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Chani
Asked: 2015-01-12 02:35:08 +0800 CST

Turning 3 Ubuntu installations and one windows7 installation to one Ubuntu installation and one windows7 installation

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I currently have 3 Ubuntu installations (one 32 bit 14.04, one 32 bit 14.10 and a 64 bit 14.10) and a windows7 installed on my system.

I want just one windows7 installation and one 64 bit 14.10 Ubuntu on my system. However the currently installed 64 bit 14.10 Ubuntu is on a small drive and I want it removed and install it on a larger drive.

So, my question is, armed with a bootable USB loaded with Ubuntu 14.10 64 bit, how do I go about erasing the previous 3 Ubuntu installations and install a fresh one on my desired drive?

dual-boot

1 Answers

  1. First, if you want to keep data from your current Ubuntu installations, make sure you back up that data before getting rid of them. You can choose one of many backup tools (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BackupYourSystem#Backup_Utilities) to achieve that, or you can just copy the files manually if you know exactly what you need to keep.

    There are two options to have Ubuntu 14.10 64-bit on your larger drive: performing a fresh install (like you suggested) or moving your current installation to your larger drive. The second option might take a bit more time, but you won't lose your current installation.

    Option 1: Fresh install

    1. Boot on your LiveUSB and start up GParted.
    2. Erase all three Ubuntu installations (likely all ext4 partitions).
    3. Start the Ubuntu installer and choose to install manually (choose your own partitions). Setup an ext4 partition on your larger drive and set it up as your root directory (/). You can setup a separate partition for your home directory (/home) if you wish.

    Option 2: Moving your current installation

    1. Boot on every Ubuntu installation once to identify which installation is on which partition. Before booting on a system, note the partition number mentioned in GRUB (eg. /dev/sda1). Once Ubuntu has booted, head over to the menu at the top-right of your screen and select "About this computer". Note down the version (14.04 or 14.10) and the OS type (32-bit or 64-bit). Repeat for all three Ubuntu installations.
    2. Boot on your LiveUSB and start up GParted.
    3. Erase the partitions that contain Ubuntu 14.04 32-bit and Ubuntu 14.10 32-bit.
    4. Copy your Ubuntu 14.10 64-bit installation to your larger drive.
    5. Once the copy is done, erase your Ubuntu 14.10 64-bit partition from your smaller drive, keeping your copy on the larger drive.
    6. Repair GRUB: Use Boot-Repair to restore your bootloader and have it configured according to your new partition layout. See this article: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair (follow the 2nd option if you want to stay on your live session)
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