Hi, answers to the questions follow within the text:
On Sun, 31 Oct 1999, you wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Oct 1999, Karen M. Heiby wrote:
>
> > I would like to know how to cleanly uninstall Linux. I'm having peculiar
> > problems that I think can only be fixed with a clean install.
> >
> > Here's what I've tried *several times over* but still does not work:
> >
> > 1.) Deleting the Linux partition from Windows
> > a.) (In Windows 98) filling up my hard drive with junk--totally, then
> > deleting the junk (just to make sure anything of Linux that might still
> > be there is overwritten)
> > b.) scandisk (Windows 98) and defrag (Windows 98)
> >
> > or
> >
> > c.) formatting the entire hard drive (with DOS "fdisk") and reinstalling
> > Windows 98, repartitioning it for Linux (Partition Magic) and then
> > reinstalling Linux
> >
> > 2.) Going into Linux as root, going to /, and typing the rm -fr /* command,
> > which
> > a.) gets stuck even if I wait a couple hours, I don't see anything
> > happening.
> >
> > 3.) Going into runlevel 3 as root, going to /, and deleting each directory
> > individually with "rm -fr nameofdirectory"
> > a.) (However: I can't delete /proc
> > b.) and I can't delete /lib)
> >
> > then,
> >
> > c.) I boot to DOS with a disk and using "fdisk \mbr" to delete LILO
> > d.) I reinstall Linux
> Ok first off, if you allow it to format the drive during install it's
> gone, not sorta gone but gone, it would cost big money to retieve even a
> small piece...
I tell it to format my Linux native partition but I swear it's keeping stuff.
> > All three methods fail to get rid of my problems. For ex., KDE freezes when I
> > use KFM to browse the /mnt directory. No other file managers (Gnome, KDE file
> > manager, or any terminal) freeze, and it is not a permissions problem. It's
> > just KFM/KDE! When I click the /dev directory in KFM and look at its
> > permissions properties, the text (User, Group, Other) is grayed out but the
> > checkboxes are nonfunctional but the proper permissions are assigned. Same goes
> > for everything else in /dev. I can use chmod or any other file manager to
> > modify permissions and have done so.
> /etc/rc.d/init.d/amd status
> says what? If automount is trying to mount something it can't it's gonna
> take awhile to time out.
> gmc has a feature (pretty sure this is in KFM also) that will
> show "the size" of the directories, if this is on and you have a recent
> harddrive (eg, BIG) it's going to take awhile
It isn't trying to mount anything, I unmounted everything I could before I
issued the command.
> Do the gears spin, does the mouse (or anything "freeze"), which viewmode..
> html, long, text..?
The "gears" spin just a little at first. It freezes with a black screen, shows
the terminal a couple times, then just black screen again for about a couple of
hours with just a blip or so of hard drive activity every couple minutes. I
mean a blip, like a fraction of a second.
> Are you root when trying to change /dev/* file permissions?
Yes, I am root. I *can* change the permissions in everything *but* KFM.
> > GAIM (AOL Instant Messenger clone) is retaining my contact list, when that
> > should never happen if it were a clean install. This is not a problem, per se,
> > but just an indicator that I still have old information from previous
> > installations haunting which are likely the cause of my persistent
> > problems.
> Knowing AOL they don't trust you to keep track of your Buddies, so they
> store it on the server..
No, this can't be the case. I also have Windows 98 and every time I reinstall
AOL IM, I have to re-add buddies.
> > Gnome's "Settings" on the panel is kaput. I can click Gnome Control Center and
> > get it running, but if I click anything else on the Panel under
> > Settings, (Multimedia, Peripherals, etc. ) nothing happens. That's just a
> > minor annoyance since I can use these from Gnome Control Center anyway, but
> > annoying nonetheless.
> Any output on the terminal you started Xwindows on?
No output, just nothing happens.
> > During installation, I am never asked certain questions that I vaguely remember
> > being asked the very first time I installed Linux, such as how much RAM do I
> > have, etc. It seems to install as if it knows or thinks it's installing on top
> > of another installation of itself.
> You were in expert mode, or it was an older version that didn't detect
> your video card so it had to ask.
No, I installed it the first time in regular mode; since then I have been using
expert mode. I have always been using the same version of Mandrake (6.1 which
I got on October 4).
> > What gets me is that after I tried Route #1(above), by filling up my hard drive,
> > I should have written over anything hard drive clusters that had Linux in them
> > at one time, right? Even the boot record was re-made with a new LILO. How come
> > old Linux glitches are still haunting me? Why is my GAIM contact list still
> > intact when it shouldn't be?
> I dunno wish all my personal stuff came back after a format, save me lots
> of time ;)
Well, that would be nice, too, but the thing is my /home directories are
totally cleanly installed (DOH!!) It's like Murphy's Law or something!! ;-)
> > I really want to cleanly install Linux to solve some of my problems and give me
> > peace of mind and solid footing for more learning, but I have a problem doing
> > so when I know this machine isn't as pure as I'd like it to be. That is, when
> > something goes wrong, how do I know whether I'm doing something wrong or if
> > it's just a bad installation? That's tough on a newbie. Any ideas would be
> > helpful.
> Just let it format the partitions for you (as you normaly do?), the piece
> of mind your looking for (status output of the format cmd?) is located on
> tty5 (alt-F5)
Thanks for trying to help. I'm not trying to sound contrary or argumentative,
I'm only explaining more of my problem! ;-) I appreciate your help.
Karen
