Ubuntu – How to create or recover Windows Bootloader after deleting Ubuntu boot drive

1. Sources

   The official DualBoot help guide should be on your reading list. It covers a lot more including links on how to repair things should they go wrong.

   I have nothing against the "iinet" website you've linked to but several steps could be simplified. I'd personally opt to resize the Windows partition before running the installer. This will allow you to just select the "Install alongside other operating systems" option when that choice appears and that'll shave off several steps in the installer (and simplify the process).

   I guess something worth mentioning is you probably shouldn't read too much. Sounds strange but there are indeed many ways to skin a cat and if you get conflicting advice from different sources, you end up confused. Pick one way and follow it.

2. Shrinking NTFS

   If fairness to gparted (et al) they offer just as much a guarantee as Windows does resizing it itself. That is to say: none.

   If you have data on there that you can't restore with just a reinstall and a small amount of time, back up your data! You don't have to go as far as cloning the whole partition (via CloneZilla et al), you can just punt your profile (documents, photos, other media, etc) off to an external disk or even an online backup service.

   But for what it's worth, parted (and it's graphical counterparts) is quite a robust tool that doesn't take your data integrity lightly. It will test as much as it can before doing anything. I've never had any problems with gparted in 5 years of using it.

   Either approach is equally good. Use whatever you're most comfortable with.

3. A /boot/ partition

   I don't see any benefit of a dedicated boot partition. It's not needed.

4. MBR setup

   I'd personally let Ubuntu claim the MBR on the disk (just do the standard setup) it should pick up Windows 7 and add it to the boot list.

   Of course things can go wrong at this stage but they're usually repairable. (Unlike my usual advice) I suggest you just roll with it and worry later. A lot of work goes into making Ubuntu dual-boot in a sensible way so you shouldn't need to do anything.

The procedure which has worked for me is outlined below.

Did you perform the install of the NeoGrub bootloader in step (3)? If NeoGrub is installed then there will be a \NST folder on your C: drive.

I think this step is sometimes left out of guides for setting up EasyBCD.

Using EasyBCD to Boot to GRUB from Windows Boot Menu

1. Start Windows and install the free version of EasyBCD.
2. Open the EasyBCD program and select Add New Entry from the sidebar on the left.
3. Select the rightmost tab, NeoGrub, under "Operating Systems" and click the Install button.
   
   
   
   Note: This adds the NeoGrub bootloader code to your C:\ folder. If the install worked correctly you will see the file C:\NeoGrub and the folder C:\NST.
4. Select the Linux/BSD tab. Choose GRUB2 as the type of the entry and, optionally, edit the name of the entry you are about to add to the Windows Boot menu.
   
   
   
   Click the Add Entry button to add an entry to boot Linux (GRUB menu) to the Windows boot menu.
5. Select Edit Boot Menu from the sidebar to review your changes.
   
   Note: You can delete the entry for NeoGrub Bootloader if you wish.
   You need the bootloader, but you do not need a boot menu entry for it unless you are using it in some other way.
6. Save your changes and reboot. When the Windows boot menu appears, select the EasyBCD entry you added to boot Linux. You should see something similar to the text below.
   
   
   
   Then the GNU GRUB boot menu should appear.