How To Install Windows 7 Bootloader

If you are reading this, you take likely attempted or really prepare upwardly a dual-boot arrangement between your favorite Linux distribution and Windows. And if you did that on a computer with a unmarried hard bulldoze, that is, dual-booting Windows and Linux alongside each other, you probably replaced the Windows kicking loader with GRUB, the Linux kicking loader, in the Master Boot Record (MBR).

Though that is not what I recommend, many still prefer it that way, even as I have written in many of my dual-boot tutorials that Windows volition, during a reinstall, overwrite anything it finds in the MBR, and that some anti-virus programs tend to write small files to the MBR, messing upwards Chow.

For the record, my recommendation is to install the Linux boot loader, not in the MBR, but in the Linux installation's kick sectionalization, or the main partitioning, if /kicking is not on a carve up partitioning. This gives the Windows boot director the chief responsibility of presenting what operating system to kicking into during a restart or reboot.

That way, if you have to reinstall Windows, you will non lose access to the Linux side of the dual-boot system. If you installed the Linux kick loader to the MBR and want to restore the Windows kicking loader, this short tutorial shows yous how to do it. Information technology is an like shooting fish in a barrel, betoken-and-click process. And the application that makes it that easy is called EasyBCD, a free-for-personal-utilize application from Neosmart Technologies.

To download information technology, become here. The link to download it for costless is all the way at the bottom of that page, so curlicue down and click on the "Download free for express, not-commercial use" link. After the download, install it every bit you would whatsoever other Windows awarding.

EasyBCD'due south chief view is shown in the screen shot below. To restore Windows 7's boot loader to the MBR, click on the BCD Deployment tab.

Once at that place, click on the Write MBR button. If you lot are running Windows XP, select the option under MBR Configuration Options

If successful, a message at the bottom left of the window volition say just that. That was easy, right? But that too ways that you have lost Chow. If yous reboot without doing annihilation else, y'all volition find that there is no fashion to kick into the Linux side. If you do not desire to continue using the Linux installation, then you do not need to do whatever thing else from EasyBCD. You lot might want to delete the Linux partitions to costless upwardly infinite for use by Windows.

If, however, yous yet want to exist able to boot into the Linux installation later restoring the Windows boot manager to the MBR, you need to add an entry for the Linux distribution in the boot manager's menu. To do that, click on the Add New Entry tab.

While there, click on the Linux/BSD tab, so select "GRUB 2" from the "Type" dropdown card. Modify the "Name" field to reflect the name of your Linux distribution. Click the Add Entry button. Click Edit Kick Card tab to see the new entry. Note: Nigh Linux distributions employ GRUB two as the kick loader. If yours uses GRUB Legacy, select it from the aforementioned dropdown carte du jour, and be sure to specify what partition information technology is installed into from the "Device" dropdown menu.

You should see 2 entries. One for Windows 7, the other for the Linux distribution. You may change the boot order. If you are satisfied with this performance, exit EasyBCD and reboot the computer.

You should see the Windows boot menu that you saw on the start page of this commodity. This last image was taken from a tutorial written for Chakra. You lot may read it at How to dual-boot Windows seven and Chakra Linux Archimedes, with shared NTFS partition at the stop.

Bonus Info – What do you do, if afterward setting up a dual-kicking arrangement between Windows and Linux y'all decide that you no longer what to utilize Linux? Easy! Delete the Linux partitions. How?

Kick into Windows and first the partition manager (type "partition" into the bill of fare's search field and click on the result). This screen shot is from a test installation I did. The Linux partitions are indicated in carmine.

To delete them, right-click on each and select "Delete Volume" from the context carte du jour. That is all you demand to do.

What if yous determine, after playing with Linux for a while, that you like it better than Windows, and want to get rid of Windows? Well, because Windows is sitting at the front part of the hard bulldoze, the best solution is to reinstall your Linux distribution, completely wiping both Windows and the original instance of the Linux distribution from the bulldoze. Before doing it, be certain to back up your data.

Source: https://linuxbsdos.com/2012/03/10/restore-the-windows-bootloader-to-mbr-after-dual-booting-with-linux/

Posted by: gonzalesmoseng.blogspot.com

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