Re: Deleting old system Partition

You don't say so but I assume that drive F: contains WinXP.
It probably also contains some boot files. If so then you must
not delete/format it. However, you can still use it to store your
data. I would try this:
- Boot into Vista.
- Rename F:\Windows to F:\Windows.xp
- Rename F:\Program Files to F:\Program Files.xp
- Wait a week or two.
- If all is well, delete the renamed folders.

"Kevin" <Kevin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:2B572CDD-1A9F-4A9F-81ED-882BF14F96DA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hopefully this is the information you require. In my computer I have 2
drives
the first contains 2 partitions

System (F).
a system active primary partition (the one I wish to reformat/or delete so
I can use it for future storage)14.65gb

Music.(G)
Primary Partition 219.11GB

The other disk contains 3 Partitions

Games (C)
97.66 GB Primary Partition

Vista(H)
Healthy (Boot Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition) 97.66 GB

Documents (D)
Primary Partition 37.57 GB
"R. C. White" wrote:

Hi, Kevin.

As Pegasus said, we need to know which partition does what in YOUR
computer.
And beware that the proper terminology for "system" and "boot" partitions
are counterintuitive. They are reversed from common usage and the way
most
of us think of them. For the official explanation, see this KB article:
Definitions for system volume and boot volume
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314470/EN-US/

Sadly, even though the KB claims to apply to Vista, it really is written
with WinXP in mind. For example, it says the system volume contains
"Ntldr,
Boot.ini, and Ntdetect.com", which are all for earlier WinNT-based
systems
and are not used at all in Vista, except when dual-booting with WinXP or
prior. For Vista, the corresponding files are "bootmgr" (no extension)
and
the \Boot folder, all with System and Hidden (and maybe Read-only)
attributes. The "boot sector" also is different for WinXP and Vista;
since
this sector is not a file, it does not show up in a directory or folder
listing, even as a hidden file, but it is a critical part of the system
volume.

As many writers have pointed out, we BOOT from the System volume and keep
the operating SYSTEM files in the Boot volume. :>( In most computers,
running only a single operating system, Drive C: serves as BOTH system
and
boot volumes. But in a multi-boot computer, as the KB article says:
"There is only one system volume. However, there is one boot volume for
each
operating system in a multiboot system."

When you are booted into WinXP, WHICH volume is labeled "Boot"?
When you are booted into Vista, WHICH volume is labeled "Boot"?

Each of them should show the "System" label on the same volume. Don't go
by
Drive Letters; these shift - sometimes unexpectedly. Go by Disk #
(starting
with zero) and Partition # (starting with one on each Disk). To cut down
on
the confusion, always assign a label (name) to each volume; this will be
written to the HD and won't change when you reboot into another operating
system.

Your solution MAY be as simple as using Disk Management to delete or
reformat the WinXP boot volume. But if that is also your computer's
system
volume, then you will be in BIG trouble! So it is very important that
you
know which volume does which function in YOUR computer.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

"Kevin" <Kevin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9F0F1D1A-E3F7-4ABF-BA69-3EFA29529F08@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have just installed Vista Home Premium on an empty partition on my
drive
(the existing one with xp on was too small and I wanted to make sure I
liked
Vista before I deleted XP). I now want to delete the xp sytem partition
as
IM
happy with Vista and I want the machine to boot Vista without asking
which
windows system I want to use, but the drive manager will not let me. Is
there
a way I can reformat the old xp partition and end up with a usable
partition?




.

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