>
> Once again I may be beating a DEAD HORSE here, but I’ll ask anyway.
>
> How do I remove the Linux side from a partitioned drive?
>
> That is I have a laptop running OpenSuse 10.3 and Windows XXXP (yes is
> really obscene).
>
> I now use either separate drives for Linux or a machine running Linux
> ONLY!
>
> Where can I learn how to safely REMOVE the complete Linux install from
> a partitioned drive?
>
> Bootloader and ALL! I want to restore this laptop to the way it was
> BEFORE I did the Linux install,
> (WithOUT doing a back-up restoration)
>
> For your kind input, in advance I thank you!
>
> Riberto
>
>
Just format the linux partition(s) and then boot to the XP disk (official
not system restore from a vendor), go into repair and run fixmbr. That will
restore the mbr and blank out the info on the linux partition.
Further to what 69_rs_ss noted, … it may be best to ensure you have a floppy disk, or a CD/DVD with a program to restore/fix your mbr, BEFORE you go reformat your Linux partitions. You could even restore/fix your mbr, and then after your mbr is restored to point to only WinXP, remove the Linux partition later, with a live CD such as gparted or parted magic.
You should ALWAYS have a backup. Doing any repartitioning or reformating without a backup is not … well … I can’t say without being politically incorrect. … Lets just understate it by saying its not prudent, but that is a MAJOR understatement.
riberto schrieb:
> How do I remove the Linux side from a partitioned drive?
…]
> Bootloader and ALL! I want to restore this laptop to the way it was
> BEFORE I did the Linux install,
So you installed openSUSE after XP?
In that case, the openSUSE installer left a copy of the original boot
sector in /boot/backup_mbr. Copy that back to your boot disk’s first
sector with the dd command, and GRUB will be gone. On the next reboot
(without the openSUSE CD in your optical drive, of course) you’ll be
left with Windows as your only option. You can then from Windows
reformat or delete the Linux partition(s).