OS Switch

Kronus980 · 03-09-2012, 02:39 AM

I have a friend who's switching from Ubuntu 11.10, and trying to switch to Windows xp. When he starts up his comp, he switches the primary boot device to the DVD Drive with the Windows xp install dvd inside. The dvd loads like usual, but when it's done loading everything it needs, a "blue screen of death" like screen appears. Any way to remove ubuntu 11.10, and install windows xp?

Doc CPU · 03-09-2012, 02:59 AM

Hi there,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

I have a friend who's switching from Ubuntu 11.10, and trying to switch to Windows xp.

most people would rather do it the other way round. ;-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

When he starts up his comp, he switches the primary boot device to the DVD Drive with the Windows xp install dvd inside. The dvd loads like usual, but when it's done loading everything it needs, a "blue screen of death" like screen appears. Any way to remove ubuntu 11.10, and install windows xp?

Erm, yes. You may have two problems. The first and most annoying is that Windows XP can't deal with AHCI (that's SATA drives in native mode). On some systems, this causes exactly what you describe - a blue screen before the installation really starts. So the easiest way is to go into BIOS setup and disable AHCI (switch the SATA controller into "Legacy" or "compatibility" or "IDE emulation" mode). That did the trick for me, when I had exactly that problem.

And there is another issue that I stumbled upon last year: I wanted to set up an Ubuntu/Windows dual boot system, and I thought I'd be clever and do all the partitioning from a live CD. And then the Windows setup wouldn't start. I didn't get a blue screen at that one, however, but the setup just stuck at the hardware detection.

After some research I found that the Windows setup fails if the first existing partition on the HDD is a non-Windows partition. And yes, my intended configuration was /dev/sda1 for /boot and /dev/sda2 for Windows C:. So I just fired up my Live CD again, deleted the first partition. Now the Windows setup worked alright, and during the following Ubuntu installation, I recreated the /boot partition.

For you, that would mean: Get some Linux Live CD, boot it, and clear the partition table.

[X] Doc CPU

Kronus980 · 03-09-2012, 04:19 AM

We thank you for the quick reply

Could you summarize the use of this live cd in which you speak of?

Doc CPU · 03-09-2012, 04:01 PM

Hi there,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

We thank you for the quick reply

Could you summarize the use of this live cd in which you speak of?

sorry, I don't know where your lack of understanding is right now.

Don't you know where to get a Live CD or how to use it?
If so, download any recent Ubuntu variant, make a CD from the ISO image and boot from it. It'll behave much like a regularly installed Ubuntu, though there are some drawbacks.

Or don't you know how to edit/create a partition table?
Once you have Ubuntu running from CD, start Gparted from the Application menu. From Gparted, delete all partitions on /dev/sda or just choose to create a new MBR partition table. Then click "Apply" (the green check mark), and you're done.

Or is it something else you don't understand?

[X] Doc CPU

ThomasAnderson · 03-09-2012, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

I have a friend who's switching from Ubuntu 11.10, and trying to switch to Windows xp. When he starts up his comp, he switches the primary boot device to the DVD Drive with the Windows xp install dvd inside. The dvd loads like usual, but when it's done loading everything it needs, a "blue screen of death" like screen appears. Any way to remove ubuntu 11.10, and install windows xp?

Well, you have to do the following:
Open your laptop BIOS by pressing F2, Go to advance search for SATA mode set it to IDE mode.
Now install Windows XP.

Kronus980 · 03-10-2012, 02:11 AM

That seems to be the best choice. I have one already.. Just didn't know it was called that. So when I delete the partition table, should I make a ntfs partition? Or will the Windowsxp dvd do that?

Doc CPU · 03-10-2012, 02:54 AM

Hi there,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

So when I delete the partition table, should I make a ntfs partition? Or will the Windowsxp dvd do that?

you can do it either way. The Windows setup will prompt you if you'd like to install into an existing partition or create a new one on its own. But whether you create the partitions before or during setup, I strongly recommend you to create at least two partitions; I usually make four. That makes the system easier to maintain and to back up later.
My recommended layout for XP is:

Code:

C:  4GB  OS and system-related tools only
D:  2GB  Reserved for swap file
E:       Installed programs
F:       User data

How much space you reserve for E: and F: depends on your individual needs; for me, it has always been enough to have about 10GB for programs and leave all the rest for user data. Having a separate partition for the swap file reduces fragmentation considerably.
Usually, XP would use NTFS as its default file system. My personal experience is that FAT32 is more robust, less troublesome and a lot faster; so if I don't need the security aspects of NTFS or large files (note that FAT32 can't store files >4GB), I would always prefer FAT32. However, I'm aware that I'm in a minority there - most people recommend to use NTFS.
So take your pick.

[X] Doc CPU

Kronus980 · 03-10-2012, 02:07 PM

You all have been a great help, we again, thank you!

Kronus980 · 03-10-2012, 04:29 PM

Doc CPU, I tried it and the blue screen still kept coming up. I made a ntfs partition, and nothing, and I left it to windows to make it, and it didn't. What do you think it could be?

EDIT: When I put the CD in, I waited, it said "Press a key to boot from CD........ error: unknown filesystem"