Windows 7 Changing the MBR In Windows 7 Pursuant To A Quad Boot

[Shuftin]

I have an Asus X64 desktop machine. Last year I formatted the [1 terabyte] hard drive for a clean install of X64 Windows 7 Ultimate. I tried numerous times to install the X64 Windows 7 Ultimate, but it was a no-go. I ended up installing the X86 Windows 7 Ultimate on my X64 machine instead. Since then I have corrected the problem(s) preventing me from installing the X64 Windows 7 Ultimate. So, long story short. I am duel booting two versions of Windows 7 Ultimate utilizing two partitions. I prefer the X64 as I have 8 GB's of RAM and the X86 only recognizes 4 GB's.

In addition to that I have a third partition with Windows Developer Preview. I can also boot into Ubuntu 12.4 although I did not specifically create a separate partition for that OS.

So, I'm quad-booting.

I've decided to eliminate all partitions, go back to a single hard disk, and begin utilizing VMWare Workstation 8 for any and all other OS's. But my problem is I don't quite understand the MBR fully. I wish to keep my X64 Windows 7 Ultimate but it was the second OS installed behind the X86 Windows 7 Ultimate.

I guess what I am asking, "Is there a way to get the MBR to reflect the X64 Windows 7 Ultimate so that I can format and delete the partition of the first installed OS?"

Yeh, I screwed up but it made since at the time.

 

[Saltgrass]

Do you know if the Linux install was using the GRUB loader or was your system still using the Windows 7 boot loader?

Were any of the installs done on separate, independent hard drives?

Could you get us a snipping tool picture of your disk management window and expand so the information can be seen. Attach using the paperclip on the Advanced replies page.

 

[Shuftin]

Do you know if the Linux install was using the GRUB loader or was your system still using the Windows 7 boot loader?

Were any of the installs done on separate, independent hard drives?

Could you get us a snipping tool picture of your disk management window and expand so the information can be seen. Attach using the paperclip on the Advanced replies page.

1. I installed Linux (Ubuntu 12.4 X64) in Windows 7 X32 using wubi.exe.

2. All installs are on the same hard drive (Partitioned).

3. Using Run\Msconfig\Boot I selected my second install of windows 7 (X64) as my default OS to boot into.

4. I don't know what the 8MB free space is and I can't get rid of it.

5. My end game was to have three partitions of 200 GB's each with the ballance in the Data partition. I never got around to finishing it.

 

[Saltgrass]

Looks like your boot files are in the Windows 7 x64 partition. That being the case, you should be able to remove the other partitions without problems.

You can use MSconfig.exe to remove the other boot entries, or download a program called EasyBCD to set things up. If something goes wrong, just run the Startup Repair from the install DVD perhaps 3 times to repair any boot problems.

I have seen an 8 MB partition show up when using 3rd party partition managers. Windows 7 will set up 4 primary partitions on a drive. If you try to set up the 4th with space still left on the drive, it will opt for an extended partition and put logical partitions inside, like the one you have now.

 

[Shuftin]

Looks like your boot files are in the Windows 7 x64 partition. That being the case, you should be able to remove the other partitions without problems.

You can use MSconfig.exe to remove the other boot entries, or download a program called EasyBCD to set things up. If something goes wrong, just run the Startup Repair from the install DVD perhaps 3 times to repair any boot problems.

I have seen an 8 MB partition show up when using 3rd party partition managers. Windows 7 will set up 4 primary partitions on a drive. If you try to set up the 4th with space still left on the drive, it will opt for an extended partition and put logical partitions inside, like the one you have now.

That is great news. I really really really did not want to start over again. In years past on other duel-boots I did screw up the MBR when trying to delete a partition. Yeh, I am/was alittle hesitant as the Windows 7 X32 was the first install on the clean hard drive.

So, I can use MSconfig to remove the other boot entries.Therefore deleting the partitions afterwards should pose no problems? I’m goingto assume so. I’ll check out EasyBCD, always interested in exploring something new. Another nifty (Great) little software that fixes/repairs the MBR is VisualBCD Editor - Windows 7/Vista but first you'll need an OS to boot into.

The 3rd party partition manager I used was GParted Live cd . My experience with this is that it is a royal pain in the a$$ to use and I wouldn't suggest it for nubs, but it served my needs at the time.

Anyways, thank you much for your time and effert in reading my scribbles and offering input.

 

[Saltgrass]

Let us know if it works as expected...