I just got a new pc laptop with windows 7 and wanted to install Ubuntu on it. Which i did, no problem there, by downloading the installer, burning it to dvd then booting off the dvd and installing.

Then, i realised that the new Ubuntu 12.04 uses the Unity desktop, which i immediately disliked, and after some research, began to hate. So, i decided (after a little googling) to install Linux Mint instead. So, thinking i'd better start from scratch, i went to the Windows 7 disk manager and wiped the Ubuntu partition that had been created.

Now, when i start up, i get an error from grub, the ubuntu boot manager:

error: unknown filesystem
grub rescue>  _

and a blinking cursor where i can enter commands.

I suspect that what i've done is deleted the main ubuntu partition but NOT deleted another partition which is a boot partition, or something like that?

Can anyone tell me how i can rescue or unbork this? I'd like to either

a) get back to my original windows-only setup

OR

b) install linux mint off dvd (which i have), into the empty partition, fixing any grub confusion in the process.

Any suggestions? Thanks, max

BTW please don't answer if you're just going to tell me to stick with 12.04, or install a different distro or something. I definitely want Mint and just want to fix this mess - thanks :)