[ubuntu-uk] mbr

[Barry Drake]

On 28/01/12 17:31, Liam Proven wrote:
> On 28 January 2012 16:27, Ted Wager<ted at trufflesdad.plus.com>  wrote:
>> I am not bothered. abt the data..All I want is for the machine to boot
>> from the hdd so the buyer can install an os. If they want a Linux system
>> I will install it but if they want Windows they are on their own.
> Use a DOS boot floppy - or USB stick - and type:
> fdisk /mbr
Thanks for the link.  I'll try to make a dos boot stick or boot cd.  I 
no longer have a floppy drive.  Actually, I did find that after 
re-formatting a drive using gparted, a Windows 7 installer disk refused 
to do anything because it declared that the target drive was not a valid 
bootable drive.  Before re-formatting, it was bootable into Windows XP 
and I re-formatted to get a fresh start.  I was not trying to use grub 
or set up dual boot.  I simply wanted a fresh install of Windows 7.  
Ubuntu was quite happy to install to the same drive.

In addition, I tried a Win XP install disk, and this failed with the 
same error message.  There seemed to be no way to get it to work until I 
restored the mbr.  As I had no dos or Windows to work from (using fdisk) 
Clonezilla provided me with a (slower) easy way to do the job.  I 
finished the day disliking Windows even more intensely than ever 
before.  Win 95 did at least let you use commandline tools such as fdisk 
and format from the install disk.  Then things got worse.

Regards,        Barry.

-- 
Barry Drake is a member of the the Ubuntu Advertising team.
http://ubuntuadverts.org/