How to remove one of the OSes on your computer. How to remove a second Windows on another disk partition as it is no longer needed

They are not rare. However, not everyone can remove one of the two operating systems. Some people continue to work with several operating systems at once.

Users install two operating systems at once in order to test one of them

When the “eight” from Windows appeared, not everyone was in a hurry to remove the “seven”; a popular solution was to install two versions, this made it possible to check the functionality and ease of use, and, if necessary, remove an unnecessary option. Some remained on the “native” Windows 7, while others opted for the new edition.

There is no point in working with two operating systems at once. A powerful computer allows you to install at least 7 series of OS, the amount of hard drive memory can cope with such a task, but this will not be useful. But on outdated equipment this will already affect the speed of operation, and even freezes are possible. In each case, it is necessary to remove unnecessary Windows from the computer, but how to do it?

Some users, when they see such a problem, are sure that it is easy to solve; they need to format the partition of the extra OS and the task is completed. In fact, this will not solve the problem, but will only hide it, because the bootloader will continue to work. You also need to erase the OS from the boot window.

Why are there multiple operating systems on one computer?

1. In most situations, the problem occurs due to the installation of several operating systems on one computer. As already mentioned, some do this to test the operating system, but inexperienced users do it by mistake, after which for a long time they do not even notice the “duplicity” of their PC;
2. Another reason why you have to select an OS every time you boot is the incorrect installation of Windows. When a person forgets to format a hard drive before recording a new OS, the process will occur on top of the previous Windows.

As a result, a selection window appears at startup, but in fact, only one OS is running on the computer

The second variant of the problem is not so serious; you can remove the “false” OS line from the selection window. Also, the choice of operating system by boot is eliminated by installing the working version by default.

How to remove a second operating system from your computer

If the download starts with selecting the operating system each time, then this is not critical. You can remove the operating system from your computer through the command center. The method is suitable for different versions of Windows (including 7 and 8), and is performed in four steps:

• After turning on the PC, you need to enable the command line (Win and R keys). In the input line of the “Run” menu, enter the command “msconfig” and confirm the actions by pressing the “OK” button (or press “Enter”);
• Next comes editing the Windows 7 boot menu.

Fig.1. To do this, select the “Download” tab in the window.

• Before you remove the old Windows, you need to select the extra lines (when the operating system was installed a couple of times and did not follow the recommendations, then there can be 3-4 lines at once) and delete them.

Fig.2. There is no need to worry, deletion will not harm the performance of the current OS, actions are confirmed by clicking “OK”

• At the next stage, the application will offer to restart the device. Experts advise not to put off this action until later; the system needs to promptly make some changes to the OS boot record.

This is how it turns out to remove the second Windows 7 at startup; after turning it on, a window with two options will no longer appear. By default, the series of operating systems that was installed last will start working (At this time, the previous Windows publishers will no longer exist, there were only entries in the boot window).

After you managed to remove the old Windows 7 from your computer, the logical question arises what to do with the partition where the old OS was stored. In such situations, it is advised to simply format the section, and in the future leave the necessary electronic documents there.

You need to be vigilant during formatting

First you should check everything that is stored there. In particular, there should be folders with program files, user accounts and a Windows folder. When you had to remove the second operating system, the partition will not be on the C drive.

Important! The procedure will erase all data from the local disk memory. For example, if the deletion took place from the system drive C, then all desktop files, “My Documents” folders, etc. will go away forever.

How to remove one of the two operating systems for Windows 7 (no different for version 8)

It is advised to remove the old Windows after installing the new one by working in the menu of the system that will remain on the computer. The procedure is also possible with the old version (a kind of self-removal), but it will be easier. For example, when you need to remove previous versions of Windows 7, but leave the “eight” (although the process is no different between 7 and 8).

You can remove the second Windows 7 at startup along with the partition. The Disk Management function is suitable for this; it works the same on Windows 8 and 7. First, right-click on the partition to be deleted, then you need to select the “Delete volume” line.

