Problems with the Uninstall of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala WUBI

A few weeks a go, I installed the final beta of Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic Koala. I installed it on my 10 gb Windows XP partition using WUBI.

WUBI is meant to be a safe, reversible way of installing Linux. You install it on your windows partition, it takes up 4-5 gigs space on your NTFS partition. It uses Grub to allow you to dual (or in my case triple) boot in to Ubuntu, Windows, or my Linuxmint 7.

Ubuntu Installed flawlessly, but unfortunately, there were severe stability problems. I run an old Dell optiplex computer. I thought the issue may be compiz and the Intel video card. I uninstalled compiz but the problems never went away. The system froze in minutes: whether I was working in Firefox or Openoffice or with just the bare desktop.

I uninstalled Ubuntu. When I shut down windows, I checked to see if infact Grub and made the necessary changes. It didn't. Ubuntu is still listed as an alternate OS, but It won't boot of course. It reports that hal.dll missing???

XP still boots. I gave up on Mint and Ubuntu and installed Debian Lenny. More on this later: suffice it to say, Lenny is a breath of fresh air.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Ubuntu
• Karmic
• Koala
• 9.10
• Grub
• Grub2
• uninstall
• remove
• boot problems
• boot
• Debian
• Lenny
• stability
• freeze
• reboot

[MoonsMalak]

This is a well known issue even for multi windows installations. If you uninstall an OS, sometimes you will have to edit the boot file by yourself. it is really easy and you have two ways to access that file. It is hidden in the primary partition "usually C:" or you can go to computer properties, hit the advanced tap, startup and recovery settings, then hit edit and delete the whole ubuntu line and that's it!

I don't have a windows machine but I still remember it since I had to do it many times.

[allenbeme]

I have used Ubuntu WUBI installation before. My wife even used it daily for about a year (7.10 I think it was) no problems. Uninstall was always clean, no artifacts.

I have edited grub/menu.lst before in order to change the OS list order. I don't know what is going on between grub and grub2 . I like my setup now, I don't want to screw up.

I will wait until Debian Squeeze goes to stable, then I will wipe my whole hard drive clean, getting rid of windows completely.

[MoonsMalak]

If you uninstall an OS, "sometimes" you will have to edit the boot file by yourself.

This is why I said sometimes. It does not happen all the times

the problem your facing is not related to grub, it is related to the windows boot manager.

Your system use grub at first, then when you choose windows, windows boot manager will show up.

[allenbeme]

You are right! I checked grub/menu.lst and there is only Debian and windows. No mention of Ubuntu.

Still, in the past, once I uninstalled Ubuntu from windows, there was no listing of Ubuntu as the option. Was there an step missing from the Ubuntu Wubi ininstall in 9.10?

Thanks for the correction however.

[MultiYippee]

Use the Windows XP CD torecover the "hal.dll" file. You should find some info on youtube or windows forums.

[ThePhantomSafetyPin]

Linux more stable, my backside. Here's the proof. It *screws* with your system files if you so much as try it out. Don't waste your time, people - unless you have a stable build of Ubuntu and really do prefer it to Windows or Mac, don't bother. You're likely to have issues if you uninstall... and possibly if you don't

[noskillz900]

download easybcd and set use it to reinstall the windows bootloader.. i had the same problem

[smilisav]

if you use wubi, then go to windows comand prompt, remove h, s, r attributes from boot.ini in c:\, remove ubuntu line, save, put back r, h, s, attributes to boot.ini

if you use grub2, then boot in linux, go to console, type sudo update-grub

and it should reconfigure boot menu according to existing images only

if you use grub, then edit file

 /boot/grub/menu.list

[DarkPontiac]

You have to edit your boot file. For XP its located on a hidden file in C:\boot.ini .. All you have to do is delete the line with Ubuntu and vola! its gone.

[dsifriend]

I was able to uninstall a few of times and reinstall but then when I uninstalled through control panel the same thing happened to me by the way did any of you try reinstalling through wubi and then uninstall trhough wubi

[Daniilo11]

Just dl EasyBCD and edit the bootloader, that fixed it for me :)

[lindsaymobil22]

would the fixbcd command work in this instance?

[thiswonderfullife]

Interesting you have installed Debian 5, I tried the other distros you mentioned and yes, I've uninstalled them due to several issues you've experienced. I have a GX280 Dell Optiplex with 1.5gig of memory, 256mb ati graphics card, and 200gig hard drive. Runs like a dream, and most new software and games run great. So yep I downloaded and installed Debian from the netinstall cd. Its great to pick and choose what I want for a change.