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Okay, so I want to re-install Ubuntu, but in order to do so I'm being told to delete my previous Linux partitions. However, I can't tell which one's to delete. The only one I know for sure is the Linux swap, because it has Linux in its name. How do I know which other partitions I can delete, without screwing up Windows 7?

https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/reinstallation

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  • Just being pedantic: you do not need to remove previous Linux partitions in order to re-install, you can install using existing partitions, which can even save you some time in restoring your home directory and settings. But knowing which partitions belongs to which OS is of course important in either case. – Sergey May 17 '12 at 3:38
  • gparted will tell you the file system of each partition. It's pretty safe to assume anything that isn't FAT or NTFS (might be called HPFS) is linux. – Huckle May 17 '12 at 3:48
  • Please remember to accept/upvote the best answer to your question (tick/check mark on the left). This way, the question is marked as "answered" and future readers can refer to it knowing the solution works. Thank you...:) – ish Jul 8 '12 at 3:40
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How do I know which other partitions I can delete, without screwing up Windows 7?

You can identify Windows 7 partitions by those that are called "ID/Type 07: HPFS/NTFS". Rarely, Windows 7 systems may also have partitions with type "vfat". Leave those alone.

Linux partitions will have ID 83 (types can be ext2, ext3, ext4, etc.), and ID 82 (Linux swap, as you noted).

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