Help removing 98 partition when upgrading to XP

I am currently running Windows 98se with my 80 Gig hard drive partitioned into two 40 Gig partitions (C and D). I am planning to upgrade to Windows XP. If D is empty, can I remove this partition (making C an 80 Gig hard drive) when I convert to XP without completely reformatting the 80 Gig hard drive and having to reload my current programs and data? If so, how? (Yes I have them backed up on an external drive.)

Thanks
HRP

 

Get Partition Magic, it can "partition on the fly" without data loss. I wouldn't trust it 100% but I haven't heard of any data loss that wasn't deserved (using it in excess).

here is the website for it, but you could probably get it cheaper at tigerdirect, newegg, or mwave.
http://www.partitionmagic.com/partitionmagic/