up vote 29 down vote favorite
24

I installed Ubuntu on a system that has Windows 10 installed. I can boot to Windows or Ubuntu normally using GRUB. I want to delete Ubuntu partition, but first I must restore the Windows 10 MBR.

In Use Bootrec.exe in the Windows RE to troubleshoot startup issues (applies to Windows 7 and Windows Vista) they say to use Bootrec.exe with options /FixMbr /FixBoot, but when I type "bootrec.exe /FixMbr" in a command prompt, Windows says:

'bootrec.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command.

I say I can boot to Windows 10 and run a command prompt from there (I don't need to use an installation medium), but I don't know what to enter.

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A quick fix is to boot into the installation media anyway to run bootrec. (Perhaps someone else knows of a solution that doesn't require that.) – Maximillian Laumeister Aug 2 '15 at 4:10
    
I have 5mbs, so I'll take me ~3 hours to create Win10 usb boot, I thought I could fix MBR from Windows, like EasyBCD utilty does (not working yet for Win10) – Codyfly Aug 2 '15 at 4:28
    
It might be helpful to edit your question (and its title) to specify that you're looking for a solution that doesn't involve the installation media. I just gave you an upvote, because I'm also curious if it can be done. – Maximillian Laumeister Aug 2 '15 at 4:35
    
I finished downloading Win10 and fixed installation via command prompt on recovery disk – Codyfly Aug 2 '15 at 6:02
    
Glad to hear it, and apologies I couldn't help you do it without the install disk. – Maximillian Laumeister Aug 2 '15 at 6:03
up vote 60 down vote

The command in Windows 8/8.1/10 for fixing MBR is "bootsect.exe".

bootsect /nt60 drive_letter: /mbr

this fixes boot record of partition mapped to "drive_letter:" and the MBR of the disk where the partition is placed. 

C:\Windows\system32>bootsect

bootsect {/help|/nt60|/nt52} {SYS|ALL|<DriveLetter>:} [/force] [/mbr]

Boot sector restoration tool

Bootsect.exe updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions in order to
switch between BOOTMGR and NTLDR.  You can use this tool to restore the boot
sector on your computer.

Run "bootsect /help" for detailed usage instructions.

Alternatively you can use "Dual-boot Repair Tool" which has a graphical interface to bcdboot.exe, bootsect.exe and other useful functions like boot sector view and ... one click dual-boot repair function for Windows 10/8/7/Vista (also can fix Windows XP boot files).

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3  
THIS!!...thankyou. Nothing seemed to work on my asus ROG with default windows 10 after i dual booted it with ubuntu and tried to remove ubuntu. I simply logged in to windows and used visiual dualbootrepair. i had tried easybcd and live ubuntu usb bootrepair ( as i dint have win 10 cds)....none of that worked....this worked...an entire day but your answer saved me..thanks!!! – yUdoDis May 28 '16 at 12:25
    
Thanks @snayob - this is exactly what the boot repair option on the recovery disk should do – rvalue Jun 11 '16 at 2:59
up vote 6 down vote

I was having the following issue:

I had Ubuntu and Windows 10 and deleted Ubuntu partitions using Windows 10. After a restart I got the Partition not found error and automatically entered GRUB.

Here's how I solved it:

  1. I burned a Windows 10 CD, entered troubleshooting, and from there I entered Windows Console.
  2. Then I typed in: bootsect /nt60 drive_letter: /mbr (replace drive_letter with your letter. for example, for me it was C: /mbr).
  3. And it finally worked.

I hope this also clarifies the solution for people with the same problem as me.

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1  
This doesn't work for me. It still continues to boot to GRUB. I've also tried the GUI tool. Any suggestions? – Jack May 22 '16 at 17:31
1  
how do you just "burn a windows 10 cd"? – Thufir Dec 12 '16 at 11:26
2  
@Thufir: create a windows 10 system repair disc – Steve Dec 15 '16 at 5:29
    
Thanks ! I had to add /force and it worked. It should be noted that it's better to check before what is the assigned letter of the partition ; mine was renamed to E: in the Windows Console. – Michaël Polla Oct 15 '17 at 18:30

protected by Community♦ Feb 25 '16 at 18:26

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