How do you delete Redhat Linux?

U

Ubermensch1933

n00b
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Messages
58
I have no idea how to run or operate linux and I want to completely reformat the harddrive and install Win XP from scratch but I'm not able to because Linux will boot before anything else and crash.
 
Jut put the windows xp cd in your cdrom drive and boot. Go through the installation and delete the linux partition and create a new partition and format. Windows will also(quite inconsiderately) replace the mbr with its own so you won't have your linux bootloader anymore.
 
Originally posted by MTB2Live,Live4Comps
is it only redhat which is installed on the drive? or is windows also there?
Click to expand...

Just Redhat, nothing else. And it doesn't work, it has a "kernel panic" error.
 
get any live linux cd (the gentoo boot disk, slackware disk, knoppix, overclockix, etc) and boot it. then fdisk your harddrive. reboot into a windows install cd, and format the drive (and continue installing windows).
ackk i hate telling people how to go back to hell
 
If you can't boot off your CD now, what makes you think you're going to be able to boot off the CD after nuking Linux?

Sounds like yr trying to solve the wrong problem.
 
I don't have any other Linux software. Here goes:

The drive is partitioned for some reason, I don't know why. It is a hard partition that didn't show up when I tried to install DOS 6.2 and now all I have is DOS installed but I can only start it from the DOS boot disk, if I try to start it without a boot disk it gets into "LILO" and immediately crashes and freezes completely.

I tried running fdisk from the boot disk and it tells me I need DOS 6.2 or higher (which I have but can't run from the boot disk).

The person I bought it from said that he didn't install Linux on it and that he had formatted it before shipping it.

Tomorrow I am going to take it to this uber-geek I know who might be able to do something about it. We'll see.
 
Hey, I formatted that drive at least 3 times while I had it...never put Linux on it, since I don't even use Linux. I just used that drive as a backup drive, and it always worked fine for me. My best suggestion is to just connect to a desktop and format it.
 
Get a working dos boot disk and get a copy of fdisk that works with the version of dos on your boot disk. Type
Code: 
fdisk /mbr
and it will overwrite the lilo mbr. Now you can boot into dos from the hard disk. I don't know what good that does you though if you are wanting to install windows.
 
Originally posted by Eric1285
Hey, I formatted that drive at least 3 times while I had it...never put Linux on it, since I don't even use Linux. I just used that drive as a backup drive, and it always worked fine for me. My best suggestion is to just connect to a desktop and format it.
Click to expand...

I have no idea how it got Redhat on it then. A non-functioning version of Redhat and now Lilo won't start because of the hard partition. I'll take it to someone tomorrow and then after that I'll try other measures.
 
Originally posted by jpmkm
Get a working dos boot disk and get a copy of fdisk that works with the version of dos on your boot disk. Type
Code: 
fdisk /mbr
and it will overwrite the lilo mbr. Now you can boot into dos from the hard disk. I don't know what good that does you though if you are wanting to install windows.
Click to expand...

I just want to format the whole damn thing, low-level, and install Windows XP Home Edition so I can use it for stuff I need while on the go, including dial-up and ethernet access. My Win XP copy is on CD and right now the only OSes that will boot are off of floppy disks, in this case, DOS even though it won't run.

I tried installing an old floppy version of Win 95 and it says I don't have sufficient space on my hard drive, even though it is a 12 GB drive, the partition only has about 100 MB and nothing outside of that is recognized.
 
if you can't get it to boot off the floppy, you can make win xp boot floppies, but it's a bitch (it's like 6 disks or something). something here should help

....2[H]4U w00t
 
get your cd drive runing or down load muit linux and run it form floppy you need linux to delete the partisions linux likes to play with any thing unlike dos or windows do an fdisk in linux and set up one partition then let dos format it. use eather fat or fat32
 
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