I have Windows 8 pre-installed, and then I installed GRUB with Ubuntu. Ubuntu is not my thing, so now I want to remove it along with GRUB. From what I have learned, with UEFI, GRUB does not overwrite the windows bootloader in the EFI partition and is stored elsewhere. How would I remove GRUB and make my PC use the Windows bootloader instead? It should be noted that I created a separate /boot partition when installing Ubuntu.
12 Answers
This answer is for those with UEFI who have deleted the Ubuntu partitions before removing grub
You will be doing this from Windows 10. No bootable media required.
Where bootrec /fixmbr, bootsect /nt60 and the Ubuntu live with the boot-repair suggestions have failed, this has worked for me:
(This answer borrowed verbatim from here)
- Run a
cmd.exeprocess with administrator privileges - Run
diskpart - Type:
list diskthensel disk Xwhere X is the drive your boot files reside on - Type
list volto see all partitions (volumes) on the disk (the EFI volume will be formatted in FAT, others will be NTFS) - Select the EFI volume by typing:
sel vol Ywhere Y is theSYSTEMvolume (this is almost always the EFI partition) - For convenience, assign a drive letter by typing:
assign letter=Z:where Z is a free (unused) drive letter - Type
exitto leave disk part - While still in the
cmdprompt, type:Z:and hit enter, where Z was the drive letter you just created. - Type
dirto list directories on this mounted EFI partition - If you are in the right place, you should see a directory called
EFI - Type
cd EFIand thendirto list the child directories insideEFI - Type
rmdir /S ubuntuto delete the ubuntu boot directory
Assuming you only ever had two operating systems (Win 10 & Ubuntu) you should now be able to boot directly to Windows without hitting the black grub screen.
To restore Win 10 default bootloader follow these steps:
- Log into Win 10
- Open Command Prompt (Admin)
c:\> bootsect /nt60 <drive name>: /mbr
<drive name> is the drive letter where the Master Boot Record (MBR) will be updated
For example to update C master boot record this is the command:
c:\> bootsect /nt60 c: /mbr
For more help about bootsect command see here -
You can restore the Windows bootloader with a Windows 8/8.1 DVD. These instructions are inspired by Manindra Mehra's answer, but I expanded it with full working details (verified with a Windows 8.1 DVD).
Put the DVD in your optical drive and boot from it.
Press a key when it displays
Press any key to start from CD or DVD.Select your language etc. and click
Next.Click
Repair your computer.Click
Troubleshoot.Click
Advanced Options.Click
Command Prompt.In the command prompt window, type
bootrec /fixmbrClick the red
Xto close the command prompt.Click
Turn off your PC.Turn the PC back on and it should boot directly into Windows.
This leaves the Ubuntu partition on your hard drive or SSD. To remove it:
Hit
Windows+Xand selectDisk Management.Find the Ubuntu partition. It will probably be a large partition without a drive letter.
Be sure you have the correct partition!
Right-click the partition and delete or reformat it with a Windows filesystem.
Remove Boot Loader EFI / System Partion in Windows 10
Quick Guide
Open PowerShell as Administrator
mountvol S: /S
S:
cd .\EFI\
dir
rd /S Ubuntu