Uninstallation

okay so i installed kde to my usb drive but i think the grub also went to it because im running windows 7 and now kde but would like to know how to uninstall it if i ever have to. and also i cannot boot my computer unless that specific usb is connected:\

okay so i installed kde to my usb drive but i think the grub also went to it because im running windows 7 and now kde but would like to know how to uninstall it if i ever have to. and also i cannot boot my computer unless that specific usb is connected
So this is a pretty cryptic one liner on your problem. Did you install openSUSE to a USB thumb drive or what? What version of openSUSE did you install? If, you unplug this drive and grub loads with an error 21, I think it is, then you installed the Grub boot loader into the MBR (Master Boot Record). I normally suggest that you do not do that if you intend on loading openSUSE onto an external or aux drive, such as a Thumb drive. That is because, if you remove the external or aux drive, grub can not work and will not run your Windows copy either. I suggest providing a little more information about your system and just what you did to get into this predicament you are in now.

Thank You,

PS, getting Windows 7 to work again when your thumb drive is removed is similar to getting Windows 7 to load Service Pack 1 after loading openSUSE. You can read about that issue here:

openSUSE Dual Booting with Windows 7 AND Loading Service Pack 1 for Windows 7

installed OPENSUSE kde 11.4 on a thumb drive of 8gb.

  1. downloaded the opensuse 11.4 KDE iso image
  2. created the live cd
  3. ran the live cd and clicked installtion
  4. went through all the **** about time zone and stuff
    5.Disk: clicked create new partition, did so to the thumb drive and gave it 6gb of memory and left the other 2 gb for windows
  5. stupidly ad in a hurry clicked install without reading the summary of what it was about to do
  6. installed it and everything was fine
  7. tried to boot without the thumb drive connected and got the grub error 21 :frowning:

Specs of my laptop:
OS: windows 7 64 bit SP1
CPU: i7 7400QM @ 1.73ghz
RAM: 4gb ddr3

On 2011-03-20 09:36, DtotheAN wrote:
>
> installed OPENSUSE kde 11.4 on a thumb drive of 8gb.
> 1. downloaded the opensuse 11.4 KDE iso image
> 2. created the live cd
> 3. ran the live cd and clicked installtion
> 4. went through all the **** about time zone and stuff
> 5.Disk: clicked create new partition, did so to the thumb drive and
> gave it 6gb of memory and left the other 2 gb for windows
> 6. stupidly ad in a hurry clicked install without reading the summary
> of what it was about to do
> 7. installed it and everything was fine
> 8. tried to boot without the thumb drive connected and got the grub
> error 21 :frowning:
>
> Specs of my laptop:
> OS: windows 7 64 bit SP1
> CPU: i7 7400QM @ 1.73ghz
> RAM: 4gb ddr3

Assuming you want to unistall, what you have to do is simply replace the
MBR of the main disk with a default, generic code.

It is possible that in the /boot directory of the thumb drive there is a
“backup_mbr” file; copying that over to the mbr of the boot disk would
work. Perhaps. Doable in linux with dd.

Another method is, with a windows/dos boot disk, run “fdisk /mbr”. With W7
I’m not so sure, but this question has been asked before here, so search a bit.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

okay what if i just want to somehow move the GRUB to an internal hdd so that i dont need the thumb drive to boot windows even, is there a way to do that?

sorry if a seem dumb, im just sorta new at this stuff

thanks

On 2011-03-21 08:06, DtotheAN wrote:
>
> okay what if i just want to somehow move the GRUB to an internal hdd so
> that i dont need the thumb drive to boot windows even, is there a way to
> do that?

The method that appears to work is place grub totally outside, and change
the boot order in the bios to first USB, then internal disk. Search the
forum, this has been explained before.

Currently you have a modified MBR inside and the rest of grub outside - I
think, guessing.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

IMO
As you’ve discovered when configuring a multi-boot particularly involving removable media it requires some thought and planning not to mention understanding to guide the install.

Exact steps are found in this forum but here is a start…

What you seem to want is to “Chainload” your bootloaders but you’re finding the default isn’t what you really want.

You should know that when you install openSUSE the default behavior is to assume that your system will boot first to the new bootloader (GRUB) and if the OS isn’t listed in the menu you then have an option to boot to the next bootloader (Windows BCD). Probably one of the main reasons why openSUSE does is this is that this doesn’t make changes to the BCD, the only major change is to modify the MBR to point to a different location where GRUB is located instead of the BCD (which as noted above can be easily changed back with a simple fdisk /mbr).

From the sound of what you’re asking/hoping is that you’d probably prefer to retain the BCD as your first bootloader. The alternative is to locate GRUB on your non-removable HDs (requires its own partition and often within the first 9.8GB or 128GB of the first disk depending on the capabilities of your BIOS). If you want the BCD to continue as the first bootloader then an entry needs to be created pointing to GRUB which can be on your USB stick. That way, regardless whether your removable media is attached or not, the MBR will point to the location of your first bootloader which is on your non-removable disk.

Specifics on this can be found here in these forums as well as on the Web. Post back if you <really> can’t find a reliable guide.

HTH,
Tony