How to remove XP from Dual boot with Win 7 ?

F

fergiet

Member
Hi

I have XP installed on first hard drive and can dual boot into Windows 7 on second hard drive. XP was installed first so all the boot files will be on the XP drive/partition.

I want to remove XP completely from my PC and just boot into Windows 7. Can I use EasyBCD to do this? If so how?

I want to do it correctly and not "bug.....r up" the booting of the PC.

Any help would be great.
 
Check Disk Management for the "system" flag.
If it's not XP, you can go ahead and format it.
If it is XP, use EasyBCD 2.0 latest build / Diagnostics/ change boot drive
Point it at your W7 drive.
Reboot (remember to change BIOS boot sequence if they're on different HDDs)
delete the XP entry from the BCD
format XP
 
Many thanks. Cannot believe it's that easy, :S but I am sure you know what EasyBCD can do. So will give it a go once all my backups are up to date and report back.

Thanks again.

:happy::happy::happy:
 
Terry60 said:
Check Disk Management for the "system" flag.
If it's not XP, you can go ahead and format it.
If it is XP, use EasyBCD 2.0 latest build / Diagnostics/ change boot drive
Point it at your W7 drive.
Reboot (remember to change BIOS boot sequence if they're on different HDDs)
delete the XP entry from the BCD
format XP
Click to expand...

A huge thank you to you. Followed your instructions and it all just worked !!!! Many thanks.

I had previously searched the web for a safe and straightforward way to do it but all the suggestions seemed long winded and complicated. So to have a method that involved about 4 clicks of the mouse is fantastic.

XP is gone and the free space will be used for data backup or a Linux OS.

Once again thanks

Tom :joy::joy::joy::smile::smile::smile:
 
No problem Tom.
Thanks due to CG.
He keeps adding more bells and whistles to Easy2.
I'm anticipating that soon it will do everything !
 
After following the above (except the 'format XP' step) using EasyBCD 2.0.0.81 and rebooting, I see that Windows XP is still the 'System' drive and the Windows 7 partition is the 'Boot' drive in the Disk Management status screen? Both are flagged as active. Is this correct and is it safe to format the XP partition? Something tells me it is not.

I read this in the FAQ. "When MS says "boot" it means "the system you're running at this moment".
There will only be one "system" partition in an all Windows environment, but MS acknowledges the existence of rival OSs (which have their own "system" (or boot) files) hence the "active" flag to say which of the possible "system" partitions is the one in control). But I am still confused. :wink:

Terry60 said:
Check Disk Management for the "system" flag.
If it's not XP, you can go ahead and format it.
If it is XP, use EasyBCD 2.0 latest build / Diagnostics/ change boot drive
Point it at your W7 drive.
Reboot (remember to change BIOS boot sequence if they're on different HDDs)
delete the XP entry from the BCD
format XP
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
EasyBCD's main screen should say either

"Boot Drive: xxx"
or
"EasyBCD Boot Drive: xxx"

What does it say?
 
It says...

There is one entry in the Windows Vista bootloader.

Default: Windows 7
Timeout: 5 seconds.
EasyBCD Boot Device: C:\

Entry #1
Name: Windows 7
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe

_________________________

C:\ is indeed my Win 7 partition.

It's the 'system' flag for D: (Win XP) in Disk Management that worries me...

Computer Guru said:
EasyBCD's main screen should say either

"Boot Drive: xxx"
or
"EasyBCD Boot Drive: xxx"

What does it say?
Click to expand...
 
Since it says "EasyBCD boot device" and not "Boot device" it means I'll need the contents of "Detailed Mode" as well
 
Here you go and thanks for the help.

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {9dea862c-5cdd-4e70-acc1-f32b344d4795}
device boot
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {7ea2e1ac-2e61-4728-aaa3-896d9d0a9f0e}
default {3383adfe-d6ed-11dd-a9c9-b528a1a18e28}
resumeobject {3383adfd-d6ed-11dd-a9c9-b528a1a18e28}
displayorder {3383adfe-d6ed-11dd-a9c9-b528a1a18e28}
toolsdisplayorder {b2721d73-1db4-4c62-bf78-c548a880142d}
timeout 5

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {3383adfe-d6ed-11dd-a9c9-b528a1a18e28}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {6efb52bf-1766-41db-a6b3-0ee5eff72bd7}
recoverysequence {3383adff-d6ed-11dd-a9c9-b528a1a18e28}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {3383adfd-d6ed-11dd-a9c9-b528a1a18e28}
nx OptIn
 
OK! I may need that luck. :grinning: I'll let you know later how it went... If I don't, then you'll know why. :wink: I'll check out that link first... Thanks!

Addendum:

Whew! Thank you for the help as well as some great software. EasyBCD made the process much easier, but not without a smidgen of stress. :happy:
 
Last edited:
Guess that means it went OK?

I really don't know what to tell you, Werm. Wish Windows' Disk Management weren't so broken so you'd get some peace of mind..... the only relief is that EasyBCD knows what it's doing :grinning:
 
Yes it went fine. Thanks again for a great program and your expertise.:booyah: I've been doing some partition merges/expansions with the Disk Manager in Win 7 and so far all is well. That little 'glitch' just made it a bit more interesting.
 
Doesn't Work

Terry60 said:
Check Disk Management for the "system" flag.
If it's not XP, you can go ahead and format it.
If it is XP, use EasyBCD 2.0 latest build / Diagnostics/ change boot drive
Point it at your W7 drive.
Reboot (remember to change BIOS boot sequence if they're on different HDDs)
delete the XP entry from the BCD
format XP
Click to expand...

I have a similar situation. I have WinXP on C: drive and Win7 on I: drive and would like to delete the WinXP system. I've tried your solution but when I go to change the boot drive to the Win7 partition I get a very long error message and had to cancel. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks.
 
Probably nothing.
An error crept in during the recent UI facelift.
Try build 90. It should be fixed
(and in the new-look UI it's under the BCD repair/install button, not diagnostics now)
 
Last edited:
Many thanks. The new build worked great! Now my only problem is to move the win7 system partition from an old slow hd to a new faster one. Any suggestions?
 
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