Solved 'Element not found' when trying to delete old Windows XP partition

[AddRAM]

But you said you deleted the XP partition.

 

[CiaraJansonFan]

But you said you deleted the XP partition.

Yes, I deleted it using the Partition Wizard bootable CD, but running Startup Repair RESTORES the partition table and hence the XP partition

 

[AddRAM]

Did you mark the W7 partition active when you used partition wizard ?

 

[CiaraJansonFan]

Did you mark the W7 partition active when you used partition wizard ?

It has always been Active to my knowledge (and still is now).

 

[AddRAM]

So what can you boot into right now ?

I would then take Greg`s advice and disconnect all the hard drives but C: and run the startup repair.

 

[CiaraJansonFan]

So what can you boot into right now ?

Windows 7, and XP too I assume, although I haven't tried the latter!

 

[AddRAM]

Well that`s what I meant by an update. I had no idea you were booting into W7 yet. Can you delete the XP partition from disk mgt now ?

 

[CiaraJansonFan]

Well that`s what I meant by an update. I had no idea you were booting into W7 yet. Can you delete the XP partition from disk mgt now ?

If I make the XP partition inactive (as I have just done), neither OS boots and my PC boots from the W7 DVD in my DVD drive.

After running Startup Repair, I can now boot into either W7 or XP (as I could before). Both partitions are now Active and Primary, as in the screenshot I posted earlier. Only XP is a System partition however.

So as you can probably guess, no, I cannot delete the XP partition from Disk Management!

Clear as mud I hope?!?

Looks like I'm taking my PC apart tomorrow and disconnecting the XP drive

 

[gregrocker]

So what happens when you follow these steps I gave you?

Unplug all other HD's except Win7, make sure it's still marked Active and set first to boot in BIOS setup. Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two)

Boot into the Win7 DVD or System Repair Disk System Recovery options to run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times until Win7 starts on its own and holds the System Active Boot flags.

Sometimes you have to force the Win7 partition to take the System boots files or it will just repair or rewrite them to the XP partition where they still reside. You do this by unplugging or disabling the XP HD as I've now written out for you twice.

 

[CiaraJansonFan]

So what happens when you follow these steps I gave you?

Unplug all other HD's except Win7, make sure it's still marked Active and set first to boot in BIOS setup. Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two)

Boot into the Win7 DVD or System Repair Disk System Recovery options to run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times until Win7 starts on its own and holds the System Active Boot flags.

Sometimes you have to force the Win7 partition to take the System boots files or it will just repair or rewrite them to the XP partition where they still reside. You do this by unplugging or disabling the XP HD as I've now written out for you twice.

Yes, I realise that Greg, but as I said, it was too late to start taking my PC apart last night so I'm going to do what you said tonight (Tuesday) instead. Please bear with me while I do so and rest assured I will report back with the results.

Thanks
Steven

 

[gregrocker]

Let us know how it goes.

When you plug XP back in, make sure Win7 HD remains the HD set first to boot in BIOS setup, then boot XP when needed using the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key.

 

[CiaraJansonFan]

Let us know how it goes.

When you plug XP back in, make sure Win7 HD remains the HD set first to boot in BIOS setup, then boot XP when needed using the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key.

Yeah! I have finally removed the XP partition and Windows 7 still boots

Here are the steps I took:

1. Disconnected the XP drive and other HDD.
2. Checked the BIOS, and the SSD with W7 on was NOT set as the 1st boot device so I changed the settings so it was.
3. Booted up my PC and it booted straight into Windows 7!
4. Checked Disk Management and W7 was set to System, Boot, Active.
5. Booted into the W7 DVD.
6. Ran Startup Repair 3 times - no problems were found.
7. Reconnected other HDDs - W7 still showing as System, Boot, Active.
8. Booted into the Partition Wizard CD.
9. Deleted the XP partition.
10. Booted into W7 and ran BCDEdit /delete {ntldr} /f

Now my PC boots straight into Windows 7 and XP is gone for good!

Thanks very much for your help everyone - I never realised it would be this complicated!

Cheers
Steven

 

[gregrocker]

Good news. You can mark the thread Solved at top.

 

[seavixen32]

You got there in the end Steven. Well done.

You were in good hands and I'm real pleased you got a result.

Thanks for updating us too.

 

[gregrocker]

But you said you deleted the XP partition.

Yes, I deleted it using the Partition Wizard bootable CD, but running Startup Repair RESTORES the partition table and hence the XP partition

If you'd actually deleted XP in Partition Wizard as you'd originally thought, it could not be restored except using the PW Partition Recovery Wizard. For those who wondered, what apparently happened is that the steps which showed on your PW map were not actually Applied.

Glad it worked out in the end.