Windows 7 - Remove ubuntu and do clean Win7 install

Hi,

I have an ASUS G51J that is currently running Ubuntu 9.10 with a VM install of Windows 7. I would like to go back to Windows 7 entirely, removing Ubuntu 9.10.

I have my Windows 7 64bit repair disk and Windows 7 64bit ISO disk, and have backed up my Ubuntu installation, but have some questions before I proceed.

My system has 2 hard drives. I would like to install Windows 7 on the first disk, which currently looks like the attached image (sda_gparted.png). Can I reformat the entire drive to NTFS before proceeding?

Also, on a second drive I have my data. A large chunk is in NTFS, but some is in ext3 formatted partitions. Is there a way to read these from Windows 7, or alternately,
if I reformat the partitions to NTFS, is there a way I can copy data over from a clone of the second HDD that is formatted in ext3?

Anything else I need to know to make sure I don't brick my computer?

Thanks

Hello Photobucket,

Yes, you'll need to format the entire drive to ntfs before installing Windows 7.

First, in your bios setup make sure the computer is set to boot from dvd as the first boot device.

Then, boot from dvd. Delete all the existing partitions, create one or more partitions as per choice, then format in ntfs. You can make changes to the partition structure after the install also either using the Windows 7 diskmgmt tool or a 3rd party software like Partition wizard. Choose to do a Custom (clean install) when presented with that option.

For reading the ext3 data from Windows 7, there exist apps like Explore2fs and Ext2ifs. See this page for alternatives and details.

How to Access Linux Partitions (ext2, ext3) From Windows in Dual-Boot System? - Tweaking with Vishal

and

Three Ways To Access Linux Partitions (ext2/ext3) From Windows On Dual-Boot Systems | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials

But would suggest you hold your horses and wipe your data disk only after confirming you can read and backup that data.

phobucket,
How to Access Linux Ext2 & Ext3 Volumes (Drives) on Windows

Thanks, Bill. I'm in no rush about the data disk as the crucial stuff is already on NTFS format.

phobucket,

Yes, you can format and partition the drive.

What is the total size of the drive to be formatted and partitioned and how do you desire to have the drive partitioned?

I have installed Windows 7 on disk0 and have most of my software installed. This weekend I'll get into reformatting the 320GB data drive. The Partitions on the data drive are Audio (for recording music), Development (code), Data, and Work (contains files for my business).

Thank you both for your help.

phobucket,

Do you realize that you will lose all data on a partition when you format the drive?

Unplug the data drive during install just to be sure your data isn't affected.

@karlsnooks & gregrocker... Yes, I made a clone of the data drive to an external 320GB disk before the changes. I'm going to format the internal data drive and then copy information from the clone drive.

All Linux code must be deleted.
Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
Try a full clean & full format.
1) Boot DVD.
2) Press Shift+F10 (for command prompt)

Type in command line
DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK # (win HD)
CLEAN ALL
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
FORMAT=NTFS
ASSIGN
EXIT
EXIT