Getting error message when trying to delete Linux partition.

sashag · 04-20-2008, 10:32 AM

Hi!

I had used a partition management software to try and get rid of
the Linux partition. However, I keep getting the error message
about the 'config.sys error at line one' error. Once I get this
message, the partition software stops and I can't do anything else.
I even tried using the well-known Partition Magic, but get the same
error message.

Right now, both the Linux and Windows XP OS's are running fine, so
I don't know what to do so that I don't mess up both just to get
rid of one of them (Linux). I also tried to use the Windows XP
recovery CD, but when it came time to choose one of the options of
how I wanted the hard disk configured, I really didn't want to
choose the one that said if I wanted to delete the entire disk, as
that would mean that I would have to start all over again, and I've
had a hard time installing the sound when my computer crashed the
first time a few weeks back.

Any suggestions of how to keep the Windows XP OS and still getting rid of the Linux OS? On the other hand if someone can tell me how to make Windows XP load first every time, that would work as well. However, I'm a total 'newbie' when it comes to Linux, so unless someone would take me step by step either through Windows XP or Linux (I have the Kubuntu OS), I would find it hard to accomplish this myself. I just don't want
to keep getting the black screen that asks you what operating system you
want to use, especially since after ten seconds, if you havn'et chosen,
Linux Kubuntu starts up whether I wanted it to or not! Thanks everyone!

bigrigdriver · 04-20-2008, 11:02 AM

Are you using the grub bootloader provided by Kunbuntu?

If yes, boot into Kunbuntu. Then edit file /boot/grub/menu.lst (use the command: sudo kate /boot/grub/menu.lst), or whatever your favorite editor is in Kunbuntu.

Change the line: timeout 10 (the default 10 second delay before the default OS boots up). Make the timeout value as long as you want it to be.

The line that reads: default 0 sets the default OS to boot. 0 is the first OS in the menu, 1 is the second, and so on. Change the default line to the number of the position of XP in the menu (counting from 0), or cut and paste the XP entry to the first position in the menu, and leave the default at 0.

theNbomr · 04-20-2008, 11:13 AM

I will assume your boot manager is grub. Open a commandline terminal, and become root. Use a text editor to modify the file /boot/grub/grub.conf (may be called menu.lst or menu.conf). Within it you will find a series of groups of entries, each group starting with the 'title' record (which you will probably recognize from the boot menu). These are an ordered list, and the 'default' record refers to one of them, by number. The groups are numbered starting from zero. Edit the value of the 'default' record, so it points to the OS you want to boot by default. Save the file, reboot, enjoy.

Here is a sample (but without any non-linux OS)

Code:

default=0
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title Fedora (2.6.24.4-64.fc8)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.24.4-64.fc8 ro root=/dev/VGAmyMain/Root rhgb quiet
        initrd /initrd-2.6.24.4-64.fc8.img
title Fedora (2.6.24.3-34.fc8)
        root (hd0,0)
        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.24.3-34.fc8 ro root=/dev/VGAmyMain/Root rhgb quiet
        initrd /initrd-2.6.24.3-34.fc8.img

--- rod.