Reinstall Ubuntu 14.04 without cd or usb. (Windows installed aside it)

Question

My Ubuntu installation is currently ... a mess. There is no other way to put it.

So I want to reinstall ubuntu. Unfortunately I lost my install dvd a while ago and I don't have another dvd. I also don't have an usb-stick to install it to. I did read something on the wiki that you can use minimal installation (I have a 700 mb cd available).

However that doesn't appear to be the solution as that will leave out the gui and all the other things that I need. So I'm looking for a way to install it.

I also read something about unetbootin, but I have a bad experience with it so I am a little hesistant to use it.

I have Ubuntu and Windows XP installed on my pc.

Answer 1

If your old Ubuntu's GRUB still loads correctly, then you might be able to just copy the whole iso to your hard drive, and edit the grub.cfg file to add some lines like

menuentry '[loopback]ubuntu-14.04.1-desktop-amd64' {
    set isofile='/boot/iso/ubuntu-14.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso'
    loopback loop $isofile
    linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz.efi boot=casper iso-scan/filename=$isofile locale=en_US.UTF-8
    initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
}

[linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz.efi may need to be linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz, and I've used it successfully without "locale=en_US.UTF-8"]

and then boot Ubuntu from the ISO on your hard drive.

If you wanted to overwrite the partition that holds the ISO, you would probably need more than 2GB of ram, and the extra boot/kernel option toram (added to the linux (loop)... line), then the whole ISO would be copied & run from ram, letting you overwrite your hard drive all you want.

For more info:

• ArchWiki on Multiboot USB drive - Oriented towards making a USB, but if GRUB works on your hard drive the same principles should apply

But it would probably be easier to pick up a cheap DVD-R or DVD-RW, or an ultra-cheap 2GB USB drive, and make a new bootable Ubuntu DVD/USB.

Answer 2

If I were you, I would download the minimal CD and install that. From there, set up your internet and you can download a desktop environment pretty easily from the command line. It may be easier to use an ethernet cable if you can, in case setting up wifi gives you trouble. Or maybe you set up a restore point long ago?

Minimal CD: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/MinimalCD