Can a logical partition formatted for Linux by reformatted for Windows?

I loaded a trial Linux CD on my laptop. The machine has an 8 Gig HD split into two logical drives. I left Windows (98 SE) on C, and installed Linux on the D partition.

All worked well. I was able to boot either to Windows or Linux. I got a good feel for Linux, and as a result will be buying a new machine and plan to install a full version of Linux.

Now I would like to reverse the process and reclaim the Linux partition to DOS. Is it possible to reformat the Linux logical partition without reformating the whole disk?

You will have to destroy the Linux partition and make a Windows partition in it's place, then format the new parition. With DOS fdisk, just overwrite the Linux partition (it calls it 'unallocated space'). To use the Linux fdisk, you will need a bootdisk.