Simple removal of Linux

[Guest]

My husband and I were given a computer with Linux on it. We hate it. We
want to remove it and install Windows XP as simply as possible.

What is the easiest way?

We've been asked questions about what partitions we have... We have no idea!
We really aren't very technical. That's why we want Linux gone.

Is it possible to remove Linux without any Linux installation disks?

Please Help!

 

[Poprivet]

My husband and I were given a computer with Linux on it. We hate it.
We want to remove it and install Windows XP as simply as possible.

What is the easiest way?

We've been asked questions about what partitions we have... We have
no idea! We really aren't very technical. That's why we want Linux
gone.

Is it possible to remove Linux without any Linux installation disks?

Please Help!

Yes.
But ... you gave no computer information. XP has speed/ram requirements,
etc., so are you sure you can run XP reasonably? Perhaps you should give
that info here to see if the machine can handle XP.

IF so, be sure your computer will boot from the CD ROM. If not, you might
have to change the boot devices in CMOS settings. Watch the screen as it
boots if you don't know how to get there; it'll tell you what key to press
and when.

PUt the XP CD in the drive and boot from it.
It'll ask you to press any key to boot from the CD; do
Delete the partition
Create a partition
continue to follow the instructions on screen. It takes XP about 45 minutes
to install and does stop along the way for occasional information you have
to type in.
When it's done it'll restart and you'll be in windows; linux will be
gone.

IF you have other drives, you can now simply format those to the NTFS file
system from within windows (My Computer), and it'll remove everything on
those too.

HTH
Pop`

 

[Guest]

Thanks, so much.

As far as if our computer can handle XP, my husband already checked that
out, and says it can.

About whether the computer will boot from the CD-Rom and about the
partitions, I don't know about those things. Hopefully the info you gave
will help us with that!

I'll post again, if we still have trouble. Thanks!

Chris

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My husband and I were given a computer with Linux on it. We hate it.
We want to remove it and install Windows XP as simply as possible.

What is the easiest way?

We've been asked questions about what partitions we have... We have
no idea! We really aren't very technical. That's why we want Linux
gone.

Is it possible to remove Linux without any Linux installation disks?

Yes. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if
necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean
installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted,
then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks, so much.

As far as if our computer can handle XP, my husband already checked
that out, and says it can.

If you're looking at the Microsoft web site, and the official requirements
for XP, be aware that that information is very misleading and next to
useless. It tells you what hardware you need to get XP to run at all, not
what you need to get it to run at acceptable speed.

From a practical standpoint, this is what you need, *minimum*:

- at least a 400MHz processor (much better would be 1GHz or more)

- at least 256MB of RAM. With anything less, performance will be terrible.

- at least a 10GB hard drive, and 20GB or more would be much better for most
people.

Be aware that even those numbers are minimums. It depends on what apps you
run, but most people wouldn't be very happy running XP with a 400MHz
processor, 256MB of RAM, and a 10GB hard.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My husband and I were given a computer with Linux on it. We hate it. We
want to remove it and install Windows XP as simply as possible.

What is the easiest way?

The normal way to "uninstall" any operating system is to format
the hard drive and install a new OS of your choice.

We've been asked questions about what partitions we have... We have no idea!
We really aren't very technical. That's why we want Linux gone.

Is it possible to remove Linux without any Linux installation disks?

Please Help!

After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, simply boot from the WinXP Home installation CD. You'll
be offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as
part of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order
of boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Then the backed up data can be restored.


--

Bruce Chambers

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