Cannot delete partition--wat to do?

phexac

Senior member
Jul 19, 2007
315
4
81
So when I was migrating to Win7, I created a new partition on my HD and installed Win7 there. Problem is, that partition is only 120GB in size, and my old OS is taking up the rest of the drive. I was planning to delete the old OS partition, but now I cannot do it from the new OS because it says (about the old OS partition) that it "cannot delete active volume on disk." Is there a way to get around that? Or will that screw up my boot or something?

Also, if I have to, I will move the new OS to a new hard drive. Can I use acronis or similar software to clone just one partition of a drive?

Thanks.
 

tonyyy

Member
Nov 10, 2009
75
0
0
For the current partition that windows 7 is on... right click on that partition and mark it as active.

Now see if you can delete the old partition.

Yes you can use acronis to image your drive to another drive or partition if there is enough space.
 

Slugbait

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,633
3
81
Yeah, I would think that you'll blow away your MBR.

Based on your description, I'm assuming you installed Win7 to be standalone, rather than dual-boot. Odd.

Either way, my best advice is to re-install, blow away the partitions (create new ones if you like) and take the slow-boat format.
 

MindProbe

Member
Mar 20, 2009
47
0
0
just get a boot disk and blow away any partition you choose. Just be careful and know what you are doing.
 

ChaiBabbaChai

Golden Member
Dec 16, 2005
1,090
0
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burn this ~80 boot CD to a disc and have fun: http://partedmagic.com/

I love that boot cd! You can resize the partition (without deleting info), delete, clone, etc. I don't recommend cloning anything unless you have to. It's seriously a pain in the ass, but can be done.
 

MindProbe

Member
Mar 20, 2009
47
0
0
burn this ~80 boot CD to a disc and have fun: http://partedmagic.com/

I love that boot cd! You can resize the partition (without deleting info), delete, clone, etc. I don't recommend cloning anything unless you have to. It's seriously a pain in the ass, but can be done.

There ya go. I didn't want to drop any specific tools, but there are plenty out there for this. If you have your OS disk....i mean you could always delete a partition if you can boot a cd or floppy.