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By Jim Dennis, Ben Okopnik, Dan Wilder, Breen Mullins, Mitchell Bruntell, the Editors of Linux Gazette... and You!
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(!) Mandrake has what's needed...

to get rid of it.

From Antony, in issue 61 (TAG q.#12)

Answer By Mitchell Bruntel

Hi, I recently attempted to install Linux Mandrake, but I did it wrong and know Windows has been deleted and linux won't work, all I want to do is Delete linux so I can reinstall Windows and be happy again, I cant even install windows at the moment because linux is taking up too much room on the hard drive. Mum is heaps annoyed as she can't use the computer so can you please help me quickly? Thanks

(?) [Mike] Hmm, three questions about uninstalling Linux in two days. I wonder what that means.
Doesn't the Windows setup program allow you to repartition your disk as part of the process? If not, that's a big omission.
Anybody here use Mandrake? Does it come with a boot floppy that can be used as a rescue disk? If so, you should be able to boot from the floppy, press Alt-F2 to go to the second virtual console, run "cfdisk" or "fdisk" and delete the Linux partitions (or all the partitions), and then reboot and run the Windows install program.
(!) [Mitchell] Yes:
3 emails, 2 answers, not too bad I guess...
(!) [Mike] No, I mean the fact that three separate people wrote in to TAG all in the same month wanting help uninstalling Linux, and does that mean there's been a sudden upsurge in uninstalls on a larger scale?
(!) [Don] No, it just means that Linux installs are now easier than Microsoft Windows installs.
When Linux installs were harder, anyone who was knowledgeable enough to get Linux installed could also install Microsoft Windows over it and blow it away (including fdisk if necessary)
Now that Linux installs are really easy, you don't need to know anything about MBRs and partitions to get Linux going on your machine. But you do need to know something about PCs at the sub-OS level to get other OSs installed.
(I'm just waiting for somebody to write a Linux installer as a macro virus...Linux fora will be swamped with angry users of other, insecure OSs and we'll all have to take off to Costa Rica for a year or so.)
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(!) [Mitchell] Windows, depending on the version either does reinstall(upgrade) or will format your disk (new pc version only) mandrake DOES have a boot floppy that is bootable and you CAN do fdisk!
Mitch Bruntel
(16 yrs of desktop and UNIX experience...later)

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Published in issue 62 of Linux Gazette February 2001
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