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I have tried the bootrec fixmbr and fixboot method, I've tried the n60 method, I've even tried removing from a Ubuntu live usb. All fixes are temporary. I can boot into Windows 8.1 no problem but in the bios, the ubuntu boot option persists.

I've tried easybcd to remove the option and it just returns after a reboot. It's not an empty option either. If I set the boot option #1 or boot override to ubuntu, it boots into grub and I have to reboot and force windows to boot through the bios.

I have 3 partitions on my harddrive, all windows created.

Disk Management screenshot, from Windows

(Full size screenshot showing disks and partitions here.)

These are the entries for the computer's (only) hard disk shown:

hard disk partitions

I deleted anything Ubuntu related using OS Uninstaller within a live usb of Ubuntu. How does grub/ubuntu in the bios keep returning? I just want to completely nuke it.

Thank you!

The Ubuntu Boot Option in the BIOS persists no matter what:

photo of screen showing this is really in the BIOS and not in GRUB

(Full size here.)

Eliah Kagan
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user236851
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  • It's unfortunately exactly the same fix I have already tried in many different ways/methods. Thanks anyway. I'm starting to wonder whether anyone has ever had a problem like mine, it's very bizarre. – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 12:45
  • Ok let me clarify. When I say BIOS, I mean BIOS. So in the boot options in my BIOS settings, "ubuntu" is still there. It's still an entry. I can set it to boot option 1 or 2 etc for example. IF I do set "ubuntu" to the boot option 1 or if I use the BIOS boot override and select ubuntu, it boots into grub where I cannot do anything.

    If I want to access windows, I either need to set windows to boot option 1 in the BIOS, or do the manual override in the BIOS, otherwise, if the first boot option is set to ubuntu, it boots into grub.

    I've put a link to an image in my post.

     – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 12:55
  • Added. There isn't a disk partition with Ubuntu as the label. Ubuntu was installed on the same disk. A 250GB drive. – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 13:20
  • How was it installed? Did it have its own separate partition(s) at that time? Also, is it possible that the entry for [ubuntu] is referring to the live USB disk (or CD/DVD) used to install it (and/or remove it). Does the [ubuntu] BIOS entry appear even when you make sure to boot without that drive attached? Note that this drive will still appear (and maybe be, to some degree) bootable if you put other files on it and/or delete stuff from it. – Eliah Kagan Jan 17 '14 at 13:26
  • I suggest using efibootmgr to delete the entry: sudo apt-get install efibootmgr. Please read its man page before doing anything with it: man efibootmgr. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 13:29
  • Yes, it was installed onto its own partition on the same disk. The entry is not referring to the live usb because it is not plugged in. Will doing what henry suggested work? It seems like a method to remove the entry rather than grub. Kind of like a patch fix, not actually solving the underlying issue but just masking it, or will it actually remove grub too? – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 13:35
  • @EliahKagan Ok, glad to read that. :) I am on it. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 13:40
  • @user236851 This is a good point, some part of GRUB is apparently installed somewhere since the entry brings up a GRUB menu. I am not sure whether or not efibootmgr will actually remove that. I suspect it actually will, but I don't really know. (I still hope henry posts that as an answer; it may be sufficient, and if not, this can be talked about in comments there and it can be edited for improvement, by henry, other people, or both, to work toward a sufficient solution.) – Eliah Kagan Jan 17 '14 at 13:43
  • One could delete the GRUB-related files on /boot for removing the rest of any non-MS boot manager. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 13:48
  • Excuse my inexperience but how I would go about doing that? – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 13:54
  • @henry What do you mean by "delete the GRUB-related files on /boot"? Presumably the partition that contained /boot no longer exists. – Eliah Kagan Jan 17 '14 at 14:05
  • Yes, I don't really want to try the fix in the answer yet without knowing for sure that it will in fact delete grub and not just mask it by removing the ubuntu entries in the bios. – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 14:16
  • Also, though it was not through efibootmgr, I have actually removed the entries before, using a windows program called easybcd. However, upon rebooting, the entries returned. – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 14:18
  • @user236851 By now I think there are some .efi-files left on /boot which get recognized by the UEFI, hence in the case you have a Windows 7/8 DVD, it should be safe to delete non-Microsoft-related files on /boot. If you can't boot normally thereafter, put the Windows DVD in, reboot and repair the Windows' own boot repair. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 14:31
  • @user236851 You can delete files on /boot on your own after you mount it (in Linux). If cannot boot in Linux (whether installation or usb live drive) anymore, which seems to be you case, use Windows Boot Repair. AFAIK it should delete non-MS-files. If that doesn't work, I suggest booting into GParted, formatting the EFI partition and then again to use Windows Boot Repair. That's what I did once at least. Back up your data if yo ucan, please. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 14:34
  • I managed to boot into Ubuntu live usb. Where is this /boot? I have a "224 GB Volume" which is probably my windows partition, then "Recovery" and then "Computer" (which is the live usb). Where is this "/boot" and what exactly should I delete? – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 15:05
  • On windows\boot\EFI\ there are 2 files, called bootmgfw.efi and bootmgr.efi.

