Do I need to remove Grub when converting from Ubuntu server to desktop?

Question

Do I need to remove the Grub utility when I convert Ubuntu server to Ubuntu desktop in a dual boot laptop?

Answer 1

Assuming you are using legacy BIOS, the Grub boot strap loader resides in the first 512 bytes (bytes, not megabytes or gigabytes) of sda (usually).

The first 512 bytes on the drive is called the Master Boot Record (MBR) but grub also reads initrd.img (about 50 Megabytes) from /boot directory of sda (usually).

Grub is agnostic and doesn't care if your /boot directory was setup by Ubuntu 12, 14, 16, generic, low-latency or server.

Currently your Ubuntu Server sets up /boot directory for grub. After installing Ubuntu Desktop it will setup the /boot directory for grub. Both versions of Ubuntu understand what grub needs to see and sets up the boot strap loader and /boot directory accordingly.

Both Server and Desktop versions contain the same grub code embedded within. They both use the sudo update-grub command to setup your grub menu. Both use the same sudo update-initramfs -u command to create a new grub initrd.img file whenever you make changes to plymouth, lvm, init-top hooks, etc.

Windows of course is a different beast which is why you must always install Windows first and Ubuntu second.