How do I A) Get rid of Grub and B) go back to Windows 8.1

CloudNothings

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(I'm coming from the Win10 Forums, they suggested I come here for help)


Hi, I'm in a bit of a unique situation at the moment. I have grub because I required linux for about a month and decided to use it to dual boot it with Windows 10. I deleted linux, but I still have grub. I also (unknowingly) deleted my backup of Windows 8 from my laptop, so right now I'm just on Windows 10. I do not have the sticker under my laptop that has my product key (I'm not even sure I had one of those stickers), so what am I to do if I wanted to 1) remove grub, and 2) go back to Windows 8.


Also, if I can't go back to windows 8, will I at least be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free through their upgrade program? Thanks for any answers you can provide, I really messed up here.

The reason I want to get rid of GRUB is that it makes upgrading the builds a huge hassle (having to be around when the system restarts)

Someone in the forums mentioned this:
[FONT=Segoe UI, Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]The only way back to Windows 8.1 is a clean reinstall. Your computer has a SLC table (the Key is imbedded in the motherboard), meaning that you will have to go through several steps to get reinstallation media. I think asking on the eightforums would be your best bet as the only solutions I can find require a retail key or a working Windows 8.1 partition.[/FONT]

[FONT=Segoe UI, Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]So I ask, how can I go back to Windows 8 or 8.1 from my situation. My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite Model L55-A5299 that came with Win8[/FONT]
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Build 10074
My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite Model L55-A5299 that came with Win8

How to download and clean install Windows 8.1 if you have an OEM computer with UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8/8.1 product key. -> link

Quote from this post:

Normally, you should be able to delete all the partitions on the Where do you want to install Windows? screen.

Note: But if you cannot delete all the partitions on the Where do you want to install Windows? screen.

- Boot the computer using the Windows 7/8/10 installation media.
- On the first screen, press SHIFT+F10 to bring up the command prompt.
- Run the following commands at the command prompt.

diskpart
list disk (this will give you a listing of the disks on your system)
select disk # (select the disk you want to clean, for example select disk 0)
clean (running the clean command will delete all partitions on the disk)
exit

Even if you are going to use the GPT (GUID Partition Table), you do not need to run the convert gpt command, since you are not creating the partitions at a command prompt.

- Close the command prompt window and continue your Windows installation as usual.

Diskpart.png
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
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