    Also, windows\boot\EFI\en-GB\ has bootmgfw.efi.mui and bootmgr.efi.mui

     – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 15:12
  • sudo lsblk will show you your partition. sudo blkid their IDs. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 15:17
  • Please start an IRC client and join the #ubuntu channel on the freenode network (please use google for terms you don't understand). Consider linking this thread and explaining your situation, unless someone else continues to reply here. You need some more help, but unfortunately I have to leave for a while. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 15:21
  • There is no /boot partition. I remember when installing Ubuntu, it asked me where I wanted the mount point to be and I chose "/" which was the first option. Is this related? – user236851 Jan 17 '14 at 15:22
  • Yes, it certainly is. Please do join the IRC channel. – henry Jan 17 '14 at 15:29

1 Answers1

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edit I made this answer after Eliah suggested I do so, however he has removed his comment in the meantime.

I suggest using efibootmgr to delete the entry:

sudo apt-get install efibootmgr

Please read its man page before doing anything with it:

man efibootmgr

The following excerpts are direct quotes from the man page and give some good clues about the use of efibootmgr:

Displaying the current settings (must be root).

$ sudo efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0004
BootNext: 0003
BootOrder: 0004,0000,0001,0002,0003
Timeout: 30 seconds
Boot0000* Diskette Drive(device:0)
Boot0001* CD-ROM Drive(device:FF)
Boot0002* Hard Drive(Device:80)/HD(Part1,Sig00112233)
Boot0003* PXE Boot: MAC(00D0B7C15D91)
Boot0004* Linux

This shows:

  • BootCurrent - the boot entry used to start the currently running system

  • BootOrder - the boot order as would appear in the boot manager. The boot manager tries to boot the first active entry in this list. If unsuccessful, it tries the next entry, and so on.

  • BootNext - the boot entry which is scheduled to be run on next boot. This supercedes BootOrder for one boot only, and is deleted by the boot manager after first use. This allows you to change the next boot behavior without changing BootOrder.

  • Timeout - the time in seconds between when the boot manager appears on the screen until when it automatically chooses the startup value from BootNext or BootOrder.

  • Five boot entries (0000 - 0004), along with the active/inactive flag (* means active) and the name displayed on the screen.

Following are several examples at the bottom of the man page, with two of them being especially helpful:

3. Changing the Boot Order

Assuming the configuration in Example #1, 

efibootmgr -o 3,4

could be called to specify PXE boot first, then Linux boot.

5. Deleting a boot option

Assuming the configuration in Example #1, 

efibootmgr -b 4 -B

could be called to delete entry 4 and remove it from the BootOrder.

Conclusion

The number you specify relates to the last number in the 4-digits-figure provided by sudo efibootmgr.

henry
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