Member Avatar for comandoed

:confused: How do I delete Xp, reallocate Vista Partition and delete the dual boot
manager from Drive C?

All my personal data is on a different drive I just dont want to reinstall all my software. I have a Hirens Cd that contains Partition Magic. I am just not sure what the sequence should be to accomplish this nor what to look out for when doing it.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by mikej101

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A safe sequence and what to watch for.

Back up everything and make a Vista System Repair disc or a full image before touching partitions. As hinted, check which OS was installed first: open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) and note the columns that say "System" and "Boot". If XP's partition is marked "System" it currently holds the boot files — that must be moved to C: before deleting XP.

From Vista, make C: the system/active partition and remove the XP boot entry. Run an elevated Command Prompt and copy Vista boot files to C:, enumerate BCD entries, and delete the older-OS entry (find the GUID for the "Earlier version of Windows" entry first):

bcdboot C:\Windows /s C:
bcdedit /v
bcdedit /delete {GUID}

If you prefer a GUI, use msconfig -> Boot tab or a trusted tool like EasyBCD to remove the XP entry. Reboot to confirm Vista can start without the XP partition present.

Once Vista boots alone, delete the XP partition in Disk Management (right-click -> Delete Volume). If the resulting unallocated space is immediately to the right of C:, Vista's Disk Management can extend C: into it (right-click C: -> Extend Volume). If Extend Volume is greyed out because space is not contiguous, use a modern partition tool that supports Vista (for example, GParted live or current Partition Manager tools) — verify the tool supports Vista before using the Partition Magic copy on your Hiren's disc, as older partition utilities may not handle Vista's boot/BCD safely. Always keep your image so you can roll back.

If boot problems occur after changes, boot the Vista repair disc and run Startup Repair or, from the recovery command prompt, use:

bootrec /FixMbr
bootrec /FixBoot
bootrec /RebuildBcd

This preserves installed programs on C: as long as the Vista installation itself is not removed or reinstalled.

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Member Avatar for TheNNS

Install vista on the xp partition, acutally, upgrade from xp to vista.

Member Avatar for comandoed

I already have Vista on one partition(C:) Xp on another partition(D:).
Both are on the same physical drive. When I boot the boot manager
asks me if I want Vista or earlier Win version.

Member Avatar for mikej101

No really an answer to your question - I'd just like to know which you installed first - XP or Vista ? Am I correct in assuming you are using Boot Magic ? Thanks

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