Uninstalling GRUB 2

Reverting to GRUB Legacy

If a user chooses to return to GRUB legacy (0.97), these steps will remove GRUB 2 and install GRUB.

The command line produces a cleaner uninstall and reinstallation. While adding and removing the packages can be accomplished with Synaptic, certain steps must be accomplished in a terminal.

1. Open a terminal: Applications, Accessories, Terminal.
2. Optional: Make backup copies of the main GRUB 2 directories and files.

   • sudo cp /etc/default/grub /etc/default/grub.old

   • sudo cp -R /etc/grub.d /etc/grub.d.old

   • sudo cp -R /boot/grub /boot/grub.old

3. Remove GRUB 2

   • sudo apt-get purge grub-pc

   • The system will be unbootable until another bootloader is installed.

   • Once the packages are removed, many files will still remain in '/boot/grub'
4. Install GRUB 0.97

   • sudo apt-get install grub

5. With grub installed, the user must still create the menu.lst and stage1/stage2 files by running the following two commands.

   1. sudo grub-install /dev/sdX

      • Choose the correct device (sda, sdb, etc), normally the one on which Ubuntu is installed.

      • Creates the stage1 and stage2 files in /boot/grub and writes to the MBR.

   2. sudo update-grub

      • Generates menu.lst

      • Tab to "Yes" when prompted.
6. Reboot

If the user receives an "Unrecognized device string Error 11" message on rebooting see the Resolving an "Unrecognized Device String" (Error 11) section for instructions on how to edit the menu and make the system bootable.