How to convert the ext 3 file system of hard disk to ntfs and install Windows 7?

[taishuoning]

In my laptop I have formatted the complete hard disk to ext 3 and installed Linux Ubuntu. Now I want to install Windows 7, but when I try to install windows 7 the boot-able Windows 7 USB stick, the installer could not recognize my hard disk. How can I solve this problem and install Windows? Should I format the whole hard disk and convert it to NTFS using GParted?

 

[VincentP]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

 

[taishuoning]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

 

[VincentP]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

 

[taishuoning]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

None of my hard disk partition are labelled as Primary Partition. Is that the reason why Windows 7 installer is not detecting my hard disk? If yes, how to make a Primary Partition?

 

[VincentP]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

None of my hard disk partition are labelled as Primary Partition. Is that the reason why Windows 7 installer is not detecting my hard disk? If yes, how to make a Primary Partition?

If you create a partition during the Windows 7 install, this will be made primary and active.
MBR partitioning allows you to have up to four primary partitions on a drive, or three primary plus one logical.
Linux will give you the option of creating primary or logical partitions.

Older versions of Windows would see an ext3 partition as unformatted and offer to format it for you.
Windows 7 is a bit nicer I think in that will leave the ext3 partition alone by default.
Try the advanced options when choosing a partition during the Windows 7 install.
Alternatively, you can use a Linux boot disk to delete the existing partitions.

 

[taishuoning]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

None of my hard disk partition are labelled as Primary Partition. Is that the reason why Windows 7 installer is not detecting my hard disk? If yes, how to make a Primary Partition?

If you create a partition during the Windows 7 install, this will be made primary and active.
MBR partitioning allows you to have up to four primary partitions on a drive, or three primary plus one logical.
Linux will give you the option of creating primary or logical partitions.

Older versions of Windows would see an ext3 partition as unformatted and offer to format it for you.
Windows 7 is a bit nicer I think in that will leave the ext3 partition alone by default.
Try the advanced options when choosing a partition during the Windows 7 install.
Alternatively, you can use a Linux boot disk to delete the existing partitions.

That is the problem, I am not able to create the partition neither am I able to format it because the installer is not able to detect my hard disk. The format and Advance options are disabled. Click on them doesn't give any response.

 

[VincentP]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

None of my hard disk partition are labelled as Primary Partition. Is that the reason why Windows 7 installer is not detecting my hard disk? If yes, how to make a Primary Partition?

If you create a partition during the Windows 7 install, this will be made primary and active.
MBR partitioning allows you to have up to four primary partitions on a drive, or three primary plus one logical.
Linux will give you the option of creating primary or logical partitions.

Older versions of Windows would see an ext3 partition as unformatted and offer to format it for you.
Windows 7 is a bit nicer I think in that will leave the ext3 partition alone by default.
Try the advanced options when choosing a partition during the Windows 7 install.
Alternatively, you can use a Linux boot disk to delete the existing partitions.

That is the problem, I am not able to create the partition neither am I able to format it because the installer is not able to detect my hard disk. The format and Advance options are disabled. Click on them doesn't give any response.

That sounds like something else.
Is the disk partitioned as GPT or MBR?
If the disk is GPT and you are booting MBR, you won't be able to detect it.
Windows 7 32-bit doesn't support GPT boot.
Windows 7 64-bit should support either, but you may have to choose in the BIOS.

The other reason Windows can't see drives from the DVD boot is if Windows doesn't have drivers for the hard disk controller (e.g. RAID controllers).

 

[taishuoning]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

None of my hard disk partition are labelled as Primary Partition. Is that the reason why Windows 7 installer is not detecting my hard disk? If yes, how to make a Primary Partition?

If you create a partition during the Windows 7 install, this will be made primary and active.
MBR partitioning allows you to have up to four primary partitions on a drive, or three primary plus one logical.
Linux will give you the option of creating primary or logical partitions.

Older versions of Windows would see an ext3 partition as unformatted and offer to format it for you.
Windows 7 is a bit nicer I think in that will leave the ext3 partition alone by default.
Try the advanced options when choosing a partition during the Windows 7 install.
Alternatively, you can use a Linux boot disk to delete the existing partitions.

