floepie
join:2005-12-01
| [Vista] Help me to delete this partition...
Upon installing Vista, I made the mistake of installing the OS to the wrong partition that I had created using the Vista DVD's built-in tool (before the actual install). I then canceled the remainder of the install and installed it to the correct partition.
Now, I'd like format that "wrong" partition as indicated above. Vista's drive manager cannot format it, nor can I delete the partition (these options are greyed out). Even the utility on the Vista DVD ROM cannot format nor delete that partition! What the heck is going on here? |
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bcastner
Premium,MVM
join:2002-09-25
Chevy Chase, MD
clubs: 
 ·Verizon Online DSL
edit:
May 11th, @09:51PM
| No member of the NT family, including Vista, permits any changes to a SYSTEM partiton such as you describe. It is deliberately blocked in every single utility that could accomplish what you are asking to do. This includes the most low level disk utility provide by Microsoft, Diskpart.
You cannot remove the partition, and you cannot format it. You can do an installation "over the top" by choosing the Upgrade installation. This of course would use the same partition.
Vista does not offer a "parallel" installation as would be permitted with XP, although it could be forced. You could use a third party boot manager to "hide" the existing partition. This would let you create a new partition, and install Vista; then you would be able to reformat the original Partition as it would no longer be viewed as the SYSTEM partition.
Finally, since this is an entire partition, you could remove it and then recreate it and format it, all outside of Vista. There are commercial products to do so, Partition Magic is often mentioned; there is an excelent freeware utility GParted, that uses a self contained Live Linux host: »qtparted.sourceforge.net/faq.en.html
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MS-MVP 2004 - -2008, ASAP Member
Users Helping Users
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Jean_22
join:2005-08-27
Quebec, QC | reply to floepie
Did he do something special? I can delete my partition no problem when I'm re-installing Vista. |
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bcastner
Premium,MVM
join:2002-09-25
Chevy Chase, MD
clubs:
·Verizon Online DSL
| I am sorry, as I was unclear above. There is a single case where a SYSTEM partition can be deleted, but it was not in the scenarios the user posed as where he wanted the deletion performed.
You did not attempt to use, as this individual tried to have done, Disk Manager inside of Vista. He is correct, the system partition cannot be deleted. Nor can it be resized or extended.
Now using the Vista installation DVD, you cannot do anything at all to the System partition if the DVD is inserted and the Installation is run from Vista.
So the remaining case would be a boot to the Vista DVD. There you can do a delete:
When you get to the screen: 'Where do you want to install Windows':
• At the bottom of this window you will see an option marked Drive options (Advanced), click on this option
• In this Window select the partition you wish to Delete from the list available and then click the Delete option link
• A message will now appear informing you that 'If you delete this partition, all data stored on it will be permanently deleted.' Click OK to proceed
• Your Partition will now be deleted
That is the only method I know of to access a partition deletion tool in the entire OS that could remove a SYSTEM partition.
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MS-MVP 2004 - -2008, ASAP Member
Users Helping Users
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floepie
join:2005-12-01
| said by bcastner  :So the remaining case would be a boot to the Vista DVD. There you can do a delete: Thanks for the detailed replies. Booting from the DVD was exactly the way I was attempting to delete/format the partition, however, I *still* was unable to do so. Only after Vista was fully installed on the intended partition followed by a "couple" reboots was I able to format the other partition by booting from the DVD. Apparanetly, if a Vista install is canceled midway, a full install on a different partition is required in order to delete that partition - even when booting from the DVD. |
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Jean_22
join:2005-08-27
Quebec, QC | reply to floepie
Oh okay yeah he was talking inside of windows. Then yeah you can't, it would f*** the system otherwise. But you can shrink/extend it now though |
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bcastner
Premium,MVM
join:2002-09-25
Chevy Chase, MD
clubs:
edit:
May 12th, @07:15PM
| Vista does not allow you to shrink or extend the SYSTEM partition. (The options will be greyed out in Disk Mangement.) So, alas, you could not shrink the second partion and then extend the SYSTEM partition. |
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Jean_22
join:2005-08-27
Quebec, QC | reply to floepie
I can't extend it with the shrinked space of the other partitions but I can shrink it and extend it with that shrinked spaced.  |
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