Grub error after trying a clean install of windows vista...

[dvteixeira]

I had Linux mint on my PC but I wanted to install windows vista. So I did a clean install... There were two partitions that I deleted and I made one partition... But when i rebooted the PC I got the error message:
"error: unknown filesystem
grub rescue>"...
Now for some reason I am unable to boot from CDs and DVDs...

[glc]

You need to zero fill the hard drive. What brand is the drive? Do you have another computer? Do you have a USB hard drive adapter or housing?

[dvteixeira]

Some google help should tell me how to do that... (it's a seagate 80 gb... Yes, a notebook... And no I don't have one of those)
Thanks for thee reply though...

[glc]

You can zero fill it using Seatools for DOS or various other tools (DBAN, Killdisk). This will require you to boot from a CD or a flash drive.

[dvteixeira]

Well... The problem is, that I can't boot from cds...

[glc]

That's why I mentioned the USB adapter and using another computer.

[kilgoretrout]

How did you do the vista install if you can't boot from a cd? For that matter, how did you do the partition operations or install mint?

The grub error message indicates that you still have the grub bootloader on the mbr of your hard drive that was written there during your mint installation. When you installed windows it should have simply overwritten the grub bootloader with the windows bootloader. A zero fill is not normally necessary to get rid of grub first. The fact windows didn't overwrite the grub bootloader indicates that the windows installation did not go properly or at least not how you thought it did.

[dvteixeira]

The booting from a cd problem only occured after the vista install... Let me explain in grave detail...
My pc was running mint (but without an internet connection at home, what good is linux?) then, I decided to install vista. I put the cd in and rebooted, i got the "press any key to boot from cd..." message. So i hit enter and i got into the installer. When i got to the partition editing part, i deleted the partitions that were there (there were 2) and used the free space to create one partition (ntfs, obviously). I installed vista onto the one partition (the installation seemed normal). Then when it rebooted the error came up...
So now, if i put a cd in and i reboot, (I hit F12 and select the dvd drive) and "poof" the error message after about 5 seconds....

[glc]

You may have a coincidental failure of the DVD drive, or the DVD is dirty or damaged and no longer bootable.

[jdeb]

You need to zero fill the hard drive like suggested earlier but now you have to do it via a flash drive or USB/SATA adapter. You should have not installed Vista with Mint on the hard drive if your not experienced. GRUB is slapping you in the face.

[Tin]

Ive used Boot Repair in the past, and it works great for these types of issues. Actually, I just used it a few weeks ago when I set up my dual boot and installed GRUB to the wrong drive...fixed it up quick. Youll need a program called Unetbootin to write the .iso to a USB drive. Install .iso, boot, pick either a 32-bit or 64-bit environment, follow the directions, profit.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by Tin Ive used Boot Repair in the past, and it works great for these types of issues. Actually, I just used it a few weeks ago when I set up my dual boot and installed GRUB to the wrong drive...fixed it up quick. Youll need a program called Unetbootin to write the .iso to a USB drive. Install .iso, boot, pick either a 32-bit or 64-bit environment, follow the directions, profit.

Right but he would have never known about this and now he may have gone to far but it is worth a shot.

[dvteixeira]

Ok so right now I'm going to try Boot Repair. (I already tried to get into parted magic with Unetbootin, but it was a fail)