Delete Linux and retrieve the Windows Startup Menu

After Linux is deleted, Linux LILO remains in the system, so that the first interface started by the machine cannot return to the Windows menu. This article tells you the solution:

With the increasing influence of Linux, many computer enthusiasts began to install Linux on their favorite machines. Therefore, in addition to the original Windows systems, a Linux is added to the hard disk. The first operating system selection menu displayed at startup is changed to Linux LILO or GRUB. However, after a while, some people decided to delete Linux because they were not used to Linux or hard disk space shortage. Despite the smooth process of deleting Linux, LILO was left. So how can we delete LILO and restore the Windows Startup interface?

LILO or GRUB) is the Linux Startup manager. By default, most Linux distributions Mount LILO to the Master Boot Record MBR on the master hard disk ). This is why the first screen after Linux is installed becomes Linux LILO.

When installing Linux, we can ask the installer to install the Linux boot manager to another hard drive or boot floppy disk to prevent the Linux starter from rewriting the MBR. However, users who install Linux for the first time or who use the automatic installation mode may not think of the Linux Startup manager rewriting MBR problem. After the MBR is rewritten, the startup module of Windows is not lost, but now it can be accessed through the Linux Startup manager LILO or GRUB.

Then, how can I clear LILO or GRUB and return to the Windows Startup interface? For a system with only one Windows operating system, it is easy: Create a boot floppy disk containing the FDISK program, start the machine with a floppy disk, and then execute FDISK/MBR on the command line. This command resets the MBR so that the system starts Windows directly. However, if the system has multiple Windows before Linux is installed, running the FDISK/MBR command in this way will overwrite the Windows Multi-boot menu, so that the machine can only be started from the default main operating system.

To clear LILO or GRUB and return to the previous Windows Startup interface, the fastest and most reliable way is to use the Windows fault recovery console. The fault recovery console can be accessed from Windows CD or installed on the system. If you want to run the fault recovery console from CD, if the master operating system of the machine is Windows XP, start the machine with WinXP CD. When prompted, select manual recovery and press the R key ).

Installing the fault recovery console on the system can speed up the process. First, open the command line window of Windows XP, select the menu "start" → "run", execute cmd); then, insert the WinXP disc in the CD-ROM, Run D on the command line: \ i386 \ winnt32.exe/cmdcons command, where D: Is the drive letter of the CD-ROM drive. After the installation is complete, you can select the fault recovery console from the Windows Startup screen at the next startup.

If more than one Win XP system is installed on the machine, the fault recovery console will prompt which Win XP is to be repaired. Select the last installed system and enter the administrator password to log on to WinXP. On the command line, Enter fixmbr and press Enter. The system prompts that an invalid startup record already exists. You just need to confirm the operation. Restart, and the Windows Startup menu is back.