Dual Boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 - Delete Windows 7

How to Delete "Windows 7" in your Dual Boot with Windows 8​


information   Information
This tutorial will show you how to delete Windows 7 in your dual boot with Windows 8 when Windows 7 was installed first and Windows 8 installed second. This will leave you with only having Windows 8 installed afterwards.

warning   Warning
You will need to have the Microsoft System Reserved Partition.



Part One

Here's How:


1. Start or restart your PC, and boot into Windows 8. (see screenshot below)
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Delete Win 7-001.PNG​

2. Open Disk Management by typing diskmgmt.msc in search bar. (see screenshot below)
​
Delete Win 7-002.PNG​

3. In Disk Management, delete the partition that you installed Windows 7 on so that is is now unallocated space. (see screenshots below)
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Delete Win 7-003.PNG​
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Delete Win 7-004.PNG​
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Delete Win 7-005.PNG​


4. If you like, you could either create a new partition to use with the unallocated space, or extend the Windows 8 C: drive into the unallocated space to add it back to the C: partition. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: This will vary depending on how you have your hard drive setup though.
​
Delete Win 7-006.PNG​
​
​
Note   Note
For (B) Setup to extend Partition C: you will need a third party partitioning app like Paragon Software,

Note   Note

​
You can download, a free versions from here:​
​
You will need to register for a Product Key.​
​
​

​
​
Paragon Extend.PNG​

5. When finished, restart your PC and only have Windows 8 installed and listed in the Windows Boot Manager screen.

Part Two

When you have your Dual boot on a PC with a uEFI setup.

Delete Win 7-007.PNG
Delete Win 7-008.PNG

Follow the steps in Part One.

Note   Note
As Paragon have updated for Windows 8.1, you will need Paragon 14.
Paragon Hard Disk Manager 14 Suite (64-bit) - PC Advisor
Paragon Hard Disk Manager 14 Professional free download - Download the latest freeware, shareware and trial software - Downloadcrew

Paragon Hard Disk Manager Professional - Overview
or try
Install Windows 8 or 8.1 on Removable USB Flash Drive and Boot it from Any Computer




All done.
Ray






Related Tutorials

 

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Click to expand...
Theog- don't know what I did wrong, but after deleting windows 7 partition, windows 8 went weird and now won't boot, just sits after I log in. The dual boot screen also appears, asking if I want to boot into 7. If I do a clean install, will this fix it?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Did you convert C: Windows 8 to Primary.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
Yep. I have two partitions now: System, 199MB like before (system partition type) and Windows 8, now 698.4GB (primary partition type).
:S stumped...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Thanks for your response. This hasn't worked though. It looked like it was going to - it did do some repairs but now just says it can't repair... I have run it around 6 times... Any other suggestions before I start afresh? If I was to remove the system partition and then run the auto repair, would it recreate without the errors?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I had already tried this and received an error. I think that windows 8 was using system files from the windows 7 partition and now that's gone, it doesn't work- all of my customisation for the login screen, including my picture, has gone. I'm thinking that I'll use a mates pc to copy my stuff off (I have a hard drive to USB cable) and then install 8 again on a formatted HD. I did make a backup, but it was an image backup of the windows 8 partition, so restoring that will just leave me in the same place. Oh well, I live and learn...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Hi everyone. Quick question- could you briefly explain to me what is relevant in setup A/B that does/doesn't allow for extending the partition using diskmgmt?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
spark001uk said:
Hi everyone. Quick question- could you briefly explain to me what is relevant in setup A/B that does/doesn't allow for extending the partition using diskmgmt?
Click to expand...

You can only extend to the right.

Delete Win 7-0018.PNG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
Ah ok, thanks for the info. I had win7 on the laptop, then i wanted to try win8 so dual booted it. Now i want to keep 8, i have deleted the 7 volume, and unfortunately it's to the left of win8. I tried the diskpart command method in dos prompt, but that didn't work either, when i issued the extend command it just gave me the 'less than minimum size' error. So I'm now (probably wisely) backing everything up in advance of using partition assistant to move the win8 partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
That's odd, ive moved and resized the partition to the full extent of the unallocated space, and, although it was successful (after a long wait), everything ended up ok and windows 8 now boots ok, in disk management ive now got an unallocated space to the left of win8, of 933mb?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
First, a little info about my system. It is a self-built desktop therefore it does NOT have a recovery partition. Components - ASUS P8Z77-V mobo (UEFI), Ivy Bridge i5 CPU, 16GB RAM, 224GB Intel SSD for OS, 3 x 1TB data HDDs.

