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Byline: Barry Shilliday
Grub problems solved
Dual-booting is normally configured to work automatically, and our typical example is one where little or no knowledge is needed to get everything up and running. There are, however, some important issues to bear in mind when running a dual-boot system from the MBR.
If you reinstall Windows, it impolitely overwrites the MBR and marks its own partition as active. That means Windows is guaranteed to boot up, but it also prevents you from booting Linux afterwards. For this reason, it is essential to install Linux after Windows.
If you want to remove Linux from a dual-booting PC, do not simply remove the Linux partitions. This is because grub works in two parts: the boot code that sits on the MBR, and the remaining code sitting on the Linux partition. Grub cannot start without both, so removal of the Linux partition will prevent the computer from booting.
One solution to this is to run the Windows installation CD, and choose only to reinstall the MBR. There is also Linux ...