Many computer users nowadays are trying out various distributions of Linux like Ubuntu, Fedora etc. Most users dual boot the Linux distribution alongwith Windows so that they are still able to use Windows. Some of them simply love the Linux distributions & some don’t like them at all. It’s simply a matter of personal choice. I am writing this guide for the users who want to remove Linux from their computers in case they don’t like it or are having some issues with Linux without reinstall Windows.

Overview:

After we install Linux the boot control is given to GRUB, which is a boot loader. It is GRUB which presents us with the boot options like which Operating System we want to load. Now what we have to do is give the boot control back to Windows. We can do this by recovering the Master Boot Record(MBR). For this we need a bootable Windows Vista or Windows XP CD/DVD.

Procedure:

Windows Vista:

• Start your computer and set the First Boot Device to CDROM/DVDROM in your CMOS setup by pressing DEL on your keyboard.
• Press a key to continue booting from the bootable media, when prompted. Your computer will now boot from Windows Vista bootable media.
• When prompted, select your Language and click ‘Next’.
• Click ’Repair your computer’.

• On the next window select your Operating System & click ‘Next’.
• Select ‘Command Prompt’ from the System Recovery Options.

• On the command prompt type ‘Bootrec.exe /FixMbr’ without quotes and press ENTER on your keyboard.

That’s all you need to do! Now reboot your computer & set the first boot device back to Hard Disk Drive in CMOS options. Windows Vista will start loading.

Procedure for Windows XP:

• Start your computer & set the First Boot Device to CDROM/DVDROM in your CMOS setup by pressing DEL on your keyboard.
• Press a key to continue booting from the bootable media, when prompted. Your computer will now boot from Windows XP bootable media.
• When prompted select Recovery mode & boot to DOS prompt.
• In the DOS prompt type ‘FixMbr’ without quotes and press ENTER on your keyboard.

That’s all! Reboot your computer & set first boot device back to Hard Disk Drive in CMOS setup. Windows XP will now load.

Delete the Linux partition:

• Right click ‘Computer’ & select ‘Manage’. If you are using Windows Vista then provide your Administrator credentials in the UAC prompt & click continue.
• Select ‘Disk Management’ from the right side panel in Computer Management window.
• From the partitions select the unrecognized/unknown partition & right click on it & select ‘Format’.
• Follow the onscreen instructions & select the desire file system to format.

By following these steps you can remove Linux without reinstalling Windows & get your space back in form of a new partition.