Attempted to use Ubuntu to resize partitions, lost Windows 7

Question

I will attempt to keep this as comprehensive as possible.

Long story - short of how this all came to be: Windows 7 partition ran out of room (insanely made this 120GB, far too small for my needs), I deleted Ubuntu 10.04 and reinstalled Windows 7. I now have two Windows 7 running side by side with the option to boot either at start-up. I did this with the intention of being lazy moving files.

All went well until it came time to remove the original Windows 7 install. Using a USB iso of 12.04 I removed the 120 GB Windows 7 install. I ran out of time to complete the resize (and figured for safety sake I should do only one operation at a time), so at this point I restarted. No boot... CRAP.

Thought installing Ubuntu might cause GRUB to give me dual boot options, nope.

At this point, I have read forum after forum and after trying countless various fixes such as boot repair in Ubuntu, repairing from the Windows 7 CD, banging my head on the keyboard, I am at wits end.

Also I don't know if this helps but here it is http://paste.ubuntu.com/1361152/.

With an error in the terminal:

(glade2script:11316): Gtk-WARNING **: Attempting to set the permissions of `/root/.local/share/recently-used.xbel', but failed: No such file or directory
ocal/share/recently-used.xbel.MIYUNW': No such file or directory

So, now I pray that one of you wonderfully genius people can assist me.

Answer 1

I'm guessing you ruined your windows MBR which can quite easily be fixed using your windows 7 CD, after which grub will be gone.

Answer 2

You should do these steps:

1. Recover lost partitions (only the ones you need) with Testdisk. A very comprehensible thread can be found here: Recovering deleted ext4 Ubuntu partitions.

   • Basically, install testdisk in Ubuntu and run it.
   • Choose your harddisk, probably /dev/sda/
   • Choose [Intel/PC] partition type
   • Choose [Analyze], then [Quick Search]. Testdisk will scan for lost partitions now.

   • If all your partitions are found, navigate to the next screen and choose [Write] and reboot

   • If the Windows partition is still gone, run Testdisk again - this time, choose the option
     [MBR Code] Write TestDisk MBR code to first sector

2. Restore your GRUB menu by booting up Ubuntu and running Boot-Repair once again. I am no expert for GRUB, but theoretically you'll get access to your scrambled installation this way.

Reference: Full Testdisk manual.