OS was W7 Ultimate. I dual booted to all the W8 previews, and RTM as soon as it was available on TechNet. I was happy enough with W8 to decide I would eventually delete W7. While the SSD is a comparatively recent addition it was set up to dual boot W7 & W8. The current W8 installation is a $40 W8 upgrade (not the full TechNet issue) originally on a separate partition on the SSD (while dual-booting.) I kept the dual-boot as one of the programs I use (ClickBook) wasn't compatible with W8, but W8 was my default boot. Then Blue Squirrel issued a beta upgrade to ClickBook which ran successfully on W8.

So - I decided that I didn't need W7 any more. I ensured that the boot files were in the W8 partiton, then wiped the W7 partiton, and resized the W8 partition to the full size of the SSD.

All appeared OK, until I tried to run the ClickBook app. While it starts and appears to run OK no pages are delivered to the (virtual) ClickBook printer. The ClickBook developers haven't been able to locate any issue, or suggest a fix.

I have a 3 month-old Dell XPS 14 which came with W7 pre-installed. I used a W8 upgrade to overwrite the W7 installation on that machine. Installed the ClickBook beta on that and it works and prints OK. Note that I did not attempt to set up a dual boot system on the lappy, just overwrote W7.

That made me wonder if the W8 installation on my desktop was linking to a file/library in the W7 installation while it was still present, and now can't find it. No error message appears. I am not conversant with chasing errors in the "Event Viewer" but do not see anything that I recognise as related to ClickBook.

Another thing which makes me suspect missing files/links is that when I tried to make a repair disk (since deleting the W7 partition) I received an error message that W8 couldn't find necessary files.

All this is leading up to my real question to the forum - can I use the repair function on a full W8 DVD from TechNet to repair my current installation? Without losing all my applications?

A related question - if I have to re-install (from the full TechNet DVD) will the Upgrade key be accepted?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 PRO with Media Centre Upgrade x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z77-V
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce 650Ti+ Gigabyte GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi Elite
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung SMS24A50 / 1 x SamsungXL20
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920 x 1200 / 1 x 1600 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Intel SSD 240GB;
    Hitachi HDS721010DLE630
    Seagate ST31000524AS 1 TB
    Samsung HD103SJ (1TB)
    Crucial 128GB m4 SSD
    PSU
    Corsair 600W
    Case
    CoolerMaster Storm
    Cooling
    Air - Fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft 7000
    Mouse
    Microsoft 7000
    Internet Speed
    Very variable !
    Browser
    FF, Chrome, IE
    Antivirus
    Vipre Internet Security
Imod said:
All this is leading up to my real question to the forum - can I use the repair function on a full Windows 8 DVD from TechNet to repair my current installation? Without losing all my applications?
Click to expand...

YES & NO.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2293-refresh-windows-8-a.html

Refresh.PNG

This can be overcome by creating a Custom Recovery Image:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/3610-refresh-windows-8-create-use-custom-recovery-image.html

A related question - if I have to re-install (from the full TechNet DVD) will the Upgrade key be accepted?
Click to expand...

YES.
you can do a clean install:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13375-clean-install-windows-8-upgrade.html




ASUS P8Z77-V mobo (UEFI), Ivy Bridge i5 CPU, 16GB RAM, 224GB Intel SSD for OS,
Click to expand...

