Uninstalling Linux

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Aijaz Akhtar

Journeyman
This is factually a tutorial but being Linux oriented, I am posting it here.
Uninstalling any Linux distro is a two way process.
1. Recovering your disk space
2. Recovering the Windows boot loader (removing LILO/Grub from the MBR, if it is installed there, of course)

Recovering your disk space
If you have working Windows XP, use Administrators' tools->computer management-> Storage ->disk management, and delete the 'unknown partitions' and either leave the free space (for future linux installations) or reformat the free space as Fat32/NTFS.
If no XP, use a Linux CD, proceed to 'install' Linux till you come to disk partitions. Select Manually manage partitions. And select the Ext3/Reiserf etc file system partitions and select Fat32 and reformat. After this is done, just switch off the PC.
A third way is to boot into a LIVE Linux CD that provides root access like Mepis and Linspire. Search for a tool called QTPart. Use this and reformat the Linux File system partitions.
Recovering the Windows boot loader
For this, you may use Widows instsllation CD itself and type 'repair' when prompted. Though this too has failed some time. A better way is to boot into Mandrake 10/10.1, that when bots, give the option of pressing F1 for more details. There at the boot prompt, you may type 'rescue'. And when the rescue module is lloadfed into the memory, you will find options that include 'recover Windows boot loader'. Select this and the LILO/Grub would be removed from MBR of the HDD and you would get back the Win loader. Else till such a time, you would be forced to dual boot, and select windows at the Lilo/Grub prompt.
You may also explore this rescue option in other distros too. I use Mandrake.
 
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