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I was trying to install ubuntu on an external hard drive using my dads dell laptop because my laptop was being repaired. Anyways i used a bootable iso usb from unetbootin to install it. I have done this before with a dvd and it worked fine and this time i did the same thing. Windows is on the internal hard drive. When it finished, it told me to reboot and when it rebooted it went to a grub command prompt.So now whenever the computer boots up you have to press F12 and then it brings you to a boot menu. The boot menu says option 1 ubuntu option 2 windows option 3 ubuntu. Im guessing the first ubuntu boot option is the grub command prompt. I dont know what the last ubuntu boot option does because i dont want to boot it because it might mess something up. My dad is annoied about how he has to do the whole F12 thing every time he starts up his computer. Is there anyway i can change the boot order, remove ubuntu all togethor, or do something else to make the laptop boot up right into windows. Thank You.

Stickman321
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  • I think booting into the Windows install DVD/USB gives you a "startup repair" option that should "take over" the boot process for Windows. It might be worth a try. (I haven't actually used Windows in 10 years, so I can't answer any further questions, unfortunately) – Nick Weinberg Jun 26 '16 at 03:07
  • UEFI or BIOS? and is system you want to use external drive on UEFI or BIOS? How you boot install media UEFI or BIOS with new UEFI systems is then how it installs. But to boot external in UEFI mode you must partition in advance and be sure to include ESP - efi system partition. And grub only installs to drive seen as sda, so you have to copy files from ESP on sda to ESP on sdb. http://askubuntu.com/questions/63610/how-do-i-remove-ubuntu-in-the-bios-boot-menu – oldfred Jun 26 '16 at 03:51

2 Answers2

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You can use Windows' built in tools to fix it.

Follow the steps under Fix the MBR in Windows 7 or Fix the MBR in Windows 8 or 8.1 here

You probably only need to run "bootrec /fixmbr" and "bootrec /fixboot"

Windows 7

  1. Boot from the Windows 7 installation DVD
  2. At the “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD…”, press any key to boot from the DVD
  3. Select a language
  4. Select a keyboard layout
  5. Click Next
  6. Select the operating system and click Next. The “Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows” must be checked when you select the operating system.
  7. At the System Recovery Options screen, click on Command Prompt

  8. When Command Prompt successfully loads, type this command:

    bootrec /rebuildbcd

  9. Press Enter Type the next command:

    bootrec /fixmbr

  10. Press Enter Type the next command:

    bootrec /fixboot

  11. Press Enter
  12. Remove the installation DVD from the disk tray and restart your computer

Fix the MBR in Windows 8 or 8.1 (also 10)

  1. Boot from the original installation DVD (or the recovery USB)
  2. At the Welcome screen, click Repair your computer
  3. Choose Troubleshoot

  4. Choose Command Prompt

    When the Command Prompt loads, type the following commands:

    bootrec /FixMbr

    bootrec /FixBoot

    bootrec /ScanOs

    bootrec /RebuildBcd

Press Enter after each command and wait for each operation to finish

  1. Remove the DVD from the disk tray
  2. Type exit
  3. Hit Enter
  4. Restart your computer and check if Windows 8/8.1 can now boot
Curtis
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  • The laptop didnt come with install dvd. It was preinstalled with windows 8 when this happened. He currently had windows 10 from the free upgrade. Because there is no install dvd can I just use the shift + restart amd get into command prompt that way or should i get windows 10 iso and burn it to a disc and ise that? – Stickman321 Jun 26 '16 at 12:17
  • The Windows 10 disc would work. If you have a spare USB stick you can put the ISO on it and boot off that instead. The easiest way I've found is using rufus ( https://rufus.akeo.ie/ ) – Curtis Jun 27 '16 at 01:07
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what worked for me was booting up a live cd and then deleting the ubuntu entry from the efi partition.

Stickman321
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