uninstall linux, install win 7

Discussion in 'Software' started by marysmail, Feb 8, 2011.

  1. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Hey guys! I just bought an Acer notebook and it comes with Linux .

    I want to get rid of it and install Win 7 (I already have the cds).

    Does anyone know where I could find a dummie-proof guide or something so that I don't mess anything up?

    I've never had Linux before. As a matter of fact, I think I've never even saw it on a screen!

    Any kind of help would be great. Thanks a mill!

    Mar.-
     
  2. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Greetings, marysmail.

    There are a great number of guides available on the internet - some good, some not so good. Probably the most straightforward is Microsoft's own Installing and Reinstalling Windows 7.

    Frankly, though, it's fairly easy, especially if you are not concerned about saving any data or creating any fancy partitions, and if the machine is capable of handling Win 7. What's the model # of your computer? If you can give us that info, we'll be able to determine if the machine can indeed run the operating system, and we can help you with any questions you might have.
     
  3. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Awesome!

    It's an Acer 5552-3343. I've seen a ton of guides online, but that's excatly what I thought, that they weren't so good.

    Is there anything special I should know about removing Linux? I read something about "format to ntfs" (do I need to tell you? I have nooo idea what that is.)

    Thanks for your help!
     
  4. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Looks like the Acer Aspire 5552 should be good to go for a Win 7 install.

    To verify: there is no data on this machine that you wish to save? And, you do not wish to run a dual boot system (Linux and Windows), just Windows 7?
     
  5. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    No, no. It's brand new, just got it out of the box. And that's right, I just want it to run on windows, not dual.
     
  6. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Do you have the ability to download and burn .iso CD/DVDs? You may not have to, but I need to know before we get started.
     
  7. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    I'm working on my desk comp, so yeap, I can download and burn..
     
  8. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Okay - insert your Windows 7 installation disk into your laptop, and boot to that disk (you may have to access BIOS (press <F2> during startup) and set the Boot Order to 'CD First').
     
  9. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Gotta get back to work before it's me who gets booted! I guess I'll have to wait till I get my hands on the laptop.

    But still, after I do that, what should I do?

    (Thanks for taking the time to do this, btw.)
     
  10. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    No problem. ;)

    Once you boot to the Win 7 disk, you'll want to select the Custom Installation, from which you should be able to delete the Linux partition(s), re-create a 'C:' partition, full format that partition as NTFS, and install Windows.

    We'll be here if you have any further questions - good luck!
     
  11. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Great! I'll follow your every direction.

    Oh, I'll probably have questions! 99% sure of that. I'll let you know how it goes... Thaaanks!
     
  12. Puppywunder58

    Puppywunder58 Master Sergeant

    Sorry Asherr, but the OP already has Win7 discs and it would be a waste of money to even try and find WinXP discs. Win7 will also have more drivers than WinXP. WinXP is also set to be discontinued soon.
     
  13. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Here I go again...

    So, I accessed de bios, set it to run cd-dvd first, selected to 'exit and save changes'.

    It starts up, black screen, white words... and... it's asking me to type something. Thought it would be something like 'startx' or 'run', tried a ton, but nothing happens and I've ran out of ideas.

    I feel like I'm one step from getting to the win7 cd, but can't really get there...
     
  14. Colemanguy

    Colemanguy MajorGeek

    Does this netbook have a cd drive? By defination most netbooks dont. Would require an external cd/dvd drive.
     
  15. Puppywunder58

    Puppywunder58 Master Sergeant

    And Win7 is usually on a DVD, not a CD.
     
  16. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Yes, it has a DVD drive. (It's a notebook, not a netbook)
    And yes, it's a Windows DVD, not CD.

    Anyway... 12 hours later, I'm still stuck at the black screen. It's seems like there's nothing in there but the 'legal notice' and the 'copyright file'.

    I've tried 'fdisk' with its every combination, but all I get is a "Permission denied" response.

    ...Which smiley represents 'frustration'??
     
  17. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Good morning.

    Try this real quick:

    Take the Windows disk out of your laptop, and insert it into your desktops's optical drive. Now, reboot your desktop, access your desktop BIOS, set the boot order to 'CD First', save and exit. Does your desktop then boot properly to the Windows disk? Of course, don't follow through with any installation procedures - we're just verifying the disk's integrity.

    (And, by the way - the frustration smiley might be illustrated thusly: :banghead)

    ;)
     
  18. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Hiiii, C!
    Yes, I tried that yesterday, indeed, it works.

    That one represents me perfectly :banghead
     
  19. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    I understand your frustration - the notebook should boot properly to the Windows disk, regardless of the operating system. Note the 'should' - Linux sometimes does strange things. :confused

    You stated earlier that you do have the capacity to burn .iso images to disk. I suggest you download the Ultimate Boot CD, burn that image to disk, and then attempt to boot to that disk. UBCD contains tools with which we may be able to delete any Linux partitions and/or boot managers that may be preventing the Windows install.

    Let us know if that's feasible.
     
  20. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    There. I downloaded UBCD, burnt it. I insterted it in the laptop, (opened bios again, to check it was still on 'boot cd'). Exited the bios and... nothing happens.

    It goes back to the Linux black screen, with the [root@localhost /]# prompt.

    I tried typing "fdisk /dev/hda", where -apparently- 'hda' is the 'first IDE disk' ... and it comes back as "Unable to open /dev/hda"

    I can hear/feel the CD spinning for a couple of seconds, but it won't do anything... So... could the dvd driver be broken? I seriously hope not...
     
  21. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Sure sounds like the optical may be having problems.

    Does the notebook boot to Linux normally? If so, what distro is it (Mint, RedHat, Ubuntu, etc.)?

    And, you burned UBCD as an image, correct?
     
  22. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Ok, Caliban... you're fully authorized to call me a DORK. It wasn't an image. Gee... :-o

    Burnt it again (now as an image, sorry about that), restarted the laptop. UBCD is now there.

    There's a screen with options like Bios, CPU, HDD, Memory, Others, etc... What should I do next?

    (At least now I know de DVD driver works, right?)

    Maybe my Win DVD is broken?
     
  23. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Hold one - I'm doing some consulting.
     
  24. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    I found a friend who's willing to lend me his win7 dvd... maybe I should try that one before you go into all that trouble?

    I'll let you know as soon as I get my hands around it! (In an hour or so, probably)

    Thankyouuuu
     
  25. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Ok, let's try this: remove the UBCD, insert the Win 7 disk, reboot, and press <F12> as the machine starts. Are any options presented?

    And, to verify: this is a hologrammed Windows 7 disk?

    EDIT: Just saw your last post - another disk is certainly worth a try.
     
  26. Puppywunder58

    Puppywunder58 Master Sergeant

    Perhaps someone could PM Sach2 and ask him to join in. He's very knowledgeable in these things.
     
  27. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    Already did - both sach2 and satrow are helping with this thread, as are you, Puppywunder58. ;)
     
  28. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    I'm still waiting for the other disk. As soon as I get it and try it, I'll tell you how it went!
    Thanksss :)
     
  29. marysmail

    marysmail Private E-2

    Caliban, I finally managed to install win 7.

    Well, it wasn't me per se. It was my friend's... hear this... doorman! Weird.

    I have no idea how it happened. But I wanted to let you know problem's been solved.

    Thank you so, so much for your help!

    Have a great weekend..

    Mar.- :)
     
  30. Caliban

    Caliban I don't need no steenkin' title!

    That's great to hear, marysmail. Any details as to how the 'doorman' got things sorted would be welcome, for future reference.

    Regardless: glad you got things sorted, and thanks for the feedback. :major
     

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