Remove Windows Partition, and expand Linux partition

[maack]

Hello,

I want to know what the proper way to remove my Windows 7 installation, and to expand my Mint Linux's partition. I am basically uninstalling Windows. I don't want to break my boot. I attached a screenshot of my setup.

Screenshot at 2012-03-16 03:42:45.jpg

[tpl]

there is some risk in this. Looking at your disk usage, you
could get more room for linux by using gparted to shrink sda2,
but expand sda3 and sda5. That won't break your booting.

but if you insist--

0. prepare bootable CDs of "gparted" and "system rescue"

1. remove all data in sda2: mount /dev/sda2 on /mnt (say)
cd /mnt; rm -r *
umount /dev/sda2

2. copy linux data to sda2: cd /; dd if=. of=/dev/sda2

3. use gparted to delete sda1--old sda2 becomes new sda1

4. render new sda1 bootable: boot with "system rescue" CD
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt;
grub-install --recheck --root-device=/mnt /dev/sda

[maack]

there is some risk in this. Looking at your disk usage, you
could get more room for linux by using gparted to shrink sda2,
but expand sda3 and sda5. That won't break your booting.

but if you insist--

0. prepare bootable CDs of "gparted" and "system rescue"

1. remove all data in sda2: mount /dev/sda2 on /mnt (say)
cd /mnt; rm -r *
umount /dev/sda2

2. copy linux data to sda2: cd /; dd if=. of=/dev/sda2

3. use gparted to delete sda1--old sda2 becomes new sda1

4. render new sda1 bootable: boot with "system rescue" CD
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt;
grub-install --recheck --root-device=/mnt /dev/sda

Would it be easier to reinstall Linux?

[jayd512]

Not really, but it's up to you.
Here's what I have found... Deleting sda1 doesn't always change sda2 to a new sda1.
I did follow steps very similar to the ones posted above, quite a while back. Didn't have any issues except for trying to re-install GRUB (That was when I first removed Windows, too )

Question... do you have anything really important on your Mint partition that you can't bear to lose? If so, just back it up. Then reinstall Mint.
Restore your data.
Done.

[maack]

Not really. It's a fresh install, I've installed wine, half life, half life 2, portal, and things like that. Other then that I haven't officially done anything special. I'm kinda learning so it doesn't really matter to me.

Here's another question. I am thinking of installing mint to my main desktop, it has 5 harddrives so it's not a big deal. However, I don't want to mess with windows boot loader is there anyway I can keep windows as default, and add Linux to windows boot loader? I'm not going to use Linux a lot, I just want it for development and my laptop for general use.

[jayd512]

However, I don't want to mess with windows boot loader is there anyway I can keep windows as default, and add Linux to windows boot loader?

You just doubled back on your own question... but that's okay.
Main question... do you want to keep Windows on this computer, at all?
If not, then you can wipe that sucker and install Linux. No Windows Bootloader involved. GRUB will be the new bootloader.

If you are wanting to keep Windows, then there is another way to go about it.
Using a LiveCD of Gparted, you can shrink the Windows partition and stretch Linux.
Done.

[maack]

You just doubled back on your own question... but that's okay.
Main question... do you want to keep Windows on this computer, at all?
If not, then you can wipe that sucker and install Linux. No Windows Bootloader involved. GRUB will be the new bootloader.

If you are wanting to keep Windows, then there is another way to go about it.
Using a LiveCD of , you can shrink the Windows partition and stretch Linux.
Done.

Whoops sorry about that... posted from my phone =) I have Linux on my laptop, and right now I have it partitioned to run Windows 7 and Mint. I decided to use mint full time. Partially because Windows won't let me activate my license key anymore.. whoops. Anyhow, my idea was to delete the NTFS partition, and resize the Linux (ext2?) partition. I'm literally down to 300 MB because I didn't intend on using Linux all the time. I'm learning Linux, but never full time. I had Linux back when Mandrake was popular, when Lindows came out, so I'm not a complete noob to it, I just never fully got into it because I am a .NET developer and GAMER. After seeing my laptop run HL2 and HL1 via WINE (slow laptop, HP DV6915NR with a shared video card) @ 70fps I was impressed!

This is where my idea came, I have 5 harddrives in my DESKTOP computer. I was thinking of installing Linux onto one of them, just to mess with it and for development. My laptop is only a AMD X2 Dual Core CPU so it's not that fast. I really wanted to also try more Steam games on my gaming machine too.

It won't really be to big of a deal to use the Linux bootloader, I was just concerned if I ever had to repair Windows it would override the Linux boot loader. Which is why I'd like to use Window's boot loader instead of Linux.

I hope to install Mint onto my desktop and get my laptop up and going as well tonight.

[irlandes]

I had grub problems recently, and downloaded Super Grub2 Rescue Disk and burned a CD on another computer. It finds everything, even if you blitz the MBR totally. When you boot into a distro, you can reinstall the grub(2) loader.

[glene77is]

Would it be easier to reinstall Linux?

Maack,
Absolutely easier.
M$ XP uses sda1 for system restore, which you don't want to do any more.
You can utilize the entire HD if you want to switch!

I run Puppy Linux systems here, and also re-boot into M$ XP (my past career).
(1) Suggest you boot a Puppy Linux Live-CD, and Run "gParted" to re-format / repartition HD.
(2) Then re-Install your Mint (Ubuntu) Linux.

I had a similar problem as yours last year.
Sda1 was M$ XP (which I require for IT application development),
and Sda2 was my Puppy Linux partition, which I use for security reasons.
Sda2 was too small, just as yours was (but mine was only 1 GB).
Sda1 was large and I wanted to make use of that larger area, but not kill M$ XP

To shift Puppy Linux from SDA2 into SDA1
I had to do two things:
(1) copy my 5 Puppy Linux files from sda2 onto sda1.
(2) edit my grub4dos menu.lst to point to the sda1 Linux kernel files.

My Puppy Linux was transplanted directly in the middle of a M$ XP system,
and started making use of the larger sda1 partition.

I was free to kill SDA2 and re-allocate the HD space to a larger SDA1.


I suggest using "grub4dos" (an upgrade from the durable "grub" everybody has been using).
Have used the "grub4dos" to install dozens of Linux systems. All worked as advertised !
Have been much happier with the "grub4dos" than the Ubuntu (Mint) "grub2" approach.


Good Luck,
glene77is