At the final stage, right-click on the existing partition and select “Extend volume”

Thus, the volume of the partition's memory will increase at the expense of the previous one.

This is how you can remove an operating system through the command line, if there are two of them. Even inexperienced owners will be able to remove the second operating system. Still have questions? Let's ask!

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A pressing question for many, from the computer. Its presence is indicated by the operating system selection window when the computer starts. When only one system is used, it is better to remove the other to free up space.

A computer may contain 2 or more operating systems; the choice from the available ones is made before starting. Quite often, maintaining several systems, especially on one logical drive, provokes problems, so the computer can slow down, and sometimes there are problems with user profiles. In general, the stability of such an OS is much less than a single installation of Windows.

How to remove a second Windows system?

The key method, provided by the manufacturer, of how to remove a second Windows 7 or 8 is to use a special tool located in the system configuration. This will remove the choice when turning on the PC, that is, the boot record will be erased, although personal data will still remain.

1. Press Win + R and type the word msconfig, then Enter;

Among the listed systems, select the one that should remain and click on “Use as default”;

Select the unnecessary system and click on “Delete”;

1. The computer must be restarted.

After turning it back on, the option to select a different OS will disappear. If the problem is only the inconvenience of choosing a system, then you should specify a minimum waiting time, then the system itself will select the default version. You can configure this function by going to:

1. RMB on “Computer” and “Properties”;
2. Click on the “Advanced options” link;

Select standard Windows and set the selection time to about 3 seconds.

How to completely remove a second Windows operating system?

In the previous version, we only eliminated the ability to start the OS, but the question of how to remove a second Windows from a computer was not fully resolved, since all the system files remained. Now you need to clean the system to free up a lot of free space.

To format a disk, you must first make sure that the target partition is selected. Its structure is identical to the system disk; it also contains the basic Windows folders, Program Files, etc. Usually the letter C is reserved for the main system, so the second OS will have a different identifier.

1. Click on Start, then “Computer”;
2. RMB on the target partition and click on “Format”;

1. If there is no special need, then leave the parameters as standard.

How to remove a second Windows 10?

You can remove the second operating system Windows 7, 8, 10 using the “Disk Management” section. The principle remains the same, the remaining OS activity should be cleaned up and the freed memory should be returned to an active state.

1. Click on Start and “Control Panel”;
2. Click on the “Administration” tile;

1. Now you should select “Computer Management”;
2. Among the list on the left side is the item “Disk Management”;
3. RMB on the partition that contains unnecessary Windows;
4. Select "Make partition inactive";
5. Again RMB and “Delete Volume”.

Now the partition is completely deleted, and the remaining space after the volume remains unallocated. Therefore, it cannot be used for now. To gain access to the space, you need to create a volume; this is done by right-clicking on the unallocated space and selecting “Create a simple volume.”

After assigning a logical drive letter, you can write the necessary information to it without any restrictions.

You should know that if you uninstall the main Windows, the mbr will also be removed with it. This entry is required to start the OS and will need to be overwritten. The process of transferring an mbr partition has already been described earlier, so it will not be discussed in detail. We only note that you need to have installation media with the system. Then, after starting from it, select “System Restore”, the problem will probably be automatically found and fixed, otherwise you will have to manually transfer the entry.

Sometimes it becomes necessary not only to form the resulting space in a volume, but to add it to another section. Alas, this procedure, within the framework of standard Windows tools, will certainly affect the information, that is, the disk will be formatted. But if you use third-party programs, such an opportunity is present. A good example of a profile application is AOMEI Partition Assistant. The program is also capable of moving free space between already formed volumes without losing data.

This completes the removal of the second Windows, and after clearing the traces, it will remain only in memories. You can delete an unlimited number of systems in exactly the same way.

If you still have questions on the topic “How to remove a second Windows from a computer?”, you can ask them in the comments

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How to remove Windows installed on another disk partition? If the second operating system on the computer is no longer needed, its removal is carried out in two stages. The first is formatting its disk partition. The second is deleting the record of its download.

