My HP Laptop (dv6376nr) was stolen back in June 2008. I just received it back approx. a week ago and things aren't as I left them. When I had the laptop I ran an Ubuntu v. 7.10 disc and set up a dual boot. Well, the theives rebooted my laptop to the default settings erasing all info on Vista( the native operating system of which I never made a backup point on). Anyway, the 40 gigs I had set up for Ubuntu is still partitioned away from vista however I can't access it and there's no boot manager with an option to go into linux just the generic windows load up. I even tried to boot from the "sda3" partition directly (the one with Ubuntu) which was to no avail. I was wondering if i could repair the boot manager or erase the partition to redo the dual boot or if I am just out on 40 gigs. I have tried to run a "Derik's Boot And Nuke" disc thinking I could just erase everything and reinstall vista with the backup discs I made but the laptop didn't even read it.(I'm assuming it's an architexture or OS issue). I also tried running the Ubuntu disc again but it froze up on me (I might not have gave it enough time). As a side note, I don't have any files in the Ubuntu partition it was something I set up so I could play with Linux and learn it so I could break my Windows addiction. I apologize for the length of this post but I just wanted to supply as much info as possible. Thnx, Chris

So you have nothing on the machine you need anymore? I would suggest just using the vista installer. Reinstall vista when you get to the partitioning point in vista, delete all the partitions, and create new ones leaving a empty partition for linux. After you install vista, boot the Ubuntu CD and install it the same way you did before. Either way, if your laptop was stolen I would suggest you completely wipe the harddrive. You never know what someone might have done to it when they had it. Could be keyloggers, password sniffers, or anything else on that laptop right now. [Modified by: Khabi on August 07, 2008 12:16 AM]

Absolutely. If you must, backup needed personal files from the Vista partition. Then wipe the entire thing. Re-format or re-partition during install. You really should not try to repair the installation. Not safe.

I wouldn't trust anything on that drive. My suggestion is to download Knoppix from Distrowatch, burn it to an CD or DVD and use the following to wipe the disk: http://www.linux.com/feature/135944 also you can repartition the drive before you load anything with gparted which is on knoppix.

I recommend you to reformat your disk, reset your partitions and that's all, don't worry for your windows install, most of the distributions out there would detect it and leave it as is. you may want to try ubuntu 8.04.1 it is apparently very easy to install and use; is not an ad, I use slackware but some people may think it is just too rustic :)

Recover Ubuntu After Installing Microsoft Windows Lost your GRUB boot menu because you installed or re-installed Windows? Follow these steps to recover your list of Operating System (OS) choices: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows This will be good when upgrading to Windows Vista and you lose your GRUB menu… Of course, that’s if you decide to use Windows Vista at all.

I have the same problems before. And try to goolge it.

First, I'd cancel all my credit cards, change all my online passwords, and have my bank change my account number... Then I'd wipe the disc (say bye-bye to your data) and start from scratch. If there are files you absolutely need, you can pull the drive from the system, plug it into a USB enclosure, plug it into another Linux system (or boot yours from a thumb drive with drive still installed) and pull the data off that you cannot live without, AFTER scanning them for viruses! I've had to do that for clients before. I plug the drive into a usb enclosure, connect to my linux system, scan the drive partitions for viruses, pull the data needed off onto a thumb drive, then wipe the drive with an industrial strength formatting tool, reinstall the partition table and boot loader, and take it from there. Customers aren't happy that they have to reinstall all their software and data, but it's the ONLY safe way to make sure you don't get Pwned.

Thanks

Thanks guys, as a newbee its always difficult getting quality tips and solutions from the net.