Gaming Quick dual-booting question

[War]

Well, I've seen all the hype for Windows 7 and it's getting some really good reviews, so I decided I want to try it out. I found a guide on how to dual boot XP and Windows 7 with G Parted and all that, but... I'm trying to figure out how to partition my computer.

I've got 3 HDs...

C: 51 Gbs
D: 19 Gbs
H: 232 Gbs (EXTERNAL)

I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to install Windows 7 in my External, so that won't work. Should I partition my D drive and use that 19Gb, or should I partition my C drive and split it half and half?

PS: Now that I think about it, I actually don't have anything at all in my D: drive... so do I really need to partition it?

 

[da_head]

if there's nothing on the d drive, then just use that. though i don't think 19gb will be enough (especially if u wanna install programs). personally, i used 39gb

 

[p1ngpong]

Also as long as your computer supports USB booting you can install to your external.

 

[War]

Also as long as your computer supports USB booting you can install to your external.

That would be perfect... how do I check that though? Thanks p1ngy!

 

[da_head]

Also as long as your computer supports USB booting you can install to your external.

wouldn't it be a lot slower though?

 

[Raestloz]

In which drive do you install your XP?

I think it's best not to install it in the same drive, and seeing as Windows 7 is still in beta, I'd say that 19GB D: drive works best. Ms said there might be some problem and in some cases, some files might be lost, so installing it in an empty drive is the best

You don't need to partition it I think.... I heard somewhere the mroe free space you got for your OS drive, the better it runs, no need to partition a sad looking 19GB drive any further or that happy 51GB at that

 

[Jytach]

Well, I've seen all the hype for Windows 7 and it's getting some really good reviews, so I decided I want to try it out. I found a guide on how to dual boot XP and Windows 7 with G Parted and all that, but... I'm trying to figure out how to partition my computer.

I've got 3 HDs...

C: 51 Gbs
D: 19 Gbs
H: 232 Gbs (EXTERNAL)

I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to install Windows 7 in my External, so that won't work. Should I partition my D drive and use that 19Gb, or should I partition my C drive and split it half and half?

PS: Now that I think about it, I actually don't have anything at all in my D: drive... so do I really need to partition it?

If there is no data on it, you should be fine. I don't really know how windows 7 will install itself though.
Chances are that it will format your D drive and make a new NTFS partition on it. You will still need to set the mbr after that.
If you will use it now and then, I would disconnect the "C" drive and use only "D", and change between them. That way you don't need to change your windows XP system and your data will be safe.

And if you decide to edit your partitions on a disk, make a backup. I have already done this many times, so 1 week ago I was in a hurry and didn't make one. Unfortunately the lights went off -.- I was using Paragon partitioner and luckly it was able to restore my HD with the rescue cd and the windows vista repair disc after some 8 hours.


** External devices might work.

 

[da_head]

Also as long as your computer supports USB booting you can install to your external.

That would be perfect... how do I check that though? Thanks p1ngy!

go to ur bios, and check the boot options. there should be a usb thing mentioned there, if not, then u can't do it.

 

[War]

Also as long as your computer supports USB booting you can install to your external.

That would be perfect... how do I check that though? Thanks p1ngy!

go to ur bios, and check the boot options. there should be a usb thing mentioned there, if not, then u can't do it.

I don't even know how to do that >__> I'm not that good with technical stuff.

 

[p1ngpong]

Also as long as your computer supports USB booting you can install to your external.

wouldn't it be a lot slower though?

Yeah technically it is, but if War just wants to give Windows 7 a quick run to see what its like its probably the easiest option for him. Saves messing around with your internal drives and stuff, but if you are just testing the OS out the slight decrease in speed shouldnt be much of an issue.

And yes like you said, to find out if its possible check your BIOS you will see the boot order, it would be something like 1: cd-rom 2: HDD etc and you will see USB there. Move USB to the top of the boot order when you want to use windows 7, but when you want to boot with your internal drives change it back to 1:cd-rom 2:HDD etc

edit: when you turn your computer on you will see a little message such as "press f2 for BIOS menu" or "boot order" ( I get both options with mine) so you tap that button on startup (might not be f2) and you will go into your BIOS menu. It should be pretty easy to navigate to find your boot order.

 

[Renegade_R]

Hit Del or something during when you first turn on the computer...it'll enter the CMOS configuration menu to allow you to modify these things.

Edit: Windows 7 beta is awesome.

 

[War]

Ok guys, I rebooted the compy and got this in that BIOS menu thing:

Boot Device Menu

Onboard SATA Hrd Drive
Onboard or USB CD-ROM Drive
USB Device

System Setup
Hard Drive Diagnostics
Boot to Utility Partition

Does that mean I can use my external? If so, should I just make like a 60 Gb or so partition and install Windows 7 in there? Cause thing is, I can't just use ALL of my external, because I actually have a lot of games, movies, anime, and programs in there.

 

[p1ngpong]

Ok guys, I rebooted the compy and got this in that BIOS menu thing:

Boot Device Menu

Onboard SATA Hrd Drive
Onboard or USB CD-ROM Drive
USB Device

That indicates you can boot off any USB based device, even a flashdrive. Yeah I would recommend making a partition to keep it separate from all your data, You dont really need as much as 60gig though, unless your planing to install a load of programs on there. But you can make it as large as you like really, I wouldnt go for less then 30gig though.

 

[Jiggah]

If you have nothing on the 19gb (just move everything over to one of the other drives), use that instead. Don't bother with the USB, especially if you already have stuff on it.

19 gb is large enough for Win 7. It has a recommended of 16 gb. The installation itself is some where around 8-9 gb.

 

[juggernaut911]

Don't use GParted. it broke my partition to the point where I had to reformat!!!

/warning

 

[Jiggah]

Don't use GParted. it broke my partition to the point where I had to reformat!!!

/warning

Uh...GParted worked for me. Are you sure YOU didn't do something wrong?

 

[da_head]

Don't use GParted. it broke my partition to the point where I had to reformat!!!

/warning

yeah gparted is pretty scary to use. my windows 7 boots up with the vista loading screen now because of it lol

 

[War]

Hm... I think I'll just install it in my D drive then. I NEVER use it at all, so at least now I have something to do with it.

So I just need to aquire Windows 7, and then burn it to a DVD, turn off compy, turn it on and select boot from CD? Once I boot Windows 7, will it actually ask me where I want it to install to? (So I can tell it D

 

[Egonny]

Hm... I think I'll just install it in my D drive then. I NEVER use it at all, so at least now I have something to do with it.

So I just need to aquire Windows 7, and then burn it to a DVD, turn off compy, turn it on and select boot from CD? Once I boot Windows 7, will it actually ask me where I want it to install to? (So I can tell it D

Or you can mount it, and then install it in Vista (I did it that way).
P.S.: a quick dual-boot tutorial can be found here.

 

[War]

Oh yeah... I guess I could always use Daemon Tools, huh? Cause now that I think about it, I only have DL DVDs... and I wouldn't wanna waste one on Windows 7 since they're so expensive.