In the Windows system that is destined to remain on the computer, open the system explorer, select the disk partition that contains the files of the second (deleted) Windows, right-click and start the operation of formatting the partition.

To delete a record of loading remote Windows, press the +R keys and enter:

In the system configuration window that opens, switch to the “Boot” tab, where a list of bootable systems is presented. If different versions of Windows were installed on the computer, there will be no problems determining which boot record belongs to which version of the system. If two identical versions of Windows are installed on your computer, you need to focus on the part of the entry after the colon: the system from which you are currently working is listed as current. Therefore, it is not this, but another download record that needs to be deleted. Plus, the current Windows is protected from deleting its boot record; for it, the “Delete” button is simply inactive.

So, select the entry about the Windows being deleted and click the “Delete” button. At the bottom, click “Apply”, then OK.”

After this, a window will appear on the screen asking you to reboot the system to apply the changes you just made.

If only two operating systems were installed on the computer, after a reboot the menu will no longer be available to select from, and the required version (or edition) of Windows will start automatically.

Have a great day!

Installing the Windows operating system is not a complicated process, but it is tedious! And it often presents many surprises, which not every specialized master can eliminate, due to the lack of complete knowledge. One of the most common surprises is “the previous Windows OS was not uninstalled or partially uninstalled.” In most cases, this mistake is made by newcomers in this field.

Reasons for this problem

There are not many reasons why the operating system was not removed! Let's look at the most common ones, such as:

1. Installing software in an old OS environment. That is, not an experienced PC user, I don’t restart the computer, insert a disk into the drive or a memory card into the USB port, and start Windows installation with mouse clicks. What we absolutely do not recommend doing;
2. Installing the OS on an unformatted hard drive partition. The most popular mistake of both newbies and experienced users.

The fact is that if you do not properly prepare the computer for installing the OS, namely, do not erase all data from the system partition of the hard drive, all the files of the old operating system will remain on it. At least that's how it was before. Now, the OS files can be replaced with new ones, but amendments are made to the file with the list of operating systems. That is, a new OS is being added.

In the first mistake everything is much simpler. If you are installing Windows 7 or higher, the old operating system is moved to the Windows old folder. Which can be deleted. In this case, the new operating system is written to the OS startup file, but the old OS is never removed from it.

Removing a second Windows OS

So, how can you remove the second, unnecessary operating system so that it does not interfere and does not take up time when starting your PC? - you ask! The initial step is to delete all files of the previous software. To do this, go to the partition of the hard drive on which the OS was installed. Finding the folder Windows old, and delete it.

There are cases when Windows does not allow files to be deleted. The solution to this problem is as follows. Click restart the computer. As soon as the monitor screen darkens, briefly press the button F8 until the system menu appears. As soon as the system menu appears, use the arrows (keys) to go down to the safe mode item. Click “enter”. In about a minute, the computer will start in safe mode. Delete the folder with old operating system files in standard mode.

If you still cannot delete this folder, use special software. This could be an Acronis program or a mini version of the Windows Live operating system.

After the files of the old system have been deleted, you should delete its startup line from the corresponding file. On Windows XP and older operating systems, this file is called " boot.ini" Starting from OS Windows 7 and higher, its launch occurs a little differently.

Since the file responsible for launching the OS is a system file and is in hidden mode, it is impossible to see it without special software. Therefore, you need to enable the display of hidden directories and files in Windows.

And so, to enable the display of hidden Windows directories, click on “start”, go to the control panel, look for “folder options”, click on the “view” tab and check the “show hidden files, folders, drives” function. Confirm your choice with the "ok" button. After that, go to drive “C” and look for the file boot.ini.

Files of this type are opened with notepad. In the contents of the boot.ini file, look for the name of your “unnecessary OS” and delete the entire line. Save the file and close. That's it, when you start the computer, the OS selection window will no longer bother you.

