Installing Windows7 While on Ubuntu

[doomgaze]

(Solved) Installing Windows7 While on Ubuntu

My school has extreme prejudice when it comes to Linux and I just don't have the time between classes to get their temperamental system to love me, I digress:

I want to fully install windows 7 on my laptop, as in get rid of Ubuntu, and I get to the part on the windows 7 installation disk where it shows me the partitions on my hard drive and it says that they are not NTFS and so it cannot be installed on them, I know. My question is if I delete the partition with Linux on it at the windows installer what will happen? Will the partition default back to NTFS? Does windows format it to NTFS? I'm confused and I keep getting mixed answers.
If you need my laptop information, doubt it, I'll post. I'm running:

You are using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS - the Lucid Lynx - released in April 2010 and supported until April 2013.

 

[fishnbanjo]

You should be able to delete the partition and Windows 7 may have to format it for it to be used as NTFS, if you can get a bootable 98 SE CD you should be able to boot from the CD and just format the C: drive and be good to go if there is nothing you're wanting to save.

 

[doomgaze]

What is the "bootable 98 SE CD"? I don't care about the information I have now, I'm trying to do this before school starts so I don't have any important data on the computer.

 

[Pusspa]

the short answer is yes.

 

[Night Hawk]

Hello doomgaze Welcome to the Seven Forums!

For replacing ubuntu with W7 you will need to remove the present partition if it is an extended type and not a primary type partition. Windows won't install onto an extended volume.

Most likely you could use the reformat option since it was likely a VFat primary ubuntu was installed to. To insure the best results however deletion of the present and using the drive tools found during the 7 setup will allow you to create a new NTFS primary. The separate option to format it is also seen.

If you allow the 7 installer to format you may see the 100mb system reserved boot partition in front of the C primary created as well. You can opt to boot live with the latest GParted and avoid that when seeing the new primary replace the old.

 

[doomgaze]

Hello doomgaze Welcome to the Seven Forums!

For replacing ubuntu with W7 you will need to remove the present partition if it is an extended type and not a primary type partition. Windows won't install onto an extended volume.

Most likely you could use the reformat option since it was likely a VFat primary ubuntu was installed to. To insure the best results however deletion of the present and using the drive tools found during the 7 setup will allow you to create a new NTFS primary. The separate option to format it is also seen.

If you allow the 7 installer to format you may see the 100mb system reserved boot partition in front of the C primary created as well. You can opt to boot live with the latest GParted and avoid that when seeing the new primary replace the old.

Thank you for the response before I go ahead I just want to check something:

I should be deleting the larger partition, correct?

It does not allow me to format, only to delete, should I still delete and it will format or something else?

 

[iseeuu]

Hello doomgaze Welcome to the Seven Forums!

For replacing ubuntu with W7 you will need to remove the present partition if it is an extended type and not a primary type partition. Windows won't install onto an extended volume.

Most likely you could use the reformat option since it was likely a VFat primary ubuntu was installed to. To insure the best results however deletion of the present and using the drive tools found during the 7 setup will allow you to create a new NTFS primary. The separate option to format it is also seen.

If you allow the 7 installer to format you may see the 100mb system reserved boot partition in front of the C primary created as well. You can opt to boot live with the latest GParted and avoid that when seeing the new primary replace the old.

Thank you for the response before I go ahead I just want to check something:

I should be deleting the larger partition, correct?

It does not allow me to format, only to delete, should I still delete and it will format or something else?

doomgaze;

Delete both of the partitions you see here, then allow the Windows 7 installer to take over. It should create the needed partitions and install Windows 7 correctly from there. You do not need to do anything else special. When done, you should be able to boot to your new Windows 7 OS.

(Sometimes things do not go as planned, so let us know if there are any hiccups?)

PS @Night Hawk; I have had no problem installing Windows OSs in logical partitions on an extended partition. Don't know why you would?

Cheers!
Robert

 

[doomgaze]

They only thing I'm worried about the "should" part haha

 

[iseeuu]

They only thing I'm worried about the "should" part haha

Well ... since we do not know anything about your laptop, whether the hardware is compatible with Windows 7, we can not offer any absolutes.

If you wish, you can go to this web site and see if Windows 7 is compatible with your computer?

Windows 7 Compatibility: Software Programs & Hardware Devices: Find Updates, Drivers, & Downloads

Cheers!
Robert

 

[doomgaze]

I've had the beta edition of windows7 on my computer.

 

[iseeuu]

I've had the beta edition of windows7 on my computer.

You should be good to go then!

Cheers!
Robert

 

[doomgaze]

Hopefully I'll be back on win7, and not on a ubuntu live CD =X

 

[Night Hawk]

Hello doomgaze Welcome to the Seven Forums!

For replacing ubuntu with W7 you will need to remove the present partition if it is an extended type and not a primary type partition. Windows won't install onto an extended volume.

Most likely you could use the reformat option since it was likely a VFat primary ubuntu was installed to. To insure the best results however deletion of the present and using the drive tools found during the 7 setup will allow you to create a new NTFS primary. The separate option to format it is also seen.

If you allow the 7 installer to format you may see the 100mb system reserved boot partition in front of the C primary created as well. You can opt to boot live with the latest GParted and avoid that when seeing the new primary replace the old.

Thank you for the response before I go ahead I just want to check something:

I should be deleting the larger partition, correct?

It does not allow me to format, only to delete, should I still delete and it will format or something else?

The small 7.6gb partition seen there is a factory restoration partition for the version of Windows the laptop came with originally. If you have no plans to revert back to XP or Vista you would then simply wipe the entire drive to see one main primary created for a clean install of 7. A basic process.

And getting back to iseeuu, Understanding Disk Partitions

When advising someone not accustomed to custom installations... dual booting, etc. it's best to point them at http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

or http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html

The guides here at SF are excellent resources since some good people put the time and effort into them over what you may run into in various blogs and the like.

 

[doomgaze]

lol, too bad I didn't wait, I could have returned this copy that I bought for retail and only paid for student price.

Luckily windows7 installed after I deleted both partitions but! The product key wasn't valid. If I take it back to the store and say that the activation key wasn't valid they will take it back, right?

 

[Night Hawk]

Was the disk previously used to install 7 on anything else? If not you may have to see another full install or use the upgrade repair method leaving the automatic activation once online box unchecked and not entering the product key until you arrive at the desktop later.

This seems to be reoccuring problem while not seen the majority of the time since 7's initial release. Threads like this one, http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/30748-install-says-my-product-key-invalid.html
or http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/97695-invalid-product-key.html
are not uncommon however.

Are you using a full version or upgrade disk? The second guide posted before explains a few things there if you are using upgrade media.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Geez y'all, all these posts and no-one gave him the easy way to do this, especially since he said there's nothing on the HDD he wants to save.



SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

Clean Install Windows 7

 

[doomgaze]

This was the upgrade version that I purchased

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Here you go mate.


Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

 

[Petey7]

Just want to add, you want to use option 3 of that tutorial.

 

[doomgaze]

I never got that, but I only tried entering the key on the install portion.