How can I ge rid of Linux mint.

[jim.mar]

I had a friend install Linux mint on my machine as an alternative OS.  However, I find that I am not doing well with it at all.      It is not compatible with dozens of documents that i have stored in the past with Word and Excel  and I need to get rid of Linux.  My friend, who installed it, is not available.  I want ot get back to where I only have one OS, Windows 7.  Do I need to reformat my drive C?   Help please.

[soybean]

See http://lifehacker.com/how-to-uninstall-windows-or-linux-after-dual-booting-508710422 for a guide to removing a Linux OS from a dual boot system.

[patio]

Do you still consider him a friend ? ?
Soybeans link should solve your issues...
If not consider a wipe and a clean install at worst...

[jim.mar]

SOYBEAN:  Well I followed all of the instructions up to the point where it says "insert your windows recovery disk (or recovery USB drive) and boot from it."  At that point  the machine will not boot.   Each time I try to boot, I get the message "error: no such partition"     "group rescue" .. 
 I have tried repeatedly pressing F2, F8. F10 and F12 each time with the same result.   The only disk that I havae is the original Windows 7 installation disk and a Windows 7 repair disk.  But the machine won't boot to either of these.    I guess I deleted too man partitions,, (two) but what do I do now??   

Do you still consider him a friend ? ?

PATIO;  That's a chuckle.    Fortunately (or not) he sold his house and moved away so I guess I won't be seeing him anymore.. 

[patio]

All joking aside...do you still have a Win7 DVD ? ?
If so i would run a startup repair...Linux normally breaks the Win bootloader which is what this sounds like...
Don't panic...your OS and data are probably still intact.

[jim.mar]

 PATIO:  Thanks for the comeback,,  Yes I still have my original Windows 7 Installation DVD but the machine won't boot with the DVD in the reader. ?    

[patio]

Set CD/DVD to Boot 1st...

After following the steps press F10 to "save changes and exit".....the PC will re-boot with the new settings.
Then you will see a top screen prompt "Press any key to boot to CD"....hit a key.
It will now boot from the win7 DVD...
From that menu select Repair My Computer...select Startup Repair and let it run to completion...
Do NOT interrupt it...even if it seems to hang...it'll re-boot after completion and you should be good to go.

[jim.mar]

PATIO:  Thank you.   Well I  went thru the procedure as you said until it tried to restart.  Then the machine shuts down and tries to restart but the screen says "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD. . . .
  But it does not respond when a key is pressed.    Should I go back to the BIOS an change the boot order to the hard drive, or what?   

[patio]

What exactly does this Win7 DVD say on it ? ?

[jim.mar]

PATIO:  It says:
Licensed for distribution only with new PC         64 bit software
For product support contact the manufacturer of your PC   
Do not lend or make illegal copies.
DVD  (Key code no.)
WINDOWS 7
Home Premium.

I  bought the software from Newegg when I assembled my computer about 4 years ago.

[patio]

Well judging by the info it should boot properly and do what we need...
Do you have another Optical drive you can try ? ?

[jim.mar]

PATIO:   Yes I do.  will try that tomorrow.  Have to cut it off for tonight.  Thank you for all your time and efforts.  Will get bacak to you.  JIM   

[patio]

No problem...
I wish you success.
Let us know.

[jim.mar]

PATIO:  Well I have three optical readers and I tried all three with the same result..  If I hit a key quickly enough it tries to do something but finally displays a blinking cursor (not a  prompt) in  the upper right corner.    This also happens if I set the boot drive back to the original hard drive.         If I take too long to press a key, it responds with the same message : "error: no such partition"     "grub rescue".     What do you think?  Do you think that I need to completely reinstall Windows 7?    I have all of my important data on a separate hard drive which I can disconnect before I do.   

[patio]

If your important data is backed up i would say yes...by all means.
The only proper way to run Win and Linux to me is seperate HDD's...there are many here who may chime in and state it can be done but i screwed enuff around with it to come to my conclusion...

That being said i would check the Win7 install just to make sure you haven't forgot to back up anything important...then i'd proceed with the Nuke and clean install...