I have Hp pavilion laptop with 225GB Vista partition and 2.02 GB recovery partition. I want to do fresh Win 7 install in 225GB partition and preserve the Vista recovery partition in case I have problems with install and want to return to Vista? Will Vista recovery partition be preserved if I just install to 225GB partition? thanks
unless you explicitly delete the recovery partition it will still be there and ready for you to use You can also shrink the 225 GB partition and install Windows 7 or even better install it on a vhd (ultimate only)
Cool. I was hoping that was the case. Am gonna install on whole 225GB. If anybody can confirm that would be cool. thanks
All is depend on your requirement. If you like to "lose" your Vista totally, just go ahead and use the full 225GB> While running the Win 7 setup, you should use the custom installation, go to drive options and format only the "old" C Drive and, if available, the Windows Vista System Reserved Drive/Partition of 100MB. Done the format, highlight the 225GB drive and click on Next. That should do the job without any problem.
The special small partition did not exist with Vista. Additionally, some OEMs may have a special MBR/Bootsector that will possibly be overwritten by the Win7 installation.
Which will be not happen if format the existing C Partition and point the installation to it. The System Reserved Partition was existing in Vista Ultimate! Edit: Sorry, it were Vista Enterprise!
It does! 3 days ago I delete it from my old Laptop HDD which had 3 partitions: hidden partition of 15GB from Compaq system reserved partition 100MB FAT C partition 287GB NTFS with Vista Enterprise Sorry I wrote above Ultimate and it were Enterprise instead. I bought the Laptop with Vista Home installed and changed later to Enterprise deploying the OS via Network from an Windows 7 Server. Was need to Vista because of Driver limitations and sold the Laptop a few weeks ago to an student with an new HDD and Windows 7 Ultimate installed. I cloned the new HDD with HDClone for to keep the Original Hidden Partition with the Original Vista Home and Apps and formatted the other 2 partitions to install W7U. I don't remember if the Vista Home had a System Reserved Partition, I remember to got it while changing to Vista Enterprise.
@ comandoed, you should also have the option to make HP recovery DVD's if you have I recommend you make them. Then you have a backup in case the hard drive fails, then if you want you can format the Whole drive also I would partition the drive perhaps 60 Gb for OS and the remaining for backups, documents, files, data e.c.t then if have to reinstall you have not lost all you Documents e.c.t.
At least the Vistas I installed (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate) did never create a partition. I don't have Enterprise, though, thus couldn't test it.
I would now very carefully to tell what might were happen and say 50/50!! I used to deploy the Vista enterprise from an Windows 7 Server, which means in straight word, that Server were an original Windows 7 Ultimate, running as Server with many option changed compare to an normal Windows 7 Ultimate installation. This machine were used for multi platform apps, which we changed later to Server 2008R2. AS is was also getting curious, I checked with an friend from MS Thailand and he told me, that in case to use Windows 7 Server/Ultimate to deploy Vista and/or Windows 7 OS to an other machine via network, a 100MB System Reserved partition would be build on the destination machine in case it would be an Enterprise version. He told that they had the same outcome at the MS Office.
I think we will agree then in any Normal vista installation (Not Deployment) that Vista does not create a 100MB System Reserved partition
You could backup your entire HDD with Clonezilla, which is a specialized live Linux CD/DVD/USB. "Live" meaning it boots and works from the CD/DVD/USB. That way, if something bad should happen, you could revive the HDD as it were before. I do that all the time with computers that have recovery partitions.