Accidentally wiped out windows while installing Ubuntu.

[SoakingWetScott]

Hello everyone, I know there is nothing I can do about it now but I need to vent a little. Recently I bought a laptop and upgraded it to Windows 8. Tonight I wanted to install Ubuntu on it in a dual boot. During installation I was presented with the options to "Erase Disk" or "Something Else" I used Ubuntu as my primary OS a few years ago and installation gave you the option to easily make a separate partition to dual boot. I feel so stupid for erasing the hard drive, ahh why did they change up the installer!!!

[Hedgehog1]

I think the correct words are: "So sorry for your loss".

While I have not yet wiped out an OS, so many folks have done so before you that it is almost a badge of honor (in a lost-all-my-data way).

Can you do a clean install of Windows 8 from an upgrade disk? If not, you may have to load windows 7 first so it can be upgraded.

Windows 7 can be installed from a upgrade disk by installing it twice. The first time loads the OS, but does not validate because it wans't an 'install ove an OS' install. The second time it sees the OS you just loaded, counts it as an upgrade and then it validates.

I wonder if the Windows 8 upgrade disk will do work that way too?

The Hedge

:KS

[2F4U]

There is still the option to install besides Windows, IF this is possible. In your case, I guess what happened is that there are already four primary partitions on your hard disk, which is the maximum. So the only choices available to the installer are the ones presented to you. Before you do anything else, check if there still exists a recovery partition that can be used to restore the OS.