Can i combine/merge the boot and win7 partition into one and only partition?

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by fits79, Jun 11, 2011.

  1. fits79

    fits79 MDL Member

    Jan 9, 2010
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    I want to ask you if i can combine/merge these two partitions(Boot and win7) i have in my laptop into one and only partition without formating or loose any data and the windows7 still work fine.

    If i can which is the easiest method?
    Can i simply merge these two partition with one partitioning program like acronis disk director 2011 or it doesn't work at all and need another method and programs?

    Please tell me the correct method with simply steps and pictures.

    A LOT OF THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND ANSWERS.
     
  2. fits79

    fits79 MDL Member

    Jan 9, 2010
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    If i simply delete and combine these two partition with any partitioning program like acronis disk director 2011 and then run the startup program from windows bootable disc gonna work?
     
  3. venu

    venu MDL Addicted

    Oct 16, 2009
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    lol i thought you wanted steps and all. After combining you'll need to mark the 7 partition active and then run startup repair. I dont know about acronis and what you mean by startup program.
     
  4. Shenj

    Shenj MDL Expert

    Aug 12, 2010
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    Like already said you can combine them, but your pc won't be able to boot up thats why you need to repair to get the MBR back in place.

    But honestly, to much effort for 100mb, and next time just stop windows from creating this partition (there is some trick, google it)
    I would keep the partition.
     
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  5. fits79

    fits79 MDL Member

    Jan 9, 2010
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    If i combine/merge these two partitions and then make active with acronis disk director 2011 with win7 disk and startup fix program it would recreate the boot partition or just simple create the files on a folder in win7 partition?

    And if i don't make the one and only partition active doesn't win7 disk and startup fix program make it?
     
  6. fits79

    fits79 MDL Member

    Jan 9, 2010
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    If i combine/merge these two partitions and then make active with acronis disk director 2011 with win7 disk and startup fix program it would recreate the boot partition or just simple create the files on a folder in win7 partition? And if i don't make the one and only partition active doesn't win7 disk and startup fix program make it?

    I don't want my hard disk has a lot of partitions.
    I want to have ONE AND ONLY partition that all is in here.
    So simple.
     
  7. Shenj

    Shenj MDL Expert

    Aug 12, 2010
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    This System Partition only gets created on Initial Setup if there is no Filesystem formated yet.

    Please note again: It is not worth it, you might even break the whole thing and happy re-installing windows.

    The System Partition comes before the Windows Partition, shifting this can take hours.
     
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  8. fits79

    fits79 MDL Member

    Jan 9, 2010
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    so if i merge these two partitions and then make the one and only partition active i must run the startup fix program from win7 bootable disk correct?
    And i must run the startup fix program 3 times to correct the boot prob?
     
  9. Shenj

    Shenj MDL Expert

    Aug 12, 2010
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    Editing is somewhat broken right now o.o

    Not like your PC will be slower cause of partitions, also this partition is hidden so why does it matter?
    This extra Partition stores the bootloader and some other stuff. So even if your <windows> completly breaks, you still have a functional bootloader (though... hardly useful if you have only one Install)
     
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  10. hbhb

    hbhb MDL Expert

    Dec 15, 2010
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    +1 for Acrsn and others, unless there is a gold mine or some uranium in that 100mb partition, i would leave it alone:D
     
  11. IronMaiden

    IronMaiden MDL Member

    Oct 27, 2009
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    Aw, guys, it's not THAT hard to get rid of the 100MB partition. All you need to do is this:

    1. Copy bootmgr and the Boot folder from the 100mb partition to the root of your Windows partition.

    2. Set the Windows partition as active.

    3. Reboot and just try if it boots into Windows. If not, startup repair from your install DVD.

    4. Once things work, just delete the 100mb partition! Then you can extend your Windows partition downward to use the freed-up space with something like EASEUS Partition Manager.

    5. While good points have been made above about Bitlocker and the recovery environment, all you really need for Windows to boot are the files named in step 1.

    At boot time, the BIOS reads the MBR of your harddisk, which points to the boot sector of the active partition, which loads bootmgr, which reads the BCD store from the Boot folder and loads \windows\system32\winload.exe which starts up Windows.