That is the problem, I am not able to create the partition neither am I able to format it because the installer is not able to detect my hard disk. The format and Advance options are disabled. Click on them doesn't give any response.

That sounds like something else.
Is the disk partitioned as GPT or MBR?
If the disk is GPT and you are booting MBR, you won't be able to detect it.
Windows 7 32-bit doesn't support GPT boot.
Windows 7 64-bit should support either, but you may have to choose in the BIOS.

The other reason Windows can't see drives from the DVD boot is if Windows doesn't have drivers for the hard disk controller (e.g. RAID controllers).

Earlier I had Windows 7 32-bit installed on my system and then I had formatted the complete hard disk to ext 3. Now it has only ext 3 partitions and doesn't have any primary partition.

 

[VincentP]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

None of my hard disk partition are labelled as Primary Partition. Is that the reason why Windows 7 installer is not detecting my hard disk? If yes, how to make a Primary Partition?

If you create a partition during the Windows 7 install, this will be made primary and active.
MBR partitioning allows you to have up to four primary partitions on a drive, or three primary plus one logical.
Linux will give you the option of creating primary or logical partitions.

Older versions of Windows would see an ext3 partition as unformatted and offer to format it for you.
Windows 7 is a bit nicer I think in that will leave the ext3 partition alone by default.
Try the advanced options when choosing a partition during the Windows 7 install.
Alternatively, you can use a Linux boot disk to delete the existing partitions.

That is the problem, I am not able to create the partition neither am I able to format it because the installer is not able to detect my hard disk. The format and Advance options are disabled. Click on them doesn't give any response.

That sounds like something else.
Is the disk partitioned as GPT or MBR?
If the disk is GPT and you are booting MBR, you won't be able to detect it.
Windows 7 32-bit doesn't support GPT boot.
Windows 7 64-bit should support either, but you may have to choose in the BIOS.

The other reason Windows can't see drives from the DVD boot is if Windows doesn't have drivers for the hard disk controller (e.g. RAID controllers).

Earlier I had Windows 7 32-bit installed on my system and then I had formatted the complete hard disk to ext 3. Now it has only ext 3 partitions and doesn't have any primary partition.

At least one of the ext3 partitions must be primary.
It's possible to not have an active partition, but then Linux wouldn't boot.

 

[taishuoning]

Windows can't read an ext3 file system at all.
Linux on the other hand can read NTFS.
Format any partitions you want access from both operating systems with NTFS.

Will it add the boot loader for windows?

Linux boot loader can boot to Linux or Windows 7.
Best to install Windows 7 first on one partition and then Linux to another partition.
The Linux install should detect Windows and configure the boot loader to give you a choice on startup.

None of my hard disk partition are labelled as Primary Partition. Is that the reason why Windows 7 installer is not detecting my hard disk? If yes, how to make a Primary Partition?

If you create a partition during the Windows 7 install, this will be made primary and active.
MBR partitioning allows you to have up to four primary partitions on a drive, or three primary plus one logical.
Linux will give you the option of creating primary or logical partitions.

Older versions of Windows would see an ext3 partition as unformatted and offer to format it for you.
Windows 7 is a bit nicer I think in that will leave the ext3 partition alone by default.
Try the advanced options when choosing a partition during the Windows 7 install.
Alternatively, you can use a Linux boot disk to delete the existing partitions.

That is the problem, I am not able to create the partition neither am I able to format it because the installer is not able to detect my hard disk. The format and Advance options are disabled. Click on them doesn't give any response.

That sounds like something else.
Is the disk partitioned as GPT or MBR?
If the disk is GPT and you are booting MBR, you won't be able to detect it.
Windows 7 32-bit doesn't support GPT boot.
Windows 7 64-bit should support either, but you may have to choose in the BIOS.

The other reason Windows can't see drives from the DVD boot is if Windows doesn't have drivers for the hard disk controller (e.g. RAID controllers).

Earlier I had Windows 7 32-bit installed on my system and then I had formatted the complete hard disk to ext 3. Now it has only ext 3 partitions and doesn't have any primary partition.

At least one of the ext3 partitions must be primary.
It's possible to not have an active partition, but then Linux wouldn't boot.

Yes I think the Windows 7 installer is unable to detect this active partition, what might be reason? How to solve it and install Windows 7?