Dual Boot - remove one option

[Zolwik]

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?

 

[whs]

Have a look at this: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/210983-dual-boot-delete-os.html#post1767171

 

[Zolwik]

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.

 

[whs]

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

 

[Zolwik]

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?

 

[whs]

Can you post a picture of your disk management.

 

[gregrocker]

Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image

 

[cluberti]

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.

 

[whs]

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.

 

[Zolwik]

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.

 

[whs]

There is no more XP. All you need to do is to clean up the bootmgr - start with step 3 of my tutorial.

 

[gregrocker]

Easiest is to first look in msconfig>Boot tab to see if there is an XP listing there to delete.

 

[Zolwik]

Many thanks to WHS, cluberti, and gregrocker for looking at this problem with me.

Without your help, I would not have come to understand enough about what was going on to ask the right question.

I'm helping out in a non-profit organization, so I didn't feel I qualified for the Free edition of EasyBCD (personal use only), nor did I really want to shell out the $30 for what would likely be a one-time use. So I tried using bcdedit from an elevated command prompt.
Ask-Leo.com got me started, and the help file helped me figure out the rest.

Viola! Problem solved.

Thanks!
- Turtle

 

[whs]

From the link in my tutorial you should have been able to get a free EasyBCD (see picture). Else you can also get a free version from here: (this is a trouble free direct link from MajorGeeks)

Download EasyBCD 2.2

 

[Zolwik]

Thanks again for continuing to help.

I just had scruples about using the free EasyBCD when my usage is not totally personal.
It's still great that you put that link out there for those it applies to.
Doubtless it's easier than the command-line option, which I ended up using.

I'm ready to close this thread.

 

[whs]

Understand. The MajorGeeks download has no strings attached. EasyBCD used to be free until recently. Most of us have a free copy on their systems.