Replacing Linux with Win7 as the second dual boot with XP on laptop

[raygg]

I have 4 yr old Lenovo Thinkpad T61 which I ordered at the time with 4 gb memory and XP pro as the pre-installed OS. Later I added Oracle Enterprise Linux (a knockoff of Red Hat Linux) on it as a dual boot without a problem. I want to remove the Linux and add Windows 7 as a dual boot. I need advice about the uninstall so the bootability of XP pro is unaffected. I have seen several postings on the net where people tried to remove linux and affected the main boot record of the XP pro installation.

This laptop was ordered from Lenovo just before Microsoft ended the licensing of XP as an OS that could be sold with new laptops. Lenovo was giving the build-to-order option to purchasers at the time of either buying the Visa or Lenovo version so I am thinking the hardware in the laptop was adaptable to both OS's, with just a difference in the drivers. Not being a hardware person I certain;ly could be mistaken about this. By extension, if it was adaptable to Visa the laptop should be able to run Windows 7 also.

 

[rclarke250]

If it was me, I'd save everything off and start from scratch. Windows 7 drivers are here

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-67853

And it fully supports windows 7. If you only need xp for 1 old program or something, why not opt for win 7 business or ultimate, and use the included xp vm mode? or research alternatives that work in windows 7.

 

[BadBigBen]

removing the linux partitions are more straight forward than most people think, or they freak out that things do not work out correctly...

this is a quick and dirty way of doing it:

1. boot into XP
2. go to the Diskmaanagement and delete the partitions that contain the Linux OS (usually / , swap, and /home), basically creating one unused partition, then power down...

(I do not know if the following step is needed or necessary, but I usually do it for good measure)
3. boot up using the XP install CD, enter the Recovery Console and log on to the installed XP OS, once logged on type the following commands in the console:

fixmbr
fixboot
chkdsk /r

(first cmd replaces GRUB or other LINUX MBR with the Windows standard one, the second cmd fixes any boot problems (boot.ini entries), and the third cmd checks the C partition for possible problems).

4. reboot and insert the Windows 7 DVD, and install it to the previously cleared Linux partition...

and if all goes well, you should have a dual booting laptop...


NOTE!

as RC mentioned, BACK UP your personal DATA first before you continue, in case something goes wrong your DATA will be safely off the drive, and then you can start from SCRATCH...

any questions, do not hesitate to ask...

Ben
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