As you a UEFI/ BIOS firmware:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-8-a.html
Than do the Refresh part of above tutorial.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
Thank you, theog. I'll attempt creating a Custom Recovery Image later - I hadn't noticed that tutorial. Thanks for the pointers.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 PRO with Media Centre Upgrade x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z77-V
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce 650Ti+ Gigabyte GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi Elite
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung SMS24A50 / 1 x SamsungXL20
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920 x 1200 / 1 x 1600 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Intel SSD 240GB;
    Hitachi HDS721010DLE630
    Seagate ST31000524AS 1 TB
    Samsung HD103SJ (1TB)
    Crucial 128GB m4 SSD
    PSU
    Corsair 600W
    Case
    CoolerMaster Storm
    Cooling
    Air - Fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft 7000
    Mouse
    Microsoft 7000
    Internet Speed
    Very variable !
    Browser
    FF, Chrome, IE
    Antivirus
    Vipre Internet Security
RefreshImage was created and registered successfully. I read the tute -creating a Custom Recovery Image and the following discussion while the image was being created.
While I think that booting from the (TechNet) DVD and performing the refresh from there will insert any missing Windows files ("Repair Disk" reported that necessary files were missing) I am not certain if I am correct. A confirmation will be appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 PRO with Media Centre Upgrade x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z77-V
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce 650Ti+ Gigabyte GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi Elite
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung SMS24A50 / 1 x SamsungXL20
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920 x 1200 / 1 x 1600 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Intel SSD 240GB;
    Hitachi HDS721010DLE630
    Seagate ST31000524AS 1 TB
    Samsung HD103SJ (1TB)
    Crucial 128GB m4 SSD
    PSU
    Corsair 600W
    Case
    CoolerMaster Storm
    Cooling
    Air - Fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft 7000
    Mouse
    Microsoft 7000
    Internet Speed
    Very variable !
    Browser
    FF, Chrome, IE
    Antivirus
    Vipre Internet Security
@theog Hello sir, I have the (B) setup exactly the same as in pictures except drive letters are different, in my case C is windows 7 and win8,1 is on D , I just wanted to ask can you at least confirm that it worked for you extending the windows 8 partition to the left side using Paragon Software? and one other thing, in the end did the 350MB system reserved just appear from nowhere? because now as it is I can't seem to find where the 350MB of windows 8 is I don't see it in disk management i see only 100MB of windows 7. I'm not asking step by stem tutorial I don't want to bother you but if you can please confirm that the (B) setup went withot problems ?

Thank you
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
robert66 said:
@theog Hello sir, I have the (B) setup exactly the same as in pictures except drive letters are different, in my case C is windows 7 and win8,1 is on D , I just wanted to ask can you at least confirm that it worked for you extending the windows 8 partition to the left side using Paragon Software? and one other thing, in the end did the 350MB system reserved just appear from nowhere? because now as it is I can't seem to find where the 350MB of windows 8 is I don't see it in disk management i see only 100MB of windows 7. I'm not asking step by stem tutorial I don't want to bother you but if you can please confirm that the (B) setup went withot problems ?

Thank you
Click to expand...

As you installed Windows 7 first to have the 100mb partition. (B setup)

Paragon software works fine.

partitions

Partition 1 = 100mb
Partition 2 = Windows 7 (delete this partition)
Partition 3 = Windows 8

Not test with Windows 8.1, as only come out 8 hours ago.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
theog said:
robert66 said:
@theog Hello sir, I have the (B) setup exactly the same as in pictures except drive letters are different, in my case C is windows 7 and win8,1 is on D , I just wanted to ask can you at least confirm that it worked for you extending the windows 8 partition to the left side using Paragon Software? and one other thing, in the end did the 350MB system reserved just appear from nowhere? because now as it is I can't seem to find where the 350MB of windows 8 is I don't see it in disk management i see only 100MB of windows 7. I'm not asking step by stem tutorial I don't want to bother you but if you can please confirm that the (B) setup went withot problems ?

Thank you
Click to expand...

As you installed Windows 7 first to have the 100mb partition. (B setup)

Paragon software works fine.

partitions

Partition 1 = 100mb
Partition 2 = Windows 7 (delete this partition)
Partition 3 = Windows 8

Not test with Windows 8.1, as only come out 8 hours ago.
Click to expand...



Well it worked I guess but a strange thing happened, there is no 350MB system reserved after I resized the win8.1 partition,
it is 100mb system reserved + (C ) 126MB with two hidden folders "$RECYCLE.BIN" and "System Volume Information"
I guess something went wrong my guess would be if I delete "System Volume Information" probably wont boot again

Untitled.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
robert66 said:
Well it worked I guess but a strange thing happened, there is no 350MB system reserved after I resized the Windows 8.1 partition,
it is 100mb system reserved + (C ) 126MB with two hidden folders "$RECYCLE.BIN" and "System Volume Information"
Click to expand...

How did you make the 126mb partition?

You could delete the partition & add to the 100mb partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
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