I was having a look in technet there for a laugh and I came across this...
amusing...
CW
PSS ID Number: Q247804
Article last modified on 03-08-2000
WINDOWS:2000; winnt:4.0
WINDOWS winnt
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
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SUMMARY
=======
This article describes how you can remove the Linux operating system from
your
computer, and then install the Windows NT 4.0 or the Windows 2000 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 2000 or Windows NT 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 2000 or Windows NT:
1. Remove native, swap, and boot partitions used by Linux:
a. Start your computer with the Linux setup floppy disk, type "fdisk"
(without the quotation marks) at the command prompt, and then press
ENTER.
NOTE: For help using the Fdisk tool, type "m" (without the quotation
marks)
at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
b. Type "p" (without the quotation marks) 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.
c. Type "d" (without the quotation marks) at the command prompt, and then
press ENTER. You are then prompted for the partition number you want to
delete. Type "1" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER to
delete partition number 1. Repeat this step until all the partitions
have
been deleted.
d. Type "w" (without the quotation marks), 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.
e. Type "q" (without the quotation marks) at the command prompt, and then
press ENTER to quit the Fdisk tool.
f. 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 2000 or Windows NT. 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.
Examples of Linux Partition Tables
----------------------------------
Single SCSI drive:
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)
Multiple SCSI drives:
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)
Single IDE drive:
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)
Multiple IDE drives:
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)
Also, Linux recognizes more than forty different partition types, such as:
- FAT 12 (Type 01)
- FAT 16 > 32 M Primary (Type 06)
- FAT 16 Extended (Type 05)
- FAT 32 w/o LBA Primary (Type 0b)
- FAT 32 w/LBA Primary (Type 0c)
- FAT 16 w/LBA (Type 0e)
- FAT 16 w/LBA Extended (Type 0f)
Note that there are other ways to remove the Linux operating system and
install
Windows NT or Windows 2000 than the one mentioned above. The above method is
used in this article because the Linux operating system is already
functioning
and there is no more room on the hard disk. There are methods of changing
partition sizes with software. Microsoft does not support Windows installed
on
partitions manipulated in this manner.
Another method of removing an operating system from the hard disk and
installing
a different operating system is to use an MS-DOS version 5.0 or later boot
disk,
a Windows 95 Startup disk, or a Windows 98 Startup disk that contains the
Fdisk
utility. Run the Fdisk utility. If you have multiple drives, there are 5
choices; use option 5 to select the hard disk that has the partition to be
deleted. After that, or if you have only one hard disk, choose option 3
("Delete
partition or logical DOS drive"), and then choose option 4 ("Delete non-DOS
partition"). You should then see the non-DOS partitions you want to delete.
Typically, the Linux operating system has two non-DOS partitions, but there
may
be more. After you delete one partition, use the same steps to delete any
other
appropriate non-DOS partitions.
After the partitions are deleted, you can create partitions and install the
operating system you want. You can only create one primary partition and an
extended partition with multiple logical drives by using Fdisk from MS-DOS
version 5.0 and later, Windows 95, and Windows 98. The maximum FAT16 primary
partition size is 2 gigabytes (GB). The largest FAT16 logical drive size is
2
GB. For additional information, click the article number below to view the
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q105074 MS-DOS 6.2 Partitioning Questions and Answers
If you are installing Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000, the Linux partitions
can be
removed and new partitions created and formatted with the appropriate file
system type during the installation process. Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000
allow you to create more than one primary partition. The largest partition
that
Windows NT 4.0 allows you to create during installation is 4 GB because of
the
limitations of the FAT16 file system during installation. Also, the 4-GB
partitions use 64-KB cluster sizes. MS-DOS 6.x and Windows 95/98 do not
recognize 64-KB cluster file systems, so this file system is usually
converted
to NTFS during installation. Windows 2000, unlike Windows NT 4.0, recognizes
the
FAT32 file system. During the installation of Windows 2000, you can create a
very large FAT32 drive. The FAT32 drive can be converted to NTFS after the
installation has completed if appropriate.
Additional query words:
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Keywords : kbsetup
Version : WINDOWS:2000; winnt:4.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbhowto
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