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My machine has Windows XP and Ubuntu installed. I now want to install Windows 7 by removing Windows XP. Is it possible to do this without affecting my Ubuntu installation?

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migrated from stackoverflow.com Jun 13 '11 at 7:39

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4 Answers

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Yes, it is possible.

First, install Windows 7 on one of your NTFS partitions, then reinstall GRUB from the Ubuntu installation CD. Most likely it will auto-detect your system partitions including Windows. If not, you will need to specify them yourself.

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Can we directly install on windows xp? – Vikram Jun 13 '11 at 11:04
Yes, why not. But I recommend you to reformat xp partition, so it will clean, or else you will end up having a lot of garbage left from the old system. Remember about backups, like bookmarks and other stuff ;) – Andrejs Cainikovs Jun 13 '11 at 12:30
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Yes, all you have to do is delete the XP partition and install Windows 7 on the old XP partition.

However this will overwrite your MBR so you will need to reinstall and configure GRUB.

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This is a little tricky - you have to note that Windows 7 will likely overwrite your MBR. If so, all you need to do is to reload your MBR with GRUB - that should do the trick. :)

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I can fix master boot record by using ubuntu recovery CD. So after installation will all my Ubuntu Data will go away or it will be safe? – Vikram Jun 13 '11 at 7:36
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Try to read something about Grub 2.0, which Ubuntu has. Note that installing Windows 7 will remove the Grub bootloader. Read the manual:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows

Therefore, the answer is no.

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