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I need to put Windows on a Linux computer. How?

Anonymous
2024-08-25T19:00:05+00:00

I have a computer with Linux operating system on it. I would like to put Windows on it. How can I do that? I cannot figure out how to connect to the Internet with the Linux system, so I need something on a disk or flash drive.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Install and upgrade

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-08-28T02:37:00+00:00

    WOW! You "know your stuff," that's for sure. I think that I am computer savvy enough to follow your instructions.

    I'm sorry I did not make my question clear. I want to remove Linux totally from the computer, as I have no need for it. All data is backed up to an external hard drive, so it's okay to wipe the internal hard drive clean. I just don't see a way to do that when I'm on that computer, just like I can't find a way to connect to my WiFi in that Linux system, which is Linux Mint 18.3.

    This a computer that my late husband built from scratch, an orange case with a window and orange lights inside and colored cables, a pretty machine. He asked me not to sell it when he died.

    So I just need to get Linux off of it and install Windows. My personal computer is a Mac Mini M2 Pro, but I have a Windows laptop, so I know how to use Windows.

    I can buy Windows at Best Buy, but it's expensive. I need to find it cheap somewhere and download it to my computer and then put it on a flash drive to put it on the Linux computer.

    Blessings,

    Sandra

    No need to care about how to remove Linux if you’re just looking to switch from Linux to Windows. All you need to do is using a USB drive or a CD to install Windows. During the installation, format the hard drive, and you’re good to go. Just make sure to back up any important files beforehand. Check out these steps for more details:

    How to: Perform a Clean Install or Reinstall of Windows 10 - Microsoft Community

    Reinstall or clean install Windows 11 - Microsoft Community

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-08-27T11:41:58+00:00

    Dear MizFrog

    Thank you for posting in the Microsoft community.

    **I. Preparation**

    Before starting the installation, make sure that your computer meets the following conditions:

    1. a Linux distribution, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, or openSUSE, is already installed on the computer.
    2. you have a free partition on the computer for your Windows system.
    3. You have created a Windows installation file (ISO image file) that can be downloaded from the official Microsoft website.
    4. you have backed up your important data to an external disk, just in case.

    **II. Install Windows to Linux Partition**

    1. Use a command line tool to enter the root directory of your Linux distribution, e.g. cd / command on Ubuntu.
    2. Create a new partition for installing Windows. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo fdisk /dev/sda

    1. Press n to create a new partition, p to select “primary”, 1 to select the first partition, and + to increase the partition size.
    2. Press w to save your changes, and then press q to exit the fdisk utility.
    3. Use the parted tool to format the new partition. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo parted /dev/sda

    1. Select the partition you just created and type mklabel gpt. This will format the partition using the GUID partition table (GPT).
    2. Type **mkfs.msdos -l “Windows” -b 446 -n “Windows” /dev/sda1**. This creates an MSDOS (MBR) format for the partition and labels it as “Windows.”
    3. Use the ls command to view the partition. Enter the following command at the command line:

    ls /dev/sda

    1. Use the fsdisk command to view the partitions.
    2. Use the fdisk command to confirm that the partition is formatted. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo fdisk /dev/sda

    1. Press p to view the partition information and you should see a partition named “Windows”.

    **Installing Windows

    1. Use the command line utility to mount the Windows installation files. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/windows

    1. Enter the directory where the Windows installation files are located. Enter the following command at the command line:

    cd /mnt/windows

    1. Extract the Windows installation files. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo tar -xvf winnt.x86_64.tar

    1. Create a temporary directory for the Windows installation. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo mkdir /tmp/install

    1. Copy the Windows installation program to the temporary directory. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo cp winnt.x86_64 /tmp/install

    1. Change the permissions of the temporary directory so that the Windows installer can access it. Enter the following command at the command line:

    sudo chmod +x /tmp/install/winnt.x86_64

    1. Run the Windows installation program. Enter the following command in the command line:

    . /winnt.x86_64

    1. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the Windows installation process.

    **IV. Completing the Installation**

    After the installation is complete, you will need to reboot your computer on the Linux distribution. You can then see two operating system menus on your computer and you can choose to boot Windows on the Linux distribution.

    Please note that this method may not work for all Linux distributions and computers. Before trying this method, be sure to consult the documentation for the Linux distribution you are using to ensure that it supports this operation. Also, you may encounter some problems during the installation process, and it is recommended that you back up your data before installing so that you can easily restore it if you encounter problems.

    I hope the above information will help you.

    Looking forward to your further reply.

    Best Wish

    Shawn.Z-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-08-26T14:58:38+00:00

    Thank you very much, but neither of these are what I need. The Cummunity Help says that Windows needs to be installed first before installing Ubuntu. The other one just creates a bootable stick to use, also on a computer that already has Windows on it.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-08-26T05:00:46+00:00

    Hello, MizFrog

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    You can check out the methods here, using Ubuntu as an example.

    WindowsDualBoot - Community Help Wiki (ubuntu.com)

    Create a bootable USB stick with Rufus on Windows | Ubuntu

    And it doesn’t have to be Ubuntu— other Linux distributions should work too. Remember to back up important files in advance.

    Disclaimer*: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.*

    Yuhao L

    Microsoft Community Technical Support

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