Need to Remove Windows 7, BUT....

[mystic7]

ok, this is a bit weird. I partitioned my hard drive (as per instructions I got here), and installed Windows 7 on the new partition. So now my hard drive has 3 partitions:
C
D (Recovery partition)
E

Notice I didn't mention which OS is on C or E, because I DON''T KNOW!!! When I first installed it on E, I got all sorts of errors. It installed all the way to the end, but wouldn't work. I then said screw it, and installed it over Vista on C.

Now, the weird thing is, when I did that, I got it to work, but Vista was still on my computer and operating fine. I get a dual boot screen when I start up the computer.

To make things even weirder, If I boot into Vista, and place a file on my desktop, when I go into explorer to C:\users\me\desktop, I see the file there, but not on the E drive. If I boot into Windows 7 and place a file on the desktop, it also shows up under C:\users etc, but not E. So I have no idea which partition to delete (my disc management software won't let me delete the E drive, btw. It also won't let me take space from it and allocate it to C, either).

So what can I do to find out which OS is on which partition so I can delete Windows 7 when it expires? Grrrrr...

[Marlin Guy]

Assuming your previous partition scheme in Vista was C & D, then E must be the one infected with Windows 7.

http://www.techspot.com/guides/144-removing-windows7/

[mystic7]

Assuming your previous partition scheme in Vista was C & D, then E must be the one infected with Windows 7.

http://www.techspot.com/guides/144-removing-windows7/

Thanks, although your use of the term "infected" makes me wonder if you have a bias against Windows 7 :eek2:

Yes, my previous scheme was C (Vista) and D(Recovery). But the disc management software that comes with Windows 7 won't let me delete Partition E. All I can do to it is ADD space to it, by shrinking C first. But if I shrink E, it won't let me add the space to C. Confusing, aggravating and annoying!!!

btw, that link you gave me is where I found out about the disc management software. I already tried what it said, with the above results. It won't let me delete Partition E. It also says that my boot is on E. More confusion!!! And one final thing. Now, it says my recovery partition is E and my partition where Windows 7 supposedly is, is called D now.

[Marlin Guy]

But the disc management software that comes with Windows 7 won't let me delete Partition E.

That's because you're booted to the partition you're trying to delete.
Boot to Vista and use the disk management utility from within Vista to delete the third partition, as per the instructions in the link.

You can't delete the partition using its own OS. Even Windows won't let it kill itself.

[Marlin Guy]

Also be aware that messing around with partitions and boot records may have also dorked up your factory restore options.
What brand PC is it?

[mystic7]

Kind of figured that out right after posting. I'll give it a shot. If you don't hear back from me, I guess you can figure out what happened.

[harsh]

Even Windows won't let it kill itself.This is a misstatement. Windows reserves the right to hose itself exclusively for itself. ;)

[Marlin Guy]

This is a misstatement. Windows reserves the right to hose itself exclusively for itself. ;)

That's true, but it does it when IT wants to, not when YOU want it to. ;)