Need help removing dual boot


  1. Posts : 113
    Windows 11 Home x64
       #1

    Need help removing dual boot


    I am presently dual booting Win7 and XP and would like to remove XP. The two OS's are on different hard drives, Win 7 Home Premium x64 is on an SSD and XP Pro SP3 is on a mechanical HD. I added the SSD and Win7 upgrade to an existing PC with a mechanical HD and haven't used XP since the upgrade and now I want to clear that HD and use it for storage, backups, little used items, etc...

    The tutorials about removing dual boot talk about needing to have bootmgr on the correct drive, both of mine show active and I can't be sure which one holds the Win7 bootmgr, I would like to end up with only Win7 booting off the SSD. I've attached a disk management screen shot.

    Need help removing dual boot-disk-mgmt.jpg

    Steve
    Last edited by cmmtch; 06 Apr 2012 at 20:49. Reason: add info
      My Computer

  2.    #2

    Unplug XP HD, set Win7 HD first HD to boot in BIOS setup (after DVD drive), boot Win7 DVD System Recovery Options or System Repair Disk to run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times
    until Win7 starts on its own and holds the System Active flags on its partition.

    You can now plug back in the XP HD to access it's data, boot it using the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key,or wipe it using Diskpart Clean Command to get it cleanest for repartitioning in Disk mgmt. Partition or Volume - Create New
    Last edited by gregrocker; 06 Apr 2012 at 22:40.
      My Computer


  3. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #3

    I made a little guide for the purpose: Dual Boot - Delete a OS
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 113
    Windows 11 Home x64
    Thread Starter
       #4

    I have read the tutorials, they seem to be for different partitions on a single drive, nothing about two physically separate drives. It's the same, but different. I can't extend or shrink them. When I'm done I want one 64G SSD with Win 7 OS on it, and one empty 120G HDD.

    I have two hard drives "C" (SSD with Win 7), "D" (HDD with XP) both drives show "active", XP was there first on the mechanical HD, I added an SSD and installed Win 7 (retail) Home Premium upgrade on the SSD. It saw XP on the HDD and installed itself on the SSD and I ended up with a dual boot system. Now I want to remove XP from the dual boot, format the entire mechanical HD and have it for storage.

    Since I can't be sure which drive has bootmgr, I will follow instructions to remove the mechanical HD. Then use the install CD to run repair install 3 times or until Win 7 boots on it's own.

    Steve
      My Computer

  5.    #5

    The steps I gave you work for partitions on separate HD's as well as on same HD.

    This method also assures the System Recovery Options are written to the F8 Advanced Boot Options so you can run Repairs without using the disk.
    Last edited by gregrocker; 06 Apr 2012 at 22:40.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 113
    Windows 11 Home x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Thanks for the replies and advice, I will do it tomorrow and report back when I'm done.

    The Windows 7 partition has always been "active" the XP partition is also "active", that's what's confusing (senior moment ).
      My Computer


  7. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #7

    Disconnect the XP disk and try to boot Win7. Then you will know whether the Win7 BCD is on the XP disk or not.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 113
    Windows 11 Home x64
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Success


    I just disconnected the XP HD and the computer booted into Win 7 so the bootmgr is on the SSD.

    Thanks much to all who replied, I haven't removed the dual boot yet but since it boots Win 7 from the SSD I can clean the HD and that should take care of it.
    Need help removing dual boot-capture.jpg

    Steve
      My Computer

  9.    #9

    Since SSD has the System Active flags it is good to boot on its own.
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:14.
Find Us