Removing and reinstalling

[kar]

Just installed kubuntu from a liveCD, and it works fine from an external drive.
What I should like is to do, is remove kubuntu, partition the external drive, reinstall kubuntu on one of the new partitions, and edit GRUB to make Windows the defaul OS.
Can anyone help with that?

[Qqmike]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

See the uninstall page at:
Bigpond, home: http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/

Then his GRUB page.

Use GParted Live CD to do the partitioning and formatting:
GParted: http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
GParted how-to: http://www.howtoforge.com/partitioning_with_gparted

Another good one for installing with the regular Live Desktop CD is:
Psychocats: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php

I put Kubuntu on an external HDD and wrote that up at:
How To Make GRUB Thumb Drive
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081748.0
How to install K/Ubuntu 7.04 to an external USB hard disk drive (HDD), 8-14-07

[Snowhog]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

Qqmike -

Does kar have to any of this? As stated, Kubuntu is installed on an existing external HD. So Windows is installed on an internal HD. Can't the /boot/grub/menu.lst just be edited to change the default booting OS?

kar -

Am I correct? You have Windose installed, and working, from your internal HD?

[marshallbanana]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

Personally I'm not sure you need anything but the standard kubuntu live cd. Just edit the partitions to how you want using the partition editor that is used halfway through the install process. If you wipe the external and reformat it in this way that will effectively uninstall it.

As for grub you just have to edit the line which sets the default menu number, to do this open the file /boot/grub/menu.lst (just go to command line and type 'sudo kwrite /boot/grub/menu.lst'). The relevant part is the following:

# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

So just change that zero to whichever entry number (count starts from zero) in the list of options you see when starting up. For example if grub shows something like the following list:

Ubuntu
Ubuntu alt
Ubuntu mem test
Other operating systems
Windows

then you would change that 0 to a 4 to make windows the default (the line 'other operating systems' counts)

[marshallbanana]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

Does kar have to any of this? As stated, Kubuntu is installed on an existing external HD. So Windows is installed on an internal HD. Can't the /boot/grub/menu.lst just be edited to change the default booting OS?

True, but first kar wants to

What I should like is to do, is remove kubuntu, partition the external drive, reinstall kubuntu on one of the new partitions

and then edit grub

[Qqmike]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

marshallbanana is on track here. If you wipe the drive with GParted, that cleans things up completely. (i.e, delete all partitions, then re-partition and format).

BIOS must be able to boot from USB (he tested that already). Now you want windows XP on the first partition of the external HDD? then Kubuntu. If so, the regular Desktop Live CD will work, use manual partitioning, and at Step 6, click the Advanced button and put GRUB in the MBR of the external hdd -- you do not want GRUB to go on any internal HDD, correct guys? Then, when the external HDD is connected (to USB port and power) and On, when you boot the PC, it will boot from the external drive.

If this is what you want, plan ahead and know how your system sees the external drive for Step 6 (ie, as hd0, hd1, hd2, or what?). If your external is seen as, say, hd1, that's what goes in Step 6 Advanced: (hd1), including the parentheses.

Edit: We need some feedback from kar on what he wants. I just re-read all this and I may not have it right yet. Windows is on the intrenal drive and will stay there, right?

[kar]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

Thanks guys. A lot of useful information here.
Windows is on the internal drive (C and I suppose sect. #1 of GRUB
sits on the MBR of this drive. I don´t need to clean that up, just alter the boot sequence.

[Snowhog]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

It will be helpful to see what your /boot/grub/menu.lst looks like. Also, open a konsole shell and type:

sudo fdisk -l

(that is a lower case L)
and paste the results too.

[Qqmike]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

Yes, what Snowhog said.
Sorry about being off-track here -- I see now that you want to boot Kubuntu (on the external USB HDD) from the MBR (hd0) of your internal HDD. Got it (finally!).
Follow what these guys are saying here and you'll be up & running.

[kar]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

Up and running!
Thanks guys, your help was invaluable.

Despite warnings, I repartitioned the external USB drive using Windows Disk Manager, and then reinstalled Kubuntu from the liveCD. No hickups!
Grub was edited via Konqeror.: Right click on menu.lst, choose "actions" and "edit to root"
With the use of password, Changes can be saved.
Thanks again!

[Snowhog]

Re: Removing and reinstalling

Glad you got it all working.