Im not asking how to install windows 7 I just wanna know if you could install windows first while ubuntu in your system before deleting ubuntu
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You can do that with whatever OS you're installing and with whatever OS is already installed and you can multiboot too. A more interesting question would be if you need to do backups before wiping the installed OS. If not, it's really a non-question but certainly you aren't alone with such wondering. – Feb 02 '17 at 14:33
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See How can I install Windows after I've installed Ubuntu? and then How to remove Ubuntu and put Windows back on?. – Jonas Czech Feb 02 '17 at 15:13
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You can't change one OS into a different OS, per se. If you want to retain the current OS (Ubuntu) you would have to add the second OS on a different partition.
You have a couple of options. You can either add a different OS by placing it on a different partition, then configuring your boot manager of which OS to boot. Or you can replace the currently installed OS by installing the second OS in the same partition of the first OS. If you overwrite Your Ubuntu partition with Windows, you will result in having just the one OS installed. Ubuntu wold be replaced.
Ubuntu's installation has a feature to automatically resize a currently installed OS and seamlessly create a partition for it's installation without deleting the previously installed OS (The Alongside Operation system option. In other words, you can do that when installing Ubuntu. The difference is that it is automatically performing the creation of a separate partition during the installation process.
Most Operating systems, including Windows and Ubuntu, can be installed over the current OS if it's the same, without totally nuking all the data of the previous install. They can overwrite or in case of Windows rename the previous installation file and install the new installation files into a new directory. Windows will rename the current installation of Windows to Windows.old. Then install the new instant in a new Windows directory. Ubuntu, when installing Ubuntu over Ubuntu will replace the system folders with files from the new install, and leave your personal folders and manually created folders intact.
But in the case of totally different operating systems such as Windows and Ubuntu, the format of the partition is different and would have to be nuked if trying to use the same partition.
So to change between Windows and Ubuntu will involve nuking the previous OS or installing the second OS on a separate partition.
L. D. James
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