Delete XP partition and add the space to 7

Hi,

First i had a dual boot of Windows XP and Linux Ubuntu 10.04 on my pc. Then i wanted to try out Windows 7. So i formatted the Ubuntu partition and installed 7.
Now i want to delete my old XP partition and use the full size of my drive for Windows 7. I think the XP partition still contains the important boot files.

I was planning to use my Ubuntu live cd to do the partition stuff, but i can't find it when i need it. (Why does that always happen?)

How do i move the bootloader and stuff to my 7 partition, the delete the Windows XP partition and add the size of that partition to the Windows 7 one without (preferably) using a live cd?

Thanks,
Wakawakamush

Can i boot that program from a usb drive? I don't have a cd burner. My live cd was a live usb

Great! I will test it soon!

I downloaded program from that site you gave me to make the bootable usb, but i can't find the option to make my usb bootable. The only thing with bootable cd, when i click that it takes me to their website with a howto for their bootable cd.

Did i install the wrong app?

i booted from 800 bootable usb drives, i meant that i couldn't find the option to install the partitioning software on my usb stick.

whs said:

1. Delete the XP partition using the bootable CD of this program: BEST FREE Partition Manager Software for Windows supports all 32-bit & 64 bit Windows No-server OS.

2. Mark your Win7 partition "Active" using the same program.

3. Use this tutorial for creating the MBR on the Win7 partition:
MBR - Restore Windows 7 Master Boot Record

I just came through this exact same project last weekend. I had decided that after a full year of "trying out" Win7 (on a separate partition, retaining the WinXP partition all during this time) I would eliminate the WinXP partition and go just win Win7. Note that throughout the year, all System Image backups copied both the Win7 partition as well as the WinXP partition, because the boot manager (BCD, or EasyBCD in my case) files were really on the WinXP partition... so System Image felt it part of the critical environment to image.

Well, when I deleted the WinXP partition I could not boot directly to the Win7 partition. To be honest, I didn't remember to use Partition Wizard to make the Win7 partition "active".

But then I couldn't even FORMAT and re-install Win7 on the very Win7 partition, because as it turns out there was no place on that drive to create the 100MB "system reserved" partition used by Win7 (if you're not in a dual-boot situation, adding a Win7 to an existing WinXP boot environment). When adding to WinXP, the WinXP partition is where those boot files apparently go. When installing Win7 "standalone/new", there needs to be room on that drive for the 100MB "reserved" partition.

So I ended up having to delete all partitions on that drive where I'd intended to re-install Win7 (now that I'd already lost my original installed copy because of my failed attempts described above, having already started FORMAT). I had backups of the other partitions so this was not a problem.

Now that the complete drive was available, the Win7 install did exactly what it wanted to... namely allocate the 100MB "system reserved" partition, followed by the rest of the drive for the Win7 "C" partition.

When everything in my new Win7 install was complete, I then used Partition Wizard to resize "C" down to what I wanted it to be, and allocated additional logical partitions in the rest of the drive... as I used to be, and as I wanted.

So, perhaps using Partition Wizard to just change my existing Win7 partition to "active" might have worked, but I'm not convinced. There needs to be a place to put the BCD files, and I believe they're in the 100MB "system reserved" area if you don't have a dual-boot environment with WinXP and an existing set of boot manager files on your WinXP partition.

Anyway, I'm now back in business... but it took available space on the drive to allocate that 100MB "system reserved" partition before Win7's install would get started.