Removing Dual Boot

[Daz]

If I dual boot XP onto a second partition, with 98 on the first partition,
can I then remove 98 by just deleting the first partition? Will XP then boot
up OK?

Cheers, Daz

 

[Rob Meade]

...

If I dual boot XP onto a second partition, with 98 on the first partition,
can I then remove 98 by just deleting the first partition? Will XP then boot
up OK?

There is a file that gets created which lists the 'boots' in it, it has the
text etc to display, you might want to update/remove this also (keep a
backup or something just incase).

Regards

Rob

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Daz,

Not a good idea. You can delete the Win98 system folders, but do not format
or remove the partition. Why? Because you most likely have the system boot
files located on the root of the forst partition. Removing them will remove
your ability to boot any Operating System on the hard drive. Go ahead and
simply delete the Win98 system folders, then start/run "C:\boot.ini" and
remove the line referencing it from the [operating systems] section.

If you happen to have already removed the Win98 partition, then boot the
WinXP CD, run fixboot from the Recovery Console by hitting "r" at the first
prompt.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Michael Stevens]

If I dual boot XP onto a second partition, with 98 on the first
partition, can I then remove 98 by just deleting the first partition?
Will XP then boot up OK?

Cheers, Daz

No, see the link below.
Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
if using the web based newsgroup.
Remove a dual boot.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#Remove
--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Alex Nichol]

If I dual boot XP onto a second partition, with 98 on the first partition,
can I then remove 98 by just deleting the first partition? Will XP then boot
up OK?

No - the initial boot is into the Win98 partition, and without the boot
files there, XP will not be bootable.

have XP's Folder Options - View set to show Hidden files, and *not* Hide
Protected mode ones and Copy the hidden boot files from the root of C:
- boot.ini; ntldr and ntdetect.com into the root of the XP
Partiton.(And I would also copy bootsec.dos though it is not actually
needed)

Then boot the 98 Startup floppy, and use its FDISK - Set active
partition - to make the XP partition the one that is active at boot.
Check this out, then delete the content of the 98 partition and use for
something else. If you delete the actual partition XP will start
looking in the wrong place - safer is to use a third party tool to
shrink that partition down to a minimal 8MB and move the XP one down
into the space, thus keeping the same basic layout

 

[jdk]

No - the initial boot is into the Win98 partition, and without the boot
files there, XP will not be bootable.

have XP's Folder Options - View set to show Hidden files, and *not* Hide
Protected mode ones and Copy the hidden boot files from the root of C:
- boot.ini; ntldr and ntdetect.com into the root of the XP
Partiton.(And I would also copy bootsec.dos though it is not actually
needed)

Be careful here. I believe the second partition must be a primary to do
this. As far as I know MS does not support boot strapping directly from
a logical partition. DiskManager can tell you if the second is a primary
or extended partition. To confuse matters MS has changed the names
around calling the actual boot strap partition (where boot.ini, etc.
are) the system partition and the Windows (where the rest of the
operating system is) partition the boot partition -- hmm -- I wonder why?

To the op, a hard drive can have a maximum of four partitions, one and
only one of which can be an extended partition subdivided into logical
drives. Your hard drive may only have two partitions, you don't say, but
you need to check what type the second is before proceeding with the
above suggestion. See...

http://www.ntfs.com/logdrives.htm

What this page calls logical drives is commonly called logical
partitions so as not to be confused with more than one hard drive.

John

 

[Peter Hutchison]

If I dual boot XP onto a second partition, with 98 on the first partition,
can I then remove 98 by just deleting the first partition? Will XP then boot
up OK?

Cheers, Daz

Not recommended as XP installs system files on the first partition. I
suggest deleting C:\Windows and other folders on C: and then edit
BOOT.INI on C:\ to remove the Windows 98 entry in Notepad.

Peter Hutchison
Windows FAQ
http://www.pcguru.plus.com/