Replacing Ubuntu with Windows

[Sgtblades275]

I had Windows on this comp a while back. But I got it rid of it for some stupid reason. Now I have Ubuntu and just want to scrap it. Here's the deal, both of my drives still think there's a windows partition when there's not. I can't boot from cd or usb or floppy. can only boot to currently installed OSs. I've tried replacing GRUB with MSDOS but it hasn't been working. I've done the dd command where it erases all data including partitions on the drive. All this and still can't get to booting another OS. Even one that erases everything on the drives like DBK.
Any help will be very much appreciated.

(I'm trying to replace Ubuntu with Windows XP Pro)

[Pasdar]

You've erased windows and now you want it back? Why don't you just put in your Windows CD and install? Or are all your drives in linux filesystems?

[paradigm2]

I had Windows on this comp a while back. But I got it rid of it for some stupid reason. Now I have Ubuntu and just want to scrap it. Here's the deal, both of my drives still think there's a windows partition when there's not. I can't boot from cd or usb or floppy. can only boot to currently installed OSs. I've tried replacing GRUB with MSDOS but it hasn't been working. I've done the dd command where it erases all data including partitions on the drive. All this and still can't get to booting another OS. Even one that erases everything on the drives like DBK.
Any help will be very much appreciated.

(I'm trying to replace Ubuntu with Windows XP Pro)

You probably should go to a windows forum for this. If you've done the "dd command" to zero out all the data, Ubuntu is no longer on that drive.

Traditionally the windows installer would be all you need.

[Slim Odds]

You probably should go to a windows forum for this. If you've done the "dd command" to zero out all the data, Ubuntu is no longer on that drive.

Traditionally the windows installer would be all you need.

LOL

I've been thinking about this for a while and I think that when people ask this question (which is the TOTALLY wrong place to ask it) I'm just going to tell them to go to the Winbuntu forum!!

[paradigm2]

LOL

I've been thinking about this for a while and I think that when people ask this question (which is the TOTALLY wrong place to ask it) I'm just going to tell them to go to the Winbuntu forum!!

lol

If they still had Ubuntu installed at all I might understand it. But this person has stated that they erased it using multiple methods.

I don't how we could help explain why the windows installer won't work!

[nice guy mode]
I guess to be nice and the most likely thing I can think of is that the boot order in the BIOS has the hard drive booting before the CD rom. The Poster should check that and change it, usually by hitting a certain key (such as F2. F10, or DEL) on startup.

Good luck.

[Sgtblades275]

I've posted it in Windows help forums and waiting replies and on multiple sites. The boot order: I've checked that loads of times and have done it many different ways. The only thing that happens every time is it either: completely skips boot from cd/usb/floppy and goes straight to GRUB OS menu or it gives me error 21. This happens randomly and a lot. I can't even get rid of Ubuntu without doing it manually. Manually, I'd kill it before I even finished. The files would still be there and I wouldn't be able to do anything else.

[Sgtblades275]

You've erased windows and now you want it back? Why don't you just put in your Windows CD and install? Or are all your drives in linux filesystems?

Yes, because I was very computer illiterate back then. Can't because it won't freaking let me boot from anything but current;y installed OSs. One drive is ext3 and the other is, currently, empty of all data including partition data and has not been formatted, yet still does not allow me to boot.
My guess is that I need to flash my bios with an older version and then update it again with the newest version to clean out whatever is causing the problem. But, I'm having trouble flashing the bios because they're windows installers and WINE goes about halfway through then it just shuts off without any error or warning message.

[Pasdar]

You don't need to flash anything. Even some of the oldest PC BIOS has the ability to select CD in boot priority. You just to select it in Bios.

[acreech]

If your partitions are still in the Linux format (ext3, extended, Linux-swap) then I would use the Ubuntu Live CD, go to System>Administration>Partition Editor (gparted). Then reformat the drive partition to a nfts or what ever format that windows will take.

I don't know why you would go back to Windows. I just setup a Windows XP drive for my mife to use on a rare occasion and that was enough to remind me why I hate Windows!

Good luck

[Slim Odds]

The bottom line here is that it does not matter what is currently on your computer.

You need to boot an install CD (windows in your case).

To do this, your BIOS must be setup to:
1) Boot from CD.
2) Boot from CD First.

That's really all there is to it.

Once the install CD boots, you partition, format, install....