I use SUSE Linux 8.0 and on installation partitioned my hard-disk, allocating half to Linux and half to Windows XP. However, I found I needed more space for windows and attempted to resize the partitions. I used Ranish Partition Manager and accidently deleted both my root and swap partitions. Now, I can't get into Linux and the disk space isn't visible in Windows XP (it works fine though). I used a different partition manager and found the space was classed as "used", yet there is nothing I can delete to free it up. I'm also unable to reinstall Linux due to this problem, as the installer can't resize the partitions. Help?

Ugh. I've been down that road before. You have a couple of options:

1) Boot from CDrom and select the emergency repair mode which loads a chrooted linux envirnment from CD. You can then run fdisk and delete all of your linux partitions but DO NOT MESS WITH /DEV/HDA1 as that is your windows partition!

2) Boot from floppy and go through ht emotions of a manual install. This is outlined in the SuSE 8.0 "Reference" guide. I have the 8.0 Professional set, so if you have personal I don't know if it's detailed.

Post a reply and let me know if that helped, otherwise, we can work on a couple things on IRC at a scheduled time when convenient for both of us ...

I'm usually on the #linuxhelp as Morbid_Angel

later ...

Thanks for your help! When I used fdisk, my linux partitions didn't show up (I had already deleted them using the Ranish partition manager). I managed to get a copy of PartitionMagic 8 from a friend, and resized my disk to fill the free space. I had to convert to NTFS first, which might make a Linux reinstallation more awkward but shouldn't pose any serious problems. Thanks again!