Regarding versions Windows 7 and above, you should do the following:

1. Click on "start". Find and click on “Run”. Or, hold down the keyboard shortcut Win+R;
2. In the dialog box that appears, enter “ msconfig» - without brackets;
3. In the window that appears, click on the “” tab;
4. Select the operating system you don’t need and click on the “ delete»;
5. Click on the button “ apply" and "ok";
6. Reboot the PC.

After these steps, the unnecessary operating system will be deleted both from the hard drive and from the boot files. Be meticulous about your work and do not make unnecessary mistakes. This will save your time and nerves.

If a user has several versions of Windows installed on his computer, he may be wondering how to remove the second operating system.

Often this question arises if one of the systems begins to malfunction, if there is too little free space on the hard drive, if the OS is outdated and for many other reasons. There are several ways to safely remove Windows 7 from your PC. The methods described below are so simple that even an ordinary user can use them to remove the OS..

This is the easiest and most convenient way to remove Windows. You need to open the “Start” menu and enter the word “Run” in the “Search for Programs” line. In the window that opens there is a field in which you need to enter “msconfig” and click “OK”. After this, the “System Configuration” window opens.

The user should go to the “Download” tab and find the Windows system in the list that should be safely disposed of.

The corresponding status is indicated next to the operating operating system - “Current operating system”, but there are no marks near the inactive one. You need to select this OS, click “Apply” and “OK”. After closing the window, you must select “Restart the computer” in the “System Settings” window.

If everything was done correctly, then the next time the PC boots, the second Windows 7 will no longer be displayed.

Removing "Windows" from the partition

When using this method, you need to boot the system that the user plans to keep. After this, you should change the settings so that this OS is loaded in the future. You need to start by opening the desktop. Then you need to right-click on the “My Computer” shortcut, and in the menu that appears, find “Properties”, and then “Advanced” and “Options”. In this window, select Windows 7 to be removed and click OK.

After completing all operations, you need to go to the partition where the OS to be removed is installed. Usually this is drive C. Here we find the Windows, Program Files and Documents and Settings folders and remove them.

A message may appear stating that these files are system files and are read-only. This warning should be ignored.

Some users have a question about how not to make a mistake and delete exactly those folders that are needed. The following can help them: open the Start menu, select Run, enter the command %windir% in the window that appears, and click OK. As a result, the folder with the current OS opens. You need to remember the location of this one and not touch it.

After uninstalling Windows 7, you need to edit the boot.ini file to remove the unnecessary OS from the boot menu.

To do this, right-click on the “My Computer” icon, find the “Properties” item in the menu that appears, and then open the “Advanced” tab, select “Download and Setup” and click on the “Options” button.

In the dialog box, find the “Edit” item and make a backup copy of the boot.ini file that opens. You can call it boot.old. After this, you need to open boot.ini again and delete the line that contains information responsible for displaying two Windows in the boot menu. You can then save the file and restart your PC.

Other ways to remove unnecessary OS

If the user is interested in how to remove a second operating system without resorting to the above methods, then he can use the tips below. True, they only work if the two operating systems are installed on different partitions of the hard drive. In this case you can:

1. Right-click on the My Computer shortcut, select Manage, and then Disk Management. After that, mark the disk on which the unnecessary system is installed and click the “Format” button. The OS will be completely removed from the computer (but all information stored on this disk will also be deleted along with it).
2. Use Acronis Disc Director. This method is often resorted to by those users who were unable to format using standard Windows tools.
3. Format the disk via BIOS. But in this case, you will need an emergency floppy disk and, accordingly, a floppy drive. The floppy disk must be inserted into the drive, and then the computer must be restarted. It will start booting from the floppy disk and a small menu will appear on the screen from which you need to choose to format the disk. Then you should select the disk with which you want to perform this operation.

Thus, there are several simple ways to remove unnecessary Windows. The choice of one method or another depends on the user’s preferences and technical capabilities.