After suffering suse 11.1 crashing at least once a day I’ve decided to go back to windows XP.
I hope you can answer my question even though it’s not really linux related anymore;
How do i install Windows over suse? Do i need to erase it first (if yes, then how do i do that?), or will the windows installation do that automatically like suse did?
And hope there’s no hard feelings 
Thanks for all your help.
This is not really a “How to Install Windows” forum, so you might want to go somewhere else for help on that.
If your system is freezing up and you are using wireless, you might want to take a look at this thread:
Probably use a live CD like gparted to clear the partition table, then Windows sees a blank disk. Zero hassles from Windows that way.
Hope you have a better experience should you decide to have another go sometime in the future.
I’m not using wireless, i don’t know why it keeps doing that.
And thanks ken_yap, I’ll try it.
Just enter your XP DVD and enjoy: a lot of questions (hope you know the right answers) and key strokes later your well known windows screen will appear.
BTW, why not give Suse 11.0 a chance? To my experience this was the most smooth installation process since 8.1. As 8.0 was kind of imperfect (to me), I hoped, that 11.1 does the same big step as 8.0 to 8.1 or 10.0 to 10.1 did. However, I must confess, there is a significant increase of trouble as well. So, my “productive” machine will stay on 11.0. Only the “player’s darling” machine gives 11.1 a try. And I feel good with a working 11.0 installation in the back!
If Windows starts crashing all the time too, run Memtest to rule out a bad RAM module.
Thanks vetti, I will do that.
I’m also using KDE, which I’ve read gives more trouble then Gnome.
And Thanks to foresthill as well.
You can get back to Windows if you have a openSuse Live CD. Once at the desktop in the Live CD, just go to partitions and format your openSuse partition on the disk to NTFS. Restart with the Windows CD and you can install.
here is how to go back:
1)insert xp cd and boot from it
2) choose rescue program
3) after asking admin password (if u got one) press enter
and asking you to choose your keyboard and partition you wish to work on you will go to dos command prompt, there you type :
bootcfg /rebuild
then issue those 2 commands in sequence:
fixboot
fixmbr
and please give suse another try later… i did the same in the past… now my hdd with mswindows is gathering dust on my shelf for the past 2 years.
dont do it.
you will probably regret the move back to windows within 6 months or so.
…of course, you shouldnt let others tell you what to do.
but, that’s basically what you will be doing by switching back to windows. allowing yourself to be used and controlled, that is; not for your own growth and development, but rather for the big machine’s profit and power.
keep the power in your hands, control your own machine, use it for the tool that it was designed to be. expand your skills, develop your mind; learn how to repair your own tools.
people who can change their own tires, change their own motor oil, rebuild their own engine block, these people are ready for the “pokyclypse”…
…sorry, i just had a flashback of mad max, the road warrior, and beyond the thunderdome.
dont listen to me…but seriously, stick with linux a little longer, upgrade your own mind.
when the shix hits the fan, you could make your own electricity with some copper wires and carbon brushes, frankenhack abandoned motherboards, monitors and mouses, write your own code, and BOOM!!! you too could be governor of your own Bartertown! call yourself King, and call the others idiots for following Big Brother Gates for so long!!!
I have tried 11.1/KDE4 twice now, and gone back to 11.0/KDE3. I’m sure KDE4 will be great soon, but it has some way to go yet. As to 11.1, coincidentally or not I’ve been very happy with the even-numbered releases, 10.0, 10.2 and now 11.0, but didn’t do so well with the others.
I’ve come to the conclusion that if you don’t need the latest and greatest (and buggiest:)),then stay with the previous release that works for you.
By all means stay on 11.0, it’s much better than going back to Windows (shudder…)
…i’m on 11.0/KDE4…
i haven’t had any serious issues whatsoever. in fact, its been the most painless system i’ve ever used. it’s also doubly rewarding, as i feel like i learn more and more each time i use it. anything that has come up i’ve been able to solve myself, with or without a little (or lots) of research.
…the only annoyance is that my menu icon continues to re-enlarge itself on bootup; this has been the only thing which remains unsolved…
…i spent the day setting up a computer network at my grandfather’s church. all of the computers run windows, of course. i feel they are the worst! a thousand times i’ve felt like pulling my opensuse11/KDE live-cd out, and bringing them all back to life…one will not boot without a boot floppy, which i dont have and have been unable to create as of yet. another will not connect network through wireless; telling me i need a *.dll file, which is in the correct folder, and which was also on disc–it also told me it couldnt find it on the disc!..
everytime i touch anything windows, i expect nothing but nonsense. painful nonsense. and since i’ve been using linux, everytime i’ve used a windows box, i have had to deal with one problem or another—all without successful resolution.
You should give KDE 4.2 a try (released just yesterday) it is a massive improvement over the piece of excrement that came with 11.1
Frankly, I’m inclined to wait for OS 11.2 (a non-Christmas release) and KDE 4.3. Now that the pressure on the devs eased up with 4.2 they will hopefully take time to implement the little goodies from 3.5.
kwin effects, plasma, widgets, this is all cool, but one thing I really look forward to is being able to use composite with different wallpapers in each desktop (compiz wouldn’t let me) and having a different set of desktop icons in each. Little things like that “enchant” the casual user.