installing xp

[bozzo]

hi guys,
here is my problem.... i have knoppix on my pc but i want to install again windows xp... someone could please explain how can i do it? with wine i don't think it will work... when i reboot the pc with xp's cd in the drive it's like it's not there and loads linux... any suggestion? (of course i've set the boot cd option in bios)
i apologize for grammatical mistakes but i'm italian hehe ^_^
hope someone will help

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

You should be able to delete GRUB from the master boot record (MBR) with the SuperGRUB LiveCD. Once that's done, your WinXP installation CD should work again. After you've installed Windows, you can use SuperGRUB to reinstall GRUB to the bootloader so that you have a choice between Windows and Linux.

Post back should you run into any problems.

[oz]

Oh, and if you no longer want Linux on the drive at all, just boot with the Knoppix LiveCD, go to a terminal and issue this command:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

You'll need to replace /dev/sda with your actual device name such as /dev/hda.

Using the dd command above will write zeros to the entire drive giving you a totally fresh start.

If needed, you can use the fdisk -l command to determine your device name:

fdisk -l

Note that if you have a SATA hard drive, you might have to reinstall the drivers for it off of the floppy/CD that came with your motherboard or system. You can do that while installing WinXP.

[bozzo]

well... i've booted with the the cd you told me... i've tried to delete the grub but it said that i must select the previous os.... but there was only the line "sys linux" i've pressed enter anyway then i've rebooted again my pc... and now... ehm... keyboard doesn't work and then appears

boot from cd: (and after a while.. )
boot from cd:

but i can't do anything... as i've written before: keyboard is working no more, with or without cd in the drive nothing changes... even with floppy in "a:" nothing changes.... i think the pc's gone ...

[devils casper]

Is machine Booting up from Knoppix CD? Have you executed dd command as suggested by ozar?

[bozzo]

i didn't insert the dd command because i did the "delete grub" thing before he wrote his second post... i'm not bootin linux live cd... when it says "boot cd:" it doesn't read no cd at all...

ps: ok i've tried again and now i can start knoppix with live cd... anyway it doesn't boot xp cd still... so exactly what have i to do now??? that is, i can't remove the grub because as i told before i need to select the os that was installed before linux but it only shows sys linux....

[devils casper]

You have deleted conf files of GRUB only. GRUB is installed in MBR of disk and its not possible to delete it from MBR manually. Either execute dd command or use SuperGRUB CD for that.
Have you tried any other bootable CD? CD Drive must be First Boot Device in BIOS.

[bozzo]

i-ve used the suprgrub cd on boot up when i-ve tried to delete the grub,.... could you explain me how exactly i can remove grub with the supergrub cd?

[devils casper]

When you boot up from SuperGRUB CD, it displays a list of available options. Select 'Fix Windows Boot Loader' option. It will remove GRUB from MBR and Windows Installation CD will work after that.

[bozzo]

ok i-ll be more accurate this time... i-ve booted up with sgrub cd... got into windows / fix boot up... and i have 2 choices:

uninstall grub mbr

sys linux

if i choose the first one, it says that i have to select the os that was installed before linux. press a key to continue... i press and i-m back to the

uninstall grub mbr
sys linux

what have i to do?