, which searches partitions and reinstalles grub etc

wearzeep wrote on the 23 Apr 08 at 21:32
Isnt there like 10+ dupes of this idea?

Magnes wrote on the 24 Apr 08 at 13:19
It shows how important it is to users.

tbrminsanity wrote on the 24 Apr 08 at 14:05
I hate it that I need to "re-install" Ubuntu every time I upgrade Windows (luckily I don't do it often enough). It would be nice if there was the option to just fix Grub after every time Windows is loaded onto a machine.

ssducf wrote on the 25 Apr 08 at 05:32
Repairing grub is trivial. Trick is, you need either a grub disk or a way to boot linux to do it. (It's easy to make a bootable grub floppy or usb stick ahead of time if you prepare.)

Because ubuntu uses syslinux instead of grub on its boot cdrom, it is not so easy to use it to repair. A repair disk would make this much easier.


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