How to restore windows 7 after installing ubuntu using windows factory reset disk

I wanted to have a feel of ubuntu so I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS on windows 7 using a USB stick to boot. But I made a horrifying mistake of not installing ubuntu on a separate partiton. This resulted in removing my windows 7 completely from my laptop along with the previous partitions. Now all I have are two linux filesystem partions : one swap and one for every thing else.

I have my factory default image of windows 7 burnt to a DVD. When I try to restore this image using the factory reset DVD of windows 7 I get an error saying that :

"The program cannot restore the system partition because its structure is incorrect. You may have to recreate the partition to continue."

Please help me restore my windows 7 back and reinstall Ubuntu alongside windows.

Regards Robin

Solution 1:

You can create a Windows-compatible partition using the GParted application that is included in the Ubuntu live USB. Use GParted to format the entire drive to NTFS with the boot flag set to bootable. Then you can reinstall Windows 7 from the factory default image of Windows 7 that you have burnt to a DVD. For more information see: How to remove Ubuntu and put Windows back on?.

It is always a good idea to install Windows before you install Ubuntu. When you install Ubuntu and get to the Installation type screen in the Ubuntu installer, choose the option that says: Install Ubuntu alongside Windows 7. This option will install Ubuntu alongside Windows 7 in a dual boot layout so that when you start the computer you can select to boot to either Ubuntu 14.04 or Windows 7 from the GRUB boot menu.