You could do that. You would want to set the drive as bootable using bootsect.exe. Of course, once once XP has installed itself your MBR will be overwritten and Win7 will no longer work, so assuming XP installed properly you'd just follow the MS Knowledgebase article on getting Win7 to boot again from within XP if it doesn't go as planned you'll need to see about booting from a USB drive (which is probably the way to go anyway). And the way I would personally chose to do it (if not for the suggestion below) would be to create a bootable barebones partition as big as the XP partition you'd like boot completely into that and then just install XP from the install files. A better way: You can use and it should do everything for you.
Of course, if you're install XP for fear of the Win7 RC running out, you have until March 1, 2010. If you just want to start from scratch with XP wiping everything, then this would also be the method I would use (random stray tiny partitions are not worth it).
As always I recommend backing up your essential data to a medium not connected during the install (whether it be using dropbox, a network share or an external hdd).
It is not necessary to create the Windows 7 partitions on a new (empty) hard drive or format the partitions before installing Windows 7 as the installer will do that automatically. Here's How: 1. Boot your computer to the Windows 7 DVD. At this screen choose to install now. Select to 'Go online' for latest updates. Select the Operating System you wish to install. Accept the license terms and click next.
Select 'Custom (advanced)'. In this screen you see existing partitions (my test setup).
Click 'Drive options (advanced)'. I used 'Delete' to remove the existing partitions. Now select 'New' to create new partitions in the Unallocated space. You can choose to use the entire empty space, or just a part of the space. In this screen, I have chosen to use half of the 20 GB available. Windows will, by default, create the 'System Reserved' partition.
In this screen you see the 'Reserved Partition' of 100 MB. I recommend keeping this. Next, you have the options of creating a new partition in the unallocated space, extending the selected partition into the unallocated space, shrinking the selected partition, or deleting one or all existing partitions. I have chosen to extend the partition into all the unallocated space.
Now you can complete your Windows 7 installation in the partitions you have created. You can also cancel the installation process here while leaving the newly created partitions intact. Useful if you intend to install a different Operating System into one of the newly created partitions. Conclusion: While the Windows 7 hard drive partition utility is limited, it offers a convenient way to install Windows 7 without filling the entire hard drive. The leftover space can then be used for other purposes.
Hi, What is the maximum number of partitions that can be created (and windows 7 installed) on a single HDD with windows 7? Thanks in advanceHello pablo91011, and welcome to Windows Seven Forums.
Windows allows four 'Primary' partitions on a single hard drive. However, one of those could be an 'Extended' partition, and you can create as many 'Logical Partitions' inside the 'Extended' partition as there are letters of the alphabet!! So figure C is used, and D for your CD-Rom, that leaves you E through Z, or 22 'Logical Partitions'. So you can create three 'Primary' partitions plus 20 'Logical' partitions. Note: In order to be able to boot to an OS like Windows 7 when installed in a 'Logical' partition, you would need to use the 100MB 'System Reserved' partition as the first 'Primary' partition containing all of the boot code.
Thanks for this Robert, much appreciated! On installation, how do I create logical partitions, or do they have to be created in Disk Management when the first windows 7 is installed?
Thanks in advance I found the Windows Disk Management Utility to be limited in features when working with 'Logical' partitions. A third party utility will be needed to create the partitions before installation. I would need to see a snap shot of your current hard drive partitions to be more specific. Two well known free utilities are, for Windows and Linux, and for Windows only. You would need to go to their web site, download the ISO file, burn it to a CD and boot to the CD to use the utility. Once the 'Extended' partition and the 'Logical Partitions' are created inside the 'Extended' partition, Windows has no problems seeing the partitions and installing to them.
You have many options. For example I was able to use Partition Wizard to create the 'Extended' and 'Logical' partitions, copy XP and 7 partitions to the Logical partitions, and after making sure I could boot to the new logical partitions, delete the previous partitions and move into the empty space. You would have other options as well, so please let us know if we can be of any help? Hi ieeuu, I got one problem, When I using Win7 installation disk to install new window, in the drive option, I can't delete and create new partitions, the format, delete and create new button are all turn gray colour. Inside the Window, I can create new partition and delete it for disk management.
