How to restore the Vista bootloader from GRUB

This tutorial is for restoring the Windows Vista Bootloader.
It is mainly aimed at those dual booting Vista who want to remove a Linux GRUB bootloader after formatting/removing a linux partition.

First of all you will need a Vista recovery disk (or your genuine Microsoft Vista DVD).
If you do not have either of these then follow the instructions below:

Click on the link below to download the ISO image for the Vista recovery disk.
Save this to your hard drive in a convenient place.

Windows Vista Recovery Disc Image (120 Mb)

Now burn this image to a CD/DVD.
There are many programs which will enable you do this such as:

Active ISO Burner (free)
ImgBurn (free)
Or licenced products such as:
Nero
Magic ISO
ISO Buster

Once you have burned the image to disc we can then proceed to the next step - how to recover the Vista Bootloader.

Recovering the bootloader
Place your Vista recovery disk in the drive and reboot your computer.
If your computer does not automatically boot from the new boot disk then you will have to change your BIOS settings to enable your CD Rom as the 1st boot device. For details of how to enter you BIOS read this article.

As your computer boots you should see the screen below appear.
All you need to do here is to select the details which are relevant to your computer and click on the Next button.



Once you have clicked Next you will transferred to the next screen in sequence; choose the option to Repair your computer



This will then take you to the next screen shown below. In this window you should be able to see your operating system listed. If it is not as in this case then you will need to load the drivers for your SATA disk/hard drive by clicking on the Load Drivers button and browse to the location where the drivers are stored. Once done highlight your operating system (There should only be one listed) then click on the Next button



On the next screen choose the option Command Prompt



This will take you to a black and white DOS window.



Type in the following text exactly as you see it bootrec /fixmbr and press the enter key. (Note the space between bootrec and /.)



Next - type in the following text exactly as you see it bootrec /fixboot and press the Enter key. Note the space between bootrec and /.)



Now type in exit and press the Enter key



You will be taken back to the main menu - Select the Restart button to restart your computer and your PC should now be restored to the Vista default bootloader.

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