Installing Win 7 on partioned drive

Darknyt

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 10, 2004
Messages
400
Plan on jumping on Win 7 RC Tuesday (prob 64 bit, see other thread). Trying to see if I should worry about my second data partition getting messed up if I install the RC onto my OS partition.

My current drive is a 1 TB black caviar partioned 200/800.

I plan on installing the RC onto the 200gb OS partition by doing a clean wipe using whatever built in method Win 7 RC employs in the installation process. My current OS install is Win XP Pro SP3 and is only about 3 weeks old.

I assume I will just get an option in the custom installation to install Win 7 on my OS partition and I can just select an move on, with no impact to my 800gb data partition, right?

Also, would there be any benefit, really, to shrinking one of my paritions and dual-booting my XP and Win 7 RC? I would only have the XP for emergency backup in case Win 7 RC failed me. I know you can have XP virtualization, but that wouldn't really help a show-stopper in Win 7.
 
Last edited:
Choose Custom installation (not Upgrade, obviously). The next screen presents the partition layout - highlight the XP partition, click the button on the lower right to get the more advanced options, and delete that partition. Some would say just formatting it is fine, but I disagree: to do this correctly and without any possible chance of something going awry, delete the current OS partition completely. It won't affect the other one, the data partition, so wipe it out totally.

When it's gone, the installer will identify that as Unallocated space at that point - make sure THAT selection is highlighted and then click Next. You do NOT need to make the partition, and it's best that you don't, just select/highlight the now Unallocated space and click Next.

Windows 7 may pop up a box saying it will use some reserved space for itself which is perfectly normal. It will shave off 100-200MB at the very beginning of the drive, put some boot/recovery files there, and then it'll use the rest of the unallocated space for Windows 7, partitioned and formatted as NTFS automagically.

That's about it. :D

You can edit, so can I... hehe

Honestly, with XPM in Windows 7 coming... screw dual booting unless you're doing it for some reason like gaming and you must have bare metal native performance with XP, that's it. Honestly, since XPM will be Windows XP for all intents and purposes save bare metal 3D gaming performance, I can't see any reason to dual boot ever again, but that's just me.
 
Last edited:
You can create an image of your XP in case some day you need to restore it.
 
Yes - I ghosted it as soon as I had a nice clean install up. I'm not worried about data or programs, but it could come in handy if needed.
 
Choose Custom installation (not Upgrade, obviously). The next screen presents the partition layout - highlight the XP partition, click the button on the lower right to get the more advanced options, and delete that partition. Some would say just formatting it is fine, but I disagree: to do this correctly and without any possible chance of something going awry, delete the current OS partition completely. It won't affect the other one, the data partition, so wipe it out totally.

When it's gone, the installer will identify that as Unallocated space at that point - make sure THAT selection is highlighted and then click Next. You do NOT need to make the partition, and it's best that you don't, just select/highlight the now Unallocated space and click Next.

Windows 7 may pop up a box saying it will use some reserved space for itself which is perfectly normal. It will shave off 100-200MB at the very beginning of the drive, put some boot/recovery files there, and then it'll use the rest of the unallocated space for Windows 7, partitioned and formatted as NTFS automagically.

That's about it. :D

You can edit, so can I... hehe

Honestly, with XPM in Windows 7 coming... screw dual booting unless you're doing it for some reason like gaming and you must have bare metal native performance with XP, that's it. Honestly, since XPM will be Windows XP for all intents and purposes save bare metal 3D gaming performance, I can't see any reason to dual boot ever again, but that's just me.

Well, wish I had done some more research as my Win 7 RC 64 bit installation is failing using those instructions.

When I deleted the partition, it won't continue with the installation using that partition now. It says "unable to create new system partition or locate a exsisting system partition" and refuses to continue.

I wonder if my Asus M2N32-SLI mobo or the 1TB WD Black sata drive have something to do with it.

EDIT: Well canceling, rebooting and starting the whole process has gotten me past the drive selection stage. Windows is copying files now - remains to be seen how this will do - cross your fingers!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top