i want my Hard disk space back!!!

[Asif_NSU]

I HAD three partitions of my hard disk - C, D and E.
My OS was Win98se.

Then My brother installed Red Hat Linux in the E drive. From then everytime the pc started there were options to choose whether to start with win98se or RedHat linux. I could only use C and D drive if I chose win98se. If i would choose Linux than there was only one drive (yes that E drive).

Now for some reasons I reinstalled win98se. And now I dont get the options to choose between OS and it always starts with win98se and with those two drives(c & d). I miss my other drive a lot.

I want to know how to activate the option again to choose the OS i want to work with. Also tell me how to get rid of that linux OS and retrieve my "stolen" drive.

Thanx.

[dlh6213]

I could be wrong, but this is what I believe to be relative to your situation:

Linux systems don't create partitions; in order to have partitions, and boot different OS's from them, Windows needs to be installed first.

Linux cannot read Windows and vice-versa, that is why each OS can only see the drive associated with that particular OS.

In this case, the original installation was done correctly, Windows first on one partition, then Linux on another. But when you reinstalled Windows, you probably overwrote the boot files for the dual boot.

Whether you want to reinstall Linux or get rid of it, the first step is to boot with your Windows98 startup disk and use fdisk to delete the partition Linux is on, and then create a new partition in the unused space you now have. From there, you can either reinstall Linux, or use it for Windows.

[Puckdropper]

You know... you may not have to get that extreme. There are linux floppy boot disks out there that will allow you to get to your boot manager and reinstall it. Then, you don't lose your data.

You may need a better FDISK than Windows FDISK (purposely limited) to fix your problem.

[DMR]

Honestly- not to be rude, but please be sure you know the facts before misadvising someone else; you've gotten a lot wrong here:

Linux systems don't create partitions

Of course Linux systems create partitions. Linux has a version of fdisk, as well as a few other partitioning utilities.

in order to have partitions, and boot different OS's from them, Windows needs to be installed first.

No, but it does make life easier. Windows cannot recognise a Linux installation, and therefore cannot configure it's bootloader to boot an existing Linux installation; you have to manual configure your boot.ini after you install Windows if you want it to boot Linux also. A Linux installation, on the other hand, can detect your existing Windows install and configure that in the Linux bootloader (usually Lilo or Grub).

Linux cannot read Windows and vice-versa, that is why each OS can only see the drive associated with that particular OS.

Not true at all. Windows does not support any foriegn filesystems, incuding those used in the UNIX world, without installing third-party utilities. Linux, however, can natively read from and write to many different filesystems, including Window's FAT and FAT32; it has full read support for NTFS, and some write support (currently). One reason that a Windows partition might not automagically show up under Linux is that the option to mount the Win partition at bootup was chosen during the Linux installation. Any Windows partition can be configured to auto-mount under Linux by modifying Linux's /etc/fstab file.

...But when you reinstalled Windows, you probably overwrote the boot files for the dual boot.

This part is absolutely correct. Operating systems will utilize part of the Master Boot Record for their bootloader. When you install a second OS in a dual-boot situation, it will overwrite the original OS's bootloader info in the MBR with that of its own.

[dlh6213]

Thanks DMR for straghtening me out. The part about partitioning was actually told to me by a linux tech last year, the rest was taught in a (Windows) class I took. Obviously techs and instructors don't have all the answers. I know I'm still learning -- thanks again!

So, what is your suggestion for fixing his problem now?

[DMR]

Techs and instructors often don't have all of the knowledge they should, but unfortunately- most of them aren't going to let you know that. :mrgreen:

In terms of deleting the Linux partition, try the instructions in this article from Microsoft:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314458

[ameenur]

hi asif, its always risky to use to os in a single hard disk, hmm well my segesstion is that you should format the whole hard disk, and create the partitions again, then install the os... it may help you

[vigneshvh]

frm u t sentence i understand that u r computer is having 3 partitions ie c,d,e,as u said c is installed with win98,d is free,and e is installed with linux,at that time u were asked to select the os at start up time,but when u reinstall win98 then onwards u r not getting the option and space of e,
first start up u tr computer with win98 and then open the drivec,u can c the operating system files and folders,close c drive,format drives d,e then then restart and format c drive and install win98.