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Deleting Windows from dual boot Linux/Windows computer (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 days ago by Demonmariner@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I have a PC currently configured to dual boot Windows 10 and Linux Mint. I don't need Windows anymore, but Mint is working just fine and I'd rather avoid wiping the whole thing and starting over. Is there a safe way to just get rid of Windows?

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[-] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 26 points 5 days ago

Yes. You can just straight up delete the windows partition. Windows just won't boot anymore, even though doing only this won't remove it from the boot menu.

You can do this from your running linux install, but if you want to grow the linux partition to take up the free space, you'll need to do that from a live usb.

No changes should be necessary. Just delete the windows partition, and grow the linux partition.

Make sure you keep the efi partition, and swap partition, if there is one.

[-] SheeEttin@lemmy.zip 6 points 5 days ago

You can usually grow a partition online, even the one you're booting from.

[-] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Not if you need to move it first.

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago

Then do it in two steps. There’s a way forward. Just requires bit of fiddling.

[-] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 8 points 5 days ago

Yes.

But moving a partition can't be done online. And often enough it's mecessary before growing one, that I generally just tell people to do partition changes offline.

[-] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I generally agree, but the best way to use the extra partition might be to keep it as a reserve to install the next Distribution release. So you go

partition A: Ubuntu 2024.10

Partition B: /home

Partition C: Ubuntu 2025.04

And swap A and C for the next upgrade. It is really nice to have a whole compatible fallback system.

[-] dajoho@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

Not seen this done manually before. Neat idea!

[-] jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 days ago

curious how you automatically move all the packages over

[-] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

curious how you move all packages over

One can copy the system using a tar backup, fix the mount pointd by changing the volume label (which identifies the mount point), and do a dist upgrade then.

I guess that's the best way to do it on a server. But for desktop systems, I now think it is better to make a list of manually installed packages, and to re-install the packages that are still needed from that list. This has two advantages:

  1. One gets rid of cruft and experimental installs that are no longer needed, which is really important in the long term.
  2. Some systems (I a looking at you GNOME) can break in an ugly way if doing an upgrade instead of a re-install. Very bad behaviour, but it can happen. (And this might answer the question whether Debian is more stable than Arch: Yes, as long as you don't upgrade GNOME).

And one more thing I do for the dot files:

Say, my home folder is in /home/hvb . Then, I install Debian 12 and set /home/hvb/deb12 as my home folder (by editing /etc/passwd). I put my data in /home/hvb/Documents, /home/hvb/Photos/ and sym-link these folders into /home/hvb/deb12. When I upgrade, I first create a new folder /home/hvb/deb14, copy my dot files from deb12, and install a new root partition with my home set to /home/hvb/deb14. Then, I again link my data folders , documents and media such as /home/hvb/Documents into /home/hvb/deb14 . The reason I do this is that new versions of programs can upgrade the dot files to a new syntax or features, but when I switch back to boot Debian 12, the old versions can't necessarily read the newer-version config files (the changes are mostly promised to be backward-compatible but not forward-compatible).

All in all this is a very conservative approach but it works for me with running Debian now for about 15 years in a rather large desktop setup.

And the above also worked well for me with distro-hopping. Though nowadays, it is more recommended to install parallel dual-booted distros on another removable disk since such installs can also modify grub and EFI setup, early graphics drivers and so on, even if in theory dual-boot installs should be completely independent... but my experience is that is not any more always guaranteed.

[-] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 1 points 4 days ago

Another possibly quicker way to do this is a larger BTRFS disk and create subvolumes from snapshots and mount these. When the subvolumes are no longer needed, they can be deleted like any folder.

[-] Mordikan@kbin.earth 10 points 5 days ago

You can use the gparted tool to graphically remove the partition(s) and then format them to whatever file system type you are interested in and just have those mounted as extra data drives. Or merge them into your Linux partition (depending on setup). That will require gparted to be run as sudo as you are interacting with disks.

Alternatively, you can a tool like fdisk to change partitioning in terminal. You can pull the disk info using something like lsblk, so if you had a specific drive it might be sudo fdisk /dev/nvme0n1, then you'd want to print the current table and look through the help.

[-] Labna@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Hi, I didn't see the answer if you only have your pc and no other big storage :
If you still have the installation usb or recreate one. Boot on it then you open gparted with that you remove the two partition off windows, the main with the system and the recovery one (if there is) but don't touch the first or last partition esp if it exits. Then you can expand the partitions to get the free space. Extend to the right is fast but extend to the left can be really slow and prone to failures.
I case you Linux partition are all on the right you can also create new main partition, do the install of the linux on this one, then reboot on the USB, move the user and configuration files on the new system, delete old installation partitions, then extend the new install to take the full drive.
There is commands to remove the old esp entries I don't remember yet.
This can take few hours so be patient.

The other option with a backup (dd) of the main partition is obviously safer but take nearly the same amount of time and need an external drive.

[-] data1701d@startrek.website 1 points 4 days ago

Do you have data on the Windows partition?

Either way, a good way to do it might be to use dd (or a different disk image tool) to copy your Linux installation partitions to a portable hard drive, and make sure the image works. Then wipe the drive and copy the Linux partitions back to it via dd or another imaging tool.

[-] Web_Rand@moist.catsweat.com 1 points 5 days ago

Some software doesn't run on Linux.

[-] osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org 22 points 5 days ago

Some software doesn't run on windows. How's that related to the op's question?

[-] Web_Rand@moist.catsweat.com 1 points 5 days ago

Get rid of Windows, lose access to Windows only software.

[-] the_q@lemmy.zip 18 points 5 days ago

First of all this isn't accurate. Second, you have no idea what op uses. Third, who simps for Windows?

[-] Geodad@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago

I was already onboard. You don't have to keep trying to sell it.

[-] magitian@programming.dev 5 points 5 days ago

Why do you try to make Linux seem unusable? It's not "Linux"'s fault proprietary software doesn't work on it. Would you criticize GNOME, KDE Plasma etc. and any of the gazillion other pieces of software exclusive to Linux for not working on W*ndows to reach a wider audience next?

[-] Demonmariner@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Not a problem for me. All the software I need is either available as native Linux or runs ok under Wine.

I'm ready to ditch Windows entirely at this point. I just need to find the best way to do that, without having to rebuild the Linux side of my dual boot PC.

[-] djsoren19 4 points 5 days ago

It's basically only proprietary garbage tho.

[-] giacomo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 days ago

but also, some software does

this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2025
71 points (100.0% liked)

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