XP uninstall

[lpmjames]

so i dont want xp installed only because it seems to be corrupted in some way no allowing me to boot... when i select it in the os selection screen i dont get the bsod .. my screen just goes black and the comp resets.. unfortunaltely when i boot windows 7 and start easeus partition manager it doesnt allow me to format the partition withwhich xp is on.. what is the problem .. please help me get rid of xxp

 

[ruready2]

When you execute Easeus does it show two partitions, one for Xp and one for Win7? When you are logged onto Win7 can you see a separate drive for Xp?

 

[gbhall]

As runread2 says, before erasing XP, first lets be certain it is a separate partition, otherwise you lose everything ! If you can see the XP partition but it is disabled, then it could be that the partition is 'hidden' when Win7 is active. Some boot managers do that. In which case you can unhide it and then be able to delete and reformat the empty space. You could just as easily do that from Win7.

Easeus should allow deletion of a partition with an OS on it, but only if the partition is neither active nor has open files on it. If the latter case, I would have expected it to do so after giving you a message advising it will do so after a reboot. If you try to delete the active partition, the options are just disabled, so you cant even click the button.

Something seems a little odd, but since I cannot for obvious reasons reproduce the problem, I cant think what it might be. Make sure you are using the latest version of Easeus, and try delete before format. It is not clear if you are trying to format directly.

One other question, your specs say you are running Win 7 ultimate, Ububtu and xp ultimate. There was no such thing as XP ultimate - do you mean XP pro, or is something even more confusing going on?. And why not boot Ubuntu to delete and reformat the XP partition? And another thing you might check - from Win7 do a chkdsk /f on the XP partition. If you cant do that, then neither can Easeus touch it.

 

[Leeky]

Un-installing XP is not as simple as just deleting the partition anyway. There is further work after doing this, including reconfiguring Grub so it takes into effect the changes to your OS' or you could end up with a system unable to boot any OS.

You can remove your XP partition from either windows, or from within Linux.

If in Windows 7, hit start, and type disk management and hit enter. The disk management console will then open, and will show every partition on your hard drive(s). You need to exercise extreme care before going any further, but essentially you need to idenitfy your XP partition, and then remove that only. You can then create a new parition once complete to give you the disk space back.

The other method is through Ubuntu. Click System, and then go to administration, and select GpartED. The proceedure is the same as above, except for formatting as NTFS instead of the native Ext4 partition used by Linux.

Remember to then update Grub when your finished with above, but running the following from terminal:

sudo update-grub

That'll clean it all up for you.

EDIT: The linux method assumes you have GpartED installed, I always have on every install, but I forget its not a default install. To install GpartED fire up terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install gparted

 

[ruready2]

After further reflection, although I could be wrong, I am of the impression the operating systems are overlapped on one partition.

 

[Leeky]

After further reflection, although I could be wrong, I am of the impression the operating systems are overlapped on one partition.

Its a possiblity, but only W7 and XP could do that - Its impossible (AFAIK) to run Linux AND MS based (NTFS) OS's on the same partition, as both require different filesystems in order to work.

I believe the OP has been tri-booting for a little while now, so I just assumed it was a recent issue and had worked previously.

 

[lpmjames]

ok.. so..
xp=c:
win7=d:
and ubuntu is hidden when in windows but it is on another hdd altogether..
7 and xp and on the same drive but with seperate partitions.. also i am unable to simply format the partition .. for some reason the partition is active and i cannot disable it.. thats where the problem is .. help

 

[Leeky]

In which OS have you tried to format the partition?

 

[lpmjames]

both 7 and ubuntu.. strange thing.. somehow it is unformatable.. i have to clarify what i meant about being active... i think its somehow active.. it doesnt show as active.. when i rightclick on the partition in easeus the option for set active is faded and unselectable..

 

[ruready2]

Have you tried to delete the partition using Easeus?

 

[lpmjames]

dude.. comeon.. of course i have tried deleting it from easeus...

 

[ruready2]

dude.. comeon.. of course i have tried deleting it from easeus...

None of your post mention any attempt to delete the partition. You only mention trying to format. Unfortunately my crystal ball isn't working.

 

[Leeky]

both 7 and ubuntu.. strange thing.. somehow it is unformatable.. i have to clarify what i meant about being active... i think its somehow active.. it doesnt show as active.. when i rightclick on the partition in easeus the option for set active is faded and unselectable..

Tou could delete it from Gparted a ISO CD, though its strange its not working, unless of course its active because your boot loader is on that partition...

 

[lpmjames]

correct leeky.. the bootloader was apart of the xp partition.. now im screwed .. unfortunately lastnight i booted ubuntu and the first thing i tried to do was format the xp partition.. which it allowed me to do .. so initially without hesitation i formated and proceeded to restart etc... now windows 7 wont load.. because the bootloader was there..how do i repair this.. ive tried the bootsect / options and it doesnt correct the issue..ive backed up my files luckily..

 

[Leeky]

I'm not entirely sure.

It depends on whether W7 requires its own bootloader, or whether Grub would happily tell W7 to load using its own settings or not. You could try to re-set Grub, to see if that changes it and allows it work again, but failing that I really couldn't comment as I don't understand (nor have paid any attention to) how W7's bootloader works.

I take it Ubuntu is running fine, or is that no longer booting either?

 

[lpmjames]

yea ubuntu runs fine.. im afraid of resetting grub now.. i believe the boot files where on the old xp partition.. basically im not sure what is the right thing ..

 

[Leeky]

You need to re-instate W7's bootloader.

This might be of some use. This could be as well.

From brief looking, it appears that W7 uses the first system partition for its bootloader (the system reserved partition it makes when you format during installation). So it's a case of re-installing W7's bootloader in that partition hopefully.

Once you've done that, Linux will likely stop booting, so you need to log into Linux using the live CD to re-install Grub before you can proceed afterwards.

 

[lpmjames]

ok.. i got it figured out thanks leeky... as always .. im gonna make a tutorial thread about this situation.. again.. thanks leeky