Windows 7: Can I wipe 7 in dual boot and start over?

Hi all.
I've been attempting a dual boot Vista 64 with Windows 7 on a 30GB partition on my c: drive.
This has not been successful as I can't get online, 7 can't see my router.
See dual boot thread in this forum if you're interested.
Anyway, in frustration I just tried a reinstall/ recovery with my original iso disk and I think I've bollixed the whole thing.
I realized what I was doing, another install, and ejected the disk in a panic and now find I have to 7 installs on that partition neither of which is booting properly.
So can I somehow wipe this partition and start afresh?
Also I'm thinking that my original download/iso disk might have been corrupt or something and that could be what's caused me these problems. I could download another one and burn a fresh disk.
Could I just format the drive or is there another way required.
Thanks, John

You can redownload it from MS site.

Download the Windows 7 Beta

Just follow this to format your partition when installing.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...ws-7-beta.html

Thanks for the help. I'll start the download right away and hope things go better this time.
I'm thinking I've already invested a lot of time in this, and the os looks great, so I'm not going to give up.
Cheers, John

A good ISO program will be able to verify that the DVD image matches the original file after the burn is complete. Always make sure you do this check.

I found that when I burnt the DVD at x16 it didn't record the last GB correctly. However, when I re-burnt at x8 the verification checked out.

As for deleting the whole Windows 7 installation, you can do this from within Vista using MSCONFIG. In the Boot tab select the Windows 7 install and then press the delete button! You can then reformat the partition you used without fear of mucking up the boot partition.

Nice one ceejay. That worked well and I now have a healthy 30GB primary partition.
However, either MS have stopped the download or there having a problem or maybe because I've already got a download and registered with them the site is not giving it to me.
However I still have my original iso file so I'll burn a fresh copy at a slower speed as you suggest and reinstall.
Thanks to you both for your swift response John

Does anyone know how to do the same thing but from XP? I'm dual-booting XP and 7; I read that it's not possible to do the same partition-management as you can do in Vista.

You can create a partition from disk management in XP, or using a third-party software , such as Acronis Partition Expert , if that's more convenient for you. Then, once you have your partition ready, you can install Windows 7 either by booting from the DVD or from within Windows XP.

If you already have XP and Windows 7 and you need to delete the boot entry, download EasyBCD. Works under XP too and manages Windows 7 and Vista boot entries.

Hi g35,

You may find this useful

How to dual boot Windows XP and Windows 7 (XP installed first)

Hope it helps

SIW2

Hi John,

If you are still having problems with your devices being recognized, you might try updating the drivers from your motherboard manufactureres website.

Hope it helps

SIW2

Ok for anyone who has XP and Windows 7 dual-boot, and for whatever reason you need to remove Windows 7 and reformat, here is a way you can remove the Windows 7 boot-loader and still have a fully working XP, and it does not require third-party software ( I have personally done this procedure on my computer to remove Vista/Server 2008 from the dual-boot, so its safe ) :

" Uninstalling Vista If You Have a Dual-Boot System: Both Windows Vista and Another Operating System (e.g., XP) Are on the Same Partitioned Hard Drive

As you have two operating systems on one partitioned hard drive, you can easily gain access to Vista to remove it. In this case you will not need an MS-DOS boot CD. The only thing you will require to remove Vista from a partitioned disk drive is your Windows Vista DVD. It is important to back up any files that you want to keep, because all files on the Vista partition will be erased during this process.

Note: For this tutorial, we are using the configuration of a partitioned hard drive that has Windows Vista on one partition and Windows XP on the other.

Step 1. Start up your computer, and once in the boot menu, select Windows XP.

Step 2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD into your DVD drive and launch Vista. Once Vista is launched, close any menus that might open.

Step 3. Click your start menu and then click on Run. Once the Run menu opens, input the following command: e:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force. Note that the letter "e" corresponds to the drive letter for the DVD-ROM in which the Vista DVD has been inserted.

Step 4. Now, restart your computer, and once in the boot menu, choose Windows XP. You will now reformat the part of the drive that Vista was installed on.

Step 5. Once the partition where Vista was installed on has been reformatted, you will need to delete two specific files: Bootsect.bak and Boot.bak. These files can be found in your Windows XP root folder.

Once these two files are removed, the uninstallation of Vista should be complete. "


You can find this whole article here :
How do I Uninstall Vista?


PS : this article describes how to uninstall Vista, but it is the same procedure for Server 2008 and Windows 7