Removing Ubuntu from boot manager

Question

I have a similar problem like in this post.

The answer there suggests using the 4 commands:

sudo apt-get install efibootmgr
sudo modprobe efivars
sudo efibootmgr
sudo efibootmgr -b X -B

At first, I had the boot manager looking like this: (2 Ubuntu entries)

I got a Live Ubuntu CD and booted from it to use Try Ubuntu and enter the above commands.

In boot mode settings I had 2 choices:

• Legacy Boot Mode, Secure Boot Off
• UEFI Boot Mode, Secure Boot Off

As in the picture:

Choosing the first one, allowed me to boot from the CD and log into Ubuntu (Trial mode). There, in the terminal, I typed the above commands and on the 3rd one I got:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo efibootmgr Fatal: Couldn't open either sysfs or procfs directories for accessing EFI variables. Try 'modprobe efivars' as root

Reading online I found that I should boot with UEFI mode. I did (2nd option), and now I got no errors. I actually got:

...
Boot0002* ubuntu
...
Boot0004* ubuntu
...

so I deleted both of them using sudo efibootmgr -b X -B. I typed sudo efibootmgr to confirm there aren't any ubuntu entries left, and there was none.

Finally, I went back to Boot Manager to check if the problem is solved, and, unexpectedly, I found 1 ubuntu entry:

I tried booting again from the CD using UEFI but I couldn't; I got right into the grub>. So I typed exit, and it returned me back to Boot Manager:

So why wasn't that entry removed although I removed it? And how do I really remove it?

Thanks

Answer 1

There is a way to remove Ubuntu from the boot menu if You don't have it installed anymore.

Insert a Windows 8 / 8.1 DVD or USB device, with the Windows 8 / 8.1 installation files on it, into your computer.

Boot from the disc or USB device.

From the Windows Setup screen, tap on Next.

Tap on the Repair your computer link at the bottom of the window.

Advanced Startup Options will start, almost immediately.

The Advanced Startup Options menu in Windows 8 / 8.1 is the central fix-it location for the entire operating system.

From here you can access Windows 8 / 8.1 diagnostic and repair tools like refresh and reset Your PC, System Restore, Command Prompt, and much more.

Then choose Command Prompt

In the black screen type:

diskpart

and enter this command:

sel disk 0

Now that the first disk is selected we need to view all the partitions

list vol

Verify that the EFI partition is using the FAT32 file system then select the volume and assign a drive letter to it.

Let’s say your EFI partition is on Volume 0, the next thing you would type is:

sel vol 0

Then assign an arbitrary drive letter to the parition. Let’s use r.

assign letter=r:

You should see a message saying:

 DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.

Exit the diskpart typing:

exit

You need to repair the boot record:

cd /d r:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\

bootrec /fixboot

Now You need to recreate the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store:

ren BCD BCD.old

bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-us /s r: /f ALL

Now You reboot and should be all set.

Source: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/system-recovery-overview