Remove Linux from your System and Preserve Windows

Many of my friends have asked me : "How to remove LINUX, it is taking 30GB of my HardDisk space". A simple answer is to delete the partition of Linux from the system and reformat it, but that may result in your system not even booting windows. You have Grub Loader which is used to boot in a Operating System ( here Linux and Windows ) and if it is on Linux partition ( which generally the case is ), removing Linux partition will result in Operating System not found message by your system.

So, I thought over it and prepared a tutorial. It helped many of my friends and would help you too. Before continuing make sure you have Windows Installation CD / DVD with you and you should now the Windows XP Administrator Password.

STEPS :

(A) Fixing the Windows Boot Loader :

First, we need to fix the windows boot loader.

1. First, to get into the Microsoft Windows recovery console you must have a Microsoft Windows CD. Place the Windows CD in your computer and boot from the CD.

2. It will take its time loading the setup but eventually you will see the “Welcome to Setup” screen. To repair a Windows XP installation using recovery console, press R.

3. Now choose which Windows Installation to Repair. The next prompt will ask you which Windows installation you want to recover:

Microsoft Windows(R) Recovery Console

The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.

1: C:\WINDOWS

Which Windows Installation would you like to log on to
(To cancel, press ENTER)?

Therefore press 1 to edit the primary Windows installation.

4. Enter the Windows XP Administrator Password.

5. Finally after you have entered the password you will be at a MS-DOS prompt similar to the MS-DOS shell window you can get through Windows.

6. Type the following command, one line at a time:

fixmbr
fixboot
exit

(B) Removing the Linux Partition :

1. Boot Windows and Click on the Start button and select the Control Panel option.

2. If in Classic control panel mode, double-click on the Administrative Tools icon and then double-click on Computer Management icon.

If your control panel is in the Category view, click on Performance and Maintenance, then click on Administrative Tools, and finally double-click on the Computer Management icon.

3. When the Computer Management screen opens, click on the Disk Management option under the Storage category.

4. Right-click on the partition you would like to delete, here the Linux Partition and choose the Delete Partition option. If you have problem finding the Linux Partition, check the screen shot below :

Click on Image to Enlarge

5. A confirmation box will come up asking if you are sure you would like to continue. Hit Yes.

Hope this helps. Drop in your problem as comment.