Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7

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  1. Posts : 3
    Windows 7
       #1

    Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7


    Hi, for many years I had Windows XP installed on the hard drive. About a year ago I created a new partition and installed Windows 7 on it. I now no longer need Windows XP and would like to reformat the partiton to free up space.

    I've searched around the forums and can find similar threads but I dont know much about this kind of thing and don't know if somebody else's solution applies to me and I don't want to take the risk. The easiest and most straight forward solution would be very much appreciated. I've still got the Windows 7 installation disk. Thanks in advance for your help
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7-picture1.png  
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #2

    Warning: Make sure you backup your Data first.
    You may need to copy boot files from XP partition to your Win7 partition, before deleting the XP drive.

    1) Make sure you have these files on the Windows 7 partition.

    Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7-capture3.png

    2) Mark the Windows 7 partition ACTIVE,
    Partition - Mark as Active

    3) Boot to DVD,& open a Command Prompt,
    Boot DVD, & Press Shift+F10 (for command prompt)
    or
    Boot DVD, & Command Prompt at Startup
    (for command prompt)

    4) Delete Win XP partition,
    Partition or Volume - Delete

    5) Than do a startup repair.
    Startup Repair
    Note: You may need to do startup repair 3 to 4 times.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 8,375
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
       #3

    Hell jayg999 Welcome to the Seven Forums!

    I'll go a bit further from looking at your present partitioning scheme and advise backing everything up to another drive in order to wipe the present partitions off the XP/7 drive unless you want to continue with it split in two parts. Moving the 7 primary forward to front of the drive would be time consuming and doesn't always guaranty working results when going to expand it to fill in the vacant space where the second partition had been.

    You woulc simply reformat the XP primary and simply nuke the present C primary 7 is on for a clean install on the old XP primary but run into problems expanding that to fill the drive after. The best option would be nuking both for the new single large primary to be created afterwards.

    With a fresh new primary to work with you wouldn't have to worry about running into corrupted partition tables such as seen lately when the XP/7 RC saw the RC removed and the expanded XP primary failed! You would still want to see everything backed first however before making any drive changes.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 3
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Thanks for the replies. Thanks Night Hawk, I think I'll keep the partitions how they are after reading that, it looks like the easiest thing to do and I don't fancy a clean install. I'll probably turn the XP drive into a drive for all my media stuff or something.

    Thanks for the instructions theog. I don't really know much about this kind of thing so please could you tell me where to copy the boot folder and bootmgr from and to. Thanks
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
       #5

    Hello jayg999, welcome to Seven Forums.





    You would need to copy them to the Windows 7 root C: have a look at the snip below and don't put them in a folder/file, just copy them as they are.



    click to enlarge
    Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7-here.png
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,379
    Win7 Pro 32-bit, Win8 Pro 32-bit
       #6

    Or ... you could install EasyBCD from the NeoSmart Technology website (get ver 2.0x, a free download), install it, and use it to transfer the boot folder and files from your XP partition to your Win7 partition.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #7

    jayg999 said:
    Thanks for the replies. Thanks Night Hawk, I think I'll keep the partitions how they are after reading that, it looks like the easiest thing to do and I don't fancy a clean install. I'll probably turn the XP drive into a drive for all my media stuff or something.

    Thanks for the instructions theog. I don't really know much about this kind of thing so please could you tell me where to copy the boot folder and bootmgr from and to. Thanks
    Hope this of help.

    Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7-capture1.png Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7-capture2.png
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 22,814
    W 7 64-bit Ultimate
       #8

    jayg999 said:
    Thanks for the replies. Thanks Night Hawk, I think I'll keep the partitions how they are after reading that, it looks like the easiest thing to do and I don't fancy a clean install. I'll probably turn the XP drive into a drive for all my media stuff or something.

    Thanks for the instructions theog. I don't really know much about this kind of thing so please could you tell me where to copy the boot folder and bootmgr from and to. Thanks
    Thanks Ray, the "from" didn't resister with me I only saw the "to" part.




    The Free Partition Wizard is very easy to use to resize partitions and very reliable, there's even a bootable version.


    Removing Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7-pw_resize.jpgRemoving Windows XP from a dual boot with Windows 7-pw_resize2.png
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 3
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Hi, I've removed Windows XP and have turned the unallocated space back into a partition for my media stuff. Thanks a lot to everyone who helped me. I've been wanting to do this for a while now and it's put a right smile on my face. Thanks again.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #10

    Well done.

    You are welcome, we are here 24/7 to help.
      My Computer


 
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