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I know that there have been dozens of posts about booting troubles, and I've read my fair share of them, but nothing quite comes close to my specific problem.

So recently a friend of mine got me interested in trying out Linux (long story, but suffice it to say, it was time for a change), so I downloaded a Ubuntu distro. I had previously done a restore of Windows on my laptop using a recovery cd, and when I tried to install Ubuntu so I could dual boot, it wouldn't recognize that I had another OS on my machine (I was running Windows 7), so I formatted my hard drive, and using a boot disk I installed and then ran Ubuntu.

All was well until I wanted to play some games and just couldn't get them to work using Ubuntu (I tried a virtual machine and wine, nothing worked), so I decided to reinstall Windows. When I popped in the recovery disk, it kept booting straight to Ubuntu and I was unable to change the boot order in BIOS. so I decided to format my hard drive (again) and just reinstall Windows. And this is where it got tricky.

Using the disks program in Ubuntu I formatted my hard drive, completely erasing all data on the main partition..... And a smaller partition that I didn't recognize. This turned out to be my recovery partition. Anyway, so after formatting the drive, I turned off the laptop, stuck the recovery disk in, and powered it on. The laptop turns on, I get the manufacturer's logo (Samsung)..... And then it restarts. And it keeps doing this.

With the recovery disk in the drive, I'm able to F3 and make it start the windows install, but after it installs, the screen goes black, and doesn't do anything else. When I eventually hold down the power key to turn it off and try to restart, it has the same problem that it had before, it starts, displays manufacturer's logo, and then restarts, all in about 3-5 seconds, none of the options work (F2, Del, F12....).

I am at my wits end, and have decided to ask for help from this illustrious members of this community. Thanks for reading this very long post! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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  • It could be that the recovery disk is faulty, or there isn't a driver for the laptop graphics. Do have an external monitor you can try?
    – Paul
    Oct 21, 2014 at 23:50
  • Other manufacturers (e.g. HP, Lenovo) let you make a set of restoration DVDs or CDs that can create a factory-fresh install on a HDD. Did you ever make such a set of discs?
    – sawdust
    Oct 22, 2014 at 0:44
  • To enter BIOS for a Samsung laptop, have you tried Esc or F10? And don't long press but make it short successive taps. What model is your laptop? Oct 22, 2014 at 6:39

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You didn't kill your computer, you just wiped out Windows. The recovery disk is intended to recover Windows that is installed, not to reinstall Windows from scratch. If your original Windows key is on a sticker on your computer, you could reinstall Windows from the generic iso. This is slightly different from what was installed on your computer. What was installed was a customized version of Windows prepared by the computer manufacturer with drivers for the hardware in your computer and perhaps some bundled utilities. The iso is the generic Microsoft version that the manufacturer started with.

Use your Ubuntu LiveDVD as a temporary operating system or use another computer. Download the same version of Windows 7 as what was previously loaded (for example, you can't use a Windows Home Version key with a Windows Ultimate iso). Here is a link to all of the Windows 7 iso files from Digital River (the official distributor for Microsoft): Win 7 iso links.

Burn the iso to a DVD, which will make it a bootable install disk. Then install it on the computer. Use your product key to register it.

It comes with generic drivers so everything should basically work. However, you may not get all of the features from your hardware without the specific hardware drivers (particularly video). Go to the computer manufacturer's web site to download the OEM drivers for your hardware (don't go to the hardware manufacturers' web sites). The drivers provided by the computer manufacturer were designed to work with the hardware in your machine, which is usually chip sets built into the motherboard. These versions may not exactly match the separate retail product and the device manufacturer's drivers for the retail product often will not work properly.

Once you get everything running, make a mirror image backup. This is an exact copy of what is on the hard disk which you could use to restore everything to its current state if you accidentally wipe it again. You should also be able to create a new restore disk.

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  • Thank you so much for the advice! So I did as you suggested, created a Windows 7 boot CD from the iso, and was able to go through the installation process. But when it finished installing, it restarted, and now the laptop is stuck in the same boot loop, it turns on for 3 seconds, shows the manufacturer's logo, and restarts.
    – user382280
    Oct 23, 2014 at 0:51
  • Can you boot up and run on Ubuntu at this point (LiveDVD)? If so, that would indicate that the problem is not hardware
    – fixer1234
    Oct 23, 2014 at 1:26
  • So I just tried the Ubuntu live disk, and it worked! So I was able to get into Ubuntu. So I'm guessing this means I've got a problem with the boot order on my laptop?
    – user382280
    Oct 23, 2014 at 3:24
  • Well, it worked once, then I shut the computer down. When I tried to do it again, it won't boot using the live disk.
    – user382280
    Oct 23, 2014 at 3:33
  • Probably not the boot order but something early in the boot, maybe a MBR problem. You need to get input from someone more knowledgeable about Windows boot issues. Update your question to reflect the latest trial and the result, and mention in the first sentence the the recommendation in the answer did not work (that will show up in the summary so people won't assume that the answer fixed it). Revise the title to something like: "Computer won't boot after uninstalling Ubuntu and reinstalling Windows". That will refresh it in the active questions list and hopefully get some fresh input.
    – fixer1234
    Oct 23, 2014 at 3:44

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