Installing windows AFTER installing ubuntu

You can't install Windows using WINE. WINE emulates Windows. Windows IS Windows. So basically WINE is going to say "WTF are you doing?"

First:

I'm not going to ask where you got the XP .iso. Maybe you got it from somewhere legit. Maybe you didn't. I've never seen an XP .iso that was legit that wasn't also already on an official DVD or CD. I'm just saying. If you got it from a torrent or somewhere and don't have absolute knowledge of where it's coming from, we can't help you, because 1) breaks forum rules 2) not legal 3) god only knows what you're actually installing. An .iso on a harddisk that's fully functional and suitable to install complete with product key? Forgive me skeptical nature.  

If your response to above is: "I know where the .iso came from, it's legit, and you're stupid..."

Installing XP SP3 is going to require you to ferret out a lot of drivers and do a lot of work to get it to run on your netbook. It's doable but it's not going to be an out of the box thing by a long shot.

All that said, I'm not clear on if you want to actually dump Ubuntu (since you state it's not supported well) or install XP instead, or install XP next to Ubuntu (which you don't like) If you're not satisfied with Ubuntu just do a standard install. Windows is so hostile to other OS that it will be quite happy to wipe out any trace of Linux with not much input from you.  

Unless it's an old OEM copy that requires a completely blank HD to install on. In that case you need to delete all partitions from the drive using something like gparted which is included on the Ubuntu LiveCD.

haha well i do have a legit copy of the disk and I do just want to get rid of ubuntu and install windows, but the only way i know how to do this is by inputting the disk into a cd drive (which my netbook doesnt have) and booting from the installation cd.
If there is an easier way then i dont know about it (which could very well be the case). Basically, I dont even know how to start the install to begin with, thats why I went through wine, because the only install i could get to was through mounting and opening the .exe. I dont know if the copy is oem, it probably is...but when i tried to install with wine it told me that there was no open partition for the install.

@audiovoodoo
How do i delete all partitions from the drive while im using the partitions to run ubuntu in order to access gparted. I tried to make space with gparted, but i had no idea what i was doing.

mikehockey27,

with no CD Drive, it will make it challenging but not impossible to reinstall windows. you can follow the instructions here:

http://liliputing.com/2009/08/easiest-way-to-install-wi...

during the installation process of windows you can delete or create partitions on your hard disk. after you have windows installed if you still want to dual boot you can install Ubuntu at that time.

This is why I said LiveCD, you can not easily modify a partition in use (mounted). The best way is to use unetbootin:

sudo apt-get install unetbootin

You then run the application and point it at a copy of the Ubuntu .iso file, the one you would have downloaded to install Ubuntu. Stick in a USB pen drive (the contents of this drive will be wiped!!) and let the SW do its business. After a couple of minutes you have a bootable pendrive copy of Ubuntu. simply boot of this and then use gparted from the menu to delete the partitions.

The link from mikehockey is essentially the same technique but to make a USB pendrive with XP (unetbootin does not support this) on it so you can boot and install. XP should allow you to delete the partitions at installation when you partition the drive. I have however had instances where it has refused to play and have had to use the gparted route to blank the disc before installing.

Just as a note the Win8 consumer preview and Win7 edditions all support booting from USB far more easily for installation. You could try the Win8 preview for free if that floats your boat.

thanks guys, you have all been very helpful. I had tried to run gparted while booting from my pen driver copy before, but for some reason the pen drive with ubuntu didnt have gparted on it and i tried to install it on the bootable flashdriver(not sure if you can actually do this) but it failed and the pendrive basically crashed. I redownloaded the latest ubuntu from the site and i guess ill format my pendrive and remake it bootable with the new ubuntu iso. Another question though, if i get some form of windows os on my system and install the correct drivers under windows to make my darn netbook run, will these drivers stay affective while booting under ubuntu? i imagine they wouldnt since its a separate partition, but i was just wondering.
Thanks

You guess right. The drivers are loaded when Windows boots and only work under Windows. Linux would not benefit from them in any way.

does your computer manufacturer provide no way to reinstall the OS that came with the unit from the factory?

It does come with a system image partition: