Arch Linux

SteveIngle

Member

Registered: 2018-07-19

Posts: 2

Getting rid of Windoze

Hi

I have a laptop which dual boots Arch Linux and Windows 7 using GRUB.

My ultimate aim is to get rid of Win 7, but need to retain it for a short while. (Personally, I would not have started with this setup, but it wasn't my choice). At the end of this project, I will clone the resultant setup to a 1Tb drive, running straight Arch Linux and expanding the existing partitions.

My current partition setup is shown below (couldn't find an easy way to attach a screenshot):-

*  The original Win 7 boot partition is /dev/sda1;
*  Win 7 system drive C is /dev/sda2;
*  /dev/sda3 is an extended partition, containing:-
*  /dev/sda5 (Media Drive) contains data only;
*  /dev/sda6 is the root partition of the Arch Linux OS;
*  /dev/sda4 (Dev Drive) contains data only (downloads, etc).

I have backups of all partitions!!!

**Question 1**
Is there a way to move the ext4 partition into the unallocated space, without screwing the boot setup?

**Question 2**
What's the best way to rid myself of the cursed Win 7, while retaining the bootable Arch setup?

**Question 3**
Can I end up with the main Arch partition starting where the Win 7 drive C now resides?

Probably easy stuff for you guys...

Any (clean) suggestions greatly appreciated....

Thanks in advance.

Steve

IrvineHimself

Member

From: Scotland

Registered: 2016-08-21

Posts: 275

Re: Getting rid of Windoze

Noting that moving partitions is dangerous and can result in loss of data: Using gparted, I have done what you are suggesting. After you have finished deleting, moving and  resizing the partitions, you need to re-install grub. Also, in case of problems, not only should you back up any important data, but install arch-install-scripts and become familiar with how to use arch-chroot. In the absence of another Linux partition, to use this important recovery tool you will need a live Usb of some linux distro, either Arch or some other graphical distribution, (I use Xubuntu on a very old 2Gb usb)

Irvine

edit1: you will also, most likely, need to edit fstab

edit2: After sleeping on it, I realised I should clarify the above by pointing out that you will need to move/delete/resize the partitions from the recovery Usb and re-install grub by chrooting into Arch, (also from the recovery Usb)

Last edited by IrvineHimself (2018-07-20 06:06:14)

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Et voilà, elle arrive. La pièce, le sous, peut-être qu'il arrive avec vous!

SteveIngle

Member

Registered: 2018-07-19

Posts: 2

Re: Getting rid of Windoze

Thanks for your clarification.  That's confirmed what i thought.

Steve

graysky

Wiki Maintainer

From: :wq

Registered: 2008-12-01

Posts: 10,734

Website

Re: Getting rid of Windoze

I recommend you just back up the linux data (assuming you have another disk), repartition, and copy it back.

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