Dual Boot - remove one option

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  1. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Pro 32 bit
       #1

    Dual Boot - remove one option


    I received a Dell laptop with a dual XP boot on it -
    on startup, it displayed two options, both of them XP.
    One worked, the other one didn't.
    I did a fresh install (not an upgrade) of Windows 7, which apparently landed on top of the working XP boot.

    So now when I boot up, I see two options - Windows 7 and "earlier operating system".
    The Windows 7 boot works fine, but if I try the other, I get
    "Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem."

    I looked in the Disk Manager; all I could see was one disk (C),
    with two partitions - one huge one, and one 9 MB one.

    I'd really like to remove the XP ("earlier operating system") option,
    so that it would boot directly to Windows 7.

    How can I do this?
      My Computer


  2. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #2

    Have a look at this: Dual Boot - Delete a OS
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Pro 32 bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Yes, I've seen that. However, the top part of my Disk Management window shows only one Volume - C.
    I don't see any evidence of where the XP boot might be installed.
      My Computer


  4. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #4

    There is always only one C partition and that is the active OS.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Pro 32 bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    On the page you sent me to, there is a screen shot of a Disk Management window.
    Red circles and arrows show where the Windows 7 part is,
    and where the Windows 8 part is.

    On my system, there is only one entry in the Disk Management window.
    Not surprisingly, its name is C.
    It is healthy, and is marked "boot".

    So where is Win XP installed?
    How can I delete this boot option?
      My Computer


  6. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #6

    Can you post a picture of your disk management.
      My Computer

  7.   My Computer


  8. Posts : 2,528
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #8

    If you're booting Windows 7, the boot options are stored in the boot configuration database (bcd). You could use bcdedit from an elevated command prompt to delete the obsolete options, or perhaps Visual BCD Editor if you'd prefer.
      My Computer


  9. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #9

    cluberti said:
    If you're booting Windows 7, the boot options are stored in the boot configuration database (bcd). You could use bcdedit from an elevated command prompt to delete the obsolete options, or perhaps Visual BCD Editor if you'd prefer.
    Carl, that's all explained in the tutorial I gave him in my first post. But there is more to it. E.g. the XP partition could very well be his active partition and if he deletes it the system does not boot any more. But we will only know that after looking at his disk management.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Pro 32 bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Thanks, Cluberti - I'll try that in the morning (when I'm fresher). And for those who asked, here's a screen shot of my Disk Management.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Dual Boot - remove one option-disk-management.png  
      My Computer


 
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