My question is, I want to do a clean installation, that's mean I want to delete all of the other partitions and create new one for my new window. Please helpHello lonelyseason, and welcome to Windows Seven Forums. When you are in Windows 7 and you put the DVD in the drive and select 'Install', you will not be able to use the 'Hard drive utility'. You must reboot (or restart) your computer and boot from the DVD and then begin the Install. Then you will be able to delete all of the existing partitions before installing Windows 7. Hope this helps! Hi ieeuu, I got one problem, When I using Win7 installation disk to install new window, in the drive option, I can't delete and create new partitions, the format, delete and create new button are all turn gray colour.
Inside the Window, I can create new partition and delete it for disk management. My question is, I want to do a clean installation, that's mean I want to delete all of the other partitions and create new one for my new window. Please helpHello lonelyseason, and welcome to Windows Seven Forums. When you are in Windows 7 and you put the DVD in the drive and select 'Install', you will not be able to use the 'Hard drive utility'. You must reboot (or restart) your computer and boot from the DVD and then begin the Install. Then you will be able to delete all of the existing partitions before installing Windows 7.
Hope this helps! RobertThank, I solved it. Similar help and support threads Thread Forum Hello everyone, The main issue is that I have an ISO file on a USB and I've been trying to boot Windows from it. Bpm studio free download chip.
I get to the screen where it asks me which hard drive I want to install the OSS. I bought a new hard drive and as such it appears as Disk 0: Unallocated Space. From there, I select. Installation & Setup I have a new HP envy t215 desktop with intel I7 Processor on a Megatrends MB with an EFI partitionThe computer came with windows 7 pro but I want to temporally installWindows 8. I want to remove the hard drive with Windows 7 Pro and insert a new 1TB Sata drive for a fresh install of windows 8.
Installation & Setup Hi, I just reinstalled win7 on a new hard drive and during the installation process, I split the disk into two equal partitions of 500gb. In 'My Computer' I can only see one partition which is the C drive but not the other partition. Looking in Disk Management, the other partition seems to be. General Discussion Hi guys i have just setup my computer with the windows 7 on its own hard drive and all my data on a seperate hard drive. My question is whats the best way to partition this second hard drive, i dont want to loose the data on it if possible.
I know it can be done in the computer managment with. General Discussion hi, I have download windows 7, backed up all my drivers and copied all my important info onto my external Hard drive and am about to try and clean install windows 7. But do i have to partition the hard drive? My Dell laptop has a 110GB hard drive which came already partitioned.
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Three Parts: Windows XP is one of Microsoft’s most popular operating systems, and though it’s starting to show its age, many people still use it exclusively. Whether you’ve got an old computer that you want to get functioning again or you want to install XP on your new machine, it will only take a short while. Note: Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows XP, which means it will no longer receive essential security fixes. It is highly recommended that you consider upgrading to a newer version of Windows, such as,. Ensure that your computer can run Windows XP. Your computer will need to meet or exceed the minimum system requirements in order to run Windows XP.
You can find your system information by either checking the computer manufacturer's manual, or by running DirectX Diagnostic on an existing Windows operating system of the computer. To start the DirectX Diagnostic, open the Run dialog (press WinKey+R simultaneously), type dxdiag, and click OK. Minimum System Requirements. 300 MHz Intel or AMD CPU.
128 megabytes (MB) of system RAM. 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available drive space. Super VGA (800x600) or higher display adapter. CD or DVD-ROM. Keyboard and mouse, or other pointing devices. Network Interface Adapter required for Internet and Network Connectivity.
Sound card and speakers or headphones. Set your computer to boot from CD/DVD. Before inserting the CD, you'll need to set your computer to boot from a CD instead of from the hard drive. This will allow you to load the Windows XP setup files before your computer boots to its installed operating system.
You can change the boot order from the BOOT menu in your. To enter the BIOS of your computer, you usually press F9 or DEL when your computer starts or notifies you that you can enter 'setup'. Click the green 'BIOS' link for more information. In the BOOT menu, set the order so that your CD/DVD-ROM drive is set as the 1st Boot Device.
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If you are installing Windows XP from a USB drive, make sure that the USB drive is set as the 1st Boot Device. You may need to have the USB drive inserted for it to appear as an option.