Can I Remove an Unused Partition from my Hard Drive?

W

wireaddict

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I originally posted this question in another forum & someone suggested I try EasyBCD, hence this posting here. I'm not sure this is the proper forum for this question because this issue doesn't concern any OS but rather, hard drive partitioning. I apologize if this is in the wrong place.

I recently installed a Linux distro onto a 320GB hard drive which already had Win7 [32-bit] on it. Everything worked but the problem is I've since decided I didn't like the Linux OS & want to remove it. Can this be done without corrupting Win7 or the need to reformat the HD &, if so, how can it be done?

Incidentally, I expect to install another version of Linux on this HD if I can remove the first one successfully. Thanks in advance.

Dave


Addendum:


After more consideration I believe this post probably belongs in the EasyBCD support forum so if a moderator would kindly move this, it would be greatly appreciated. Regards.

Dave
 
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post a W7 Disk Management screenshot (how to details in the sticky if needed), and we'll advise on the correct course of action.
 
I tried to follow your instructions altho I've never used paint or the snip tool before so I don't know how this will turn out. Hopefully the image uploaded even tho it didn't appear here. Let me know how it turned out & how useful it is.
 

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OK.
Which boot manager is in control ?
Did you let Linux overwrite the MBR when you installed it, or did you install it to its own boot sector, leaving W7 in charge ?
If the latter, then you don't need to do anything. You can just install a different Linux straight on top of the old one (though if you're just experimenting with Linux rather than planning to switch a serious amount of use to it, I'd delete that Linux partition and extend W7 into the space first, leaving just 40-50Gb for the next Linux install).
If the former, then you just need to use EasyBCD 2 > Bootloader Setup > Install Vista/7 boot loader > Write MBR
first to put W7 back in control, then proceed as above. (Next time, use "advanced" or "custom" options during the Linux install to prevent it overwriting the MBR)

Ubuntu - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
 
Thanks Terry. Don't know which boot mgr is in control [this isn't my main area of expertise] but I'd guess Linux is since, at start up, I get a menu from which I can choose either Linux or Win7. And each will boot up & run OK when selected but, if I don't select either, then, after about 15 seconds, the Linux distro starts automatically.

I don't know it Linux overwrote the MBR when I installed it but from your description it appears that it has.

The directions you attached are for Ubuntu 10.4 but the distro I want to install is Kubuntu v10.10; how will that affect the installation?

Also, Kubuntu 10.10 will just install itself over the first distro & not try to create a third OS on the HD? If that's the case I can handle that.

If I can get Kubuntu to do everything that W7 does then I plan to remove W7 eventually but I'll worry about that when the time comes. Regards.
 
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That link was just an example. They should all install in a similar manner, and give you the option just like Windows, to update a previous version, overwrite an existing OS in place, or add a new one into empty space.
If the boot menu doesn't tell you it's MS Windows, then it'll be grub.
 
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