I remember doing this before in the past with a DOS partition. It wasn't working properly, so the office tech told me to use fdisk and delete that DOS partition. Then recreate it. To my surprise Windows still worked after that. I always thought that fdisk would corrupt the Windows partition somehow since it was a destructive partitioning tool. So I have always used Partition Magic instead for my partitioning needs.

If I install Linux on a separate partition and decide to get rid of it later using fdisk, Windows will still be intact right?

From my understanding now, I guess fdisk only will "break" Windows if the partition is merged into the existing Windows partition

Thanks.

To my understanding the 2 partition are seperate. But what if you ever needed the DOS Parition?

If you installed Linux on a seperate partition you can still get rid of it, without harming Windows. Correct me if I am wrong but I doubt it. Fdisk is the only tool if I know of to do partitions other than one that comes with the Windows Installation CD but that's probably Fdisk too.

Windows will remain intact. As long as you don't mess around with the partition you have windows installed to, you can create, modify or delete all other partitions as much as you like. There are other tools of course, besides fdisk and the XP cd, but since they're mostly linux based, I don't need to list them as you know much more than me about them.

Just wanted clarification on that. I always steered clear of fdisk all these years fearing it might muck up Windows somehow.

I was having issues creating a small partition (around 512MB of space) for DOS using Partition Magic on my job. The tech in the office told me to use fdisk...which I used reluctantly.

I don't see why Windows partition tool would break windows, just isn't smart. Personally I never have had the motiviation to figure out the command line for fdisk...XP CD is easier.

The advantage of other partition tools is that many of them have a GUI. Personally, I use the free software called Partition Logic. You can then burn the Live CD and boot from the computer using the CD drive. It is easier to work with partitions with a GUI that clearly labels out the different partitions. Personally, I have never really used FDisk as I am not a fan of command line programs.

Partition Logic can be downloaded at:
http://partitionlogic.org.uk/

why would it destroy your windows partition ? As long as you don't do anything stupid (like deleting it ) you shouldn't fear losing windows. I've used it for a long time, never having problems with it. Now I've switched to Linux Live CDs or the Vista DVD (if the pc has a dvd drive of course), just because it's a GUI makes thing much clearer when you start deleting partitions.

Btw. you can delete the linux partition using the XP drive management tools.

I agree that using other partitioning tools are more user friendly, but for the most part, I don't need all that GUI. Take the XP CD for example, I don't find much use for it and it takes more time to load than if I just do it using fdisk.

I guess this is just one of those questions I never asked until recently when someone asked me the same thing regarding the linux partition. I was told in the past (more than a few years back) that fdisk was a destructive partitioning tool. I thought it was just referring to creating and deleting partitions in general, so I never fiddled much with it. I know not to touch the Windows partition of course...otherwise, I'm screwed LOL.

fdisk will display just like "no-dos partition"
fdisk is a strong soft. when the disk is not right.
in dos ,you can enter "fdisk /mbr" .maybe it works.

f disk my hp pavilion laptop ... can it be done
Will Using Fdisk Corrupt Windows Partition?

My laptop is full of files and games I do not want or need anymore...And it runs really slow..Not to mention the entire memory is almost used...And I want to f disk this computer like ive done before on my pc. Can it be done and now do I do it. I'm running windows vista with a 90g hard drive.

-question by friskeygrl