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I had installed Ubuntu in Win OS under different partition (E:) and then formatted my windows (C:), now I am not able to see the partition that had the wubi virtual disk on it (E:) and I do not get the option of booting Ubuntu OS when the PC starts up.

Kindly assist me to recover my partition (E:) and give me the steps as in what is to be done before installing the ubuntu so that it can be recovered easily next time.

Thanks, Amit

fabricator4
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Amit
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2 Answers2

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This post outlines a procedure to restore Ubuntu with Wubi after reinstalling Windows:

  1. Install Wubi with the same version as before. You should obviously install this in a different locaton that your old installation was, as to not overwrite that.
  2. Restart your computer and let Ubuntu finish installing.
  3. Reboot again, select Ubuntu but instead of starting Ubuntu, press the "e" key to edit.
  4. Look for the lines set root=(hdX,Y) and linux /boot/xxxxx root=/dev/sdMY xxxx.
  5. Take notes of the values on these lines.
  6. Reboot your computer (press ESC to return to the menu, press "c" to go to the GRUB prompt and type "reboot" to reboot).
  7. Go back into Windows and copy the root.disk from your saved installation over the root.disk in your new installation.
  8. Reboot again, press "e" again to edit and replace the values with those previously noted. Also delete the line search --no-floppy xxxxx.
  9. Press Ctrl+X to reboot.
  10. Once booted, open a terminal and type sudo update-grub.
Freyja
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The WUBI install uses parts of Windows during installation, at every boot, and for uninstallation. If you format C: and reinstall Windows, you have to install Ubuntu again, like any Windows program.

If you used the default location for WUBI install, then Ubuntu was installed in C: and is now gone. If you installed Ubuntu using WUBI in E: then the E: drive should be still accessible from Windows.

  1. Check that root.disk file in E:\Ubuntu\Disks still exists. If this file does not exist, nothing can be done.
  2. Copy root.disk to another folder such as "E:\My Important Staff"
  3. Install Ubuntu using WUBI again in E:. just as you had done before. This will overwrite E:\Ubuntu. Replace the root.disk in E:\Ubuntu\Disks using the one you had copied in "E:\My Important Staff".
  4. Now reboot your computer. You should be able to boot to Ubuntu and get your data back.

See Formatting C:/ in Windows while ubuntu is installed in D:/

WUBI installation has some limitations.

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user68186
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