How to Remove Linux and Install Windows on Your Computer

Summary

This article describes how you can remove the Linux operating system from your computer, and install a Windows operating system. This article also assumes that Linux is already installed on the hard disk using Linux native and Linux swap partitions, which are incompatible with the Windows operating system, and that there is no free space left on the drive.

Windows and Linux can coexist on the same computer. For additional information, refer to your Linux documentation.

More Information

To install Windows on a system that has Linux installed when you want to remove Linux, you must manually delete the partitions used by the Linux operating system. The Windows-compatible partition can be created automatically during the installation of the Windows operating system.


IMPORTANT: Before you follow the steps in this article, verify that you have a bootable disk or bootable CD-ROM for the Linux operating system, because this process completely removes the Linux operating system installed on your computer. If you intend to restore the Linux operating system at a later date, verify that you also have a good backup of all the information stored on your computer. Also, you must have a full release version of the Windows operating system you want to install.

Linux file systems use a "superblock" at the beginning of a disk partition to identify the basic size, shape, and condition of the file system.


The Linux operating system is generally installed on partition type 83 (Linux native) or 82 (Linux swap). The Linux boot manager (LILO) can be configured to start from:

• The hard disk Master Boot Record (MBR).

• The root folder of the Linux partition.

The Fdisk tool included with Linux can be used to delete the partitions. (There are other utilities that work just as well, such as Fdisk from MS-DOS 5.0 and later, or you can delete the partitions during the installation process.) To remove Linux from your computer and install Windows:

1. Remove native, swap, and boot partitions used by Linux:

   1. Start your computer with the Linux setup floppy disk, type fdisk at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
      
      NOTE: For help using the Fdisk tool, type m at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

   2. Type p at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to display partition information. The first item listed is hard disk 1, partition 1 information, and the second item listed is hard disk 1, partition 2 information.

   3. Type d at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. You are then prompted for the partition number you want to delete. Type 1, and then press ENTER to delete partition number 1. Repeat this step until all the partitions have been deleted.

   4. Type w, and then press ENTER to write this information to the partition table. Some error messages may be generated as information is written to the partition table, but they should not be significant at this point because the next step is to restart the computer and then install the new operating system.

   5. Type q at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Fdisk tool.

   6. Insert either a bootable floppy disk or a bootable CD-ROM for the Windows operating system on your computer, and then press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer.

2. Install Windows. Follow the installation instructions for the Windows operating system you want to install on your computer. The installation process assists you with creating the appropriate partitions on your computer.
   

                    
Device    Boot Start End Blocks  Id System
/dev/sda1  *    1    500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1)
/dev/sda2       501  522 176715  82 Linux swap   (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2)

                    
    Device  Boot Start End Blocks  Id System
/dev/sda1    *    1    500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1)
/dev/sda2         501  522 176715  82 Linux swap   (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2)
/dev/sdb1         1    500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 2, partition 1)

                    
    Device  Boot  Start  End  Blocks  Id  System
/dev/hda1    *     1     500  4016218 83  Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1)
/dev/hda2          501   522  176715  82  Linux swap   (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2)

                    
    Device   Boot  Start End  Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1     *     1    500  4016218  83  Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1)
/dev/hda2           501  522  176715   82  Linux swap   (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2)
/dev/hdb1           1    500  4016218  83  Linux native (IDE hard drive 2, partition 1)