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Need assistance removing Centos

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13 replies

by ecntrc

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I have a server that has linux (Centos) and I need to remove and install Windows Server 2003; I do not have a boot CD for Centos and I have downloaded & burned knoppix and I am unable to get that CD to boot to assist me in removing Centos. Windows installation CD wont boot or even prompt to boot CD. Does anyone have any suggestions?

13 replies

by oh smeg

http://www.dban .org/

Remember to remove the space from between dban and .org to get a working URL. ;)

Burn it to CD and wipe the HDD of the server. If the Server fails to see the CD reset the Boot Order in BIOS remembering to save the changes as you exit the BIOS and try again. If it supports booting from USB you can use that option instead of Optical Drive.

When you have the drive Wiped as all Linux Uses 3 Partitions as a Minimum instead of the 1 that Windows Uses you should then be able to install Windows but you may need to press the [b]F6 Key[/b] and add Additional Drivers depending on the hardware of the server. Things like RAID Arrays or SATA Drives are the most common things but there are others.

Col

by ecntrc

Thank you very much, I will try that tomorrow morning when I have time. I will be sure to let you know. i appreciate it alot!

by ecntrc

I can only get into the 3ware Controller BIOS from there I have no idea what to do...

by ecntrc

Im able to get to the "Phoenix BIOS Setup Utility" and I changed it to IDE CD which it was always at.. but still not working.. :(

by ecntrc

Totally disregard..... I think I've got it. I loaded BIOS default and it booted the DBAN cd.. woooohooo! Thank you! Hopefully everything is smooth from here..

by ecntrc

Does this utility usually take a long time to wipe? After 10 minutes its at 5%.. normal?

by breversa

Yes : DBAN takes ages (read : hours) to fully wipe your hard disk so that no data can be recovered (unless you have access to the best recovery specialists, tools, and the accompanying budget).

OH Smeg probably advised you a very secure but overkill solution : if you just needed to remove CentOS to install Windows on top of it, any partitioning tool (like GParted) could rid you of your Linux install in a matter of seconds (by deleting the partition table).

Actually, even the windows install CD can take care of suppressing existing partitions and creating new ones. No other tool is needed. From what I understand, your problem lied with your boot sequence (that you solved by reverting to default), not your existing partitions.

by glxtre

Change the boot device priority order in your BIOS system setup, then use your Windows Installation disc to get to a command prompt, and use diskpart to clean (or clean all) the disk.

by ecntrc

The only BIOS I can get into is the 3ware controller BIOS.. from there I really dont know what to do... Im not that familiar with servers but Im doing this so I can get familiar with them... Grrr!

by a.portman

Assuming you had no security issues requiring the wipe, the Windows boot CD could have wiped all existing partitions and created new ones.

by ecntrc

So I was able to wipe everything and able to get the windows CD to start. @a.portman from what I was reading was that the windows boot CD would not have removed Centos but Who knows and I wont know now. All that matters is that I am able to start building my server.

Thank you again for all your help!!! I havent started the install yet because I had to choose a name first per my boss. So I will be working on it today...

Thanks again! I appreciate it!

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