Windows 7 Another question about partitions

[June Jack]

I\'ve just had to do a fresh install of Windows 7 on my Dell laptop and my hard drive is 298GB. After the reinstall that\'s divided as follows

100 MB OEM partition (from original setup)
9.77 GB Recovery partition (from original setup)
100 MB System Reserved (System, Active, Primary partition)
288.13 GB (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary partition)

I intend to make a separate partition for my data but before I go any further I\'d appreciate some advice. Should I redo the install and delete the two original system partitions? What would be a recommended optimum size for the Windows/user files split?Would the Program files be best left in the same partition as Windows, or should they go in along with the user data? I\'m a novice at all of this so hopefully someone can help me decide how to go forward. Thanks in advance

 

[patcooke]

First of all, if you haven't already done so you should burne a set of recovery dvd's from your recovery partition.

Then recommend you use easeus Partition Manager to organise your hard drive by shrinking your drive C down to about 40Gb. Then create a new partition for your data using all the available space. Get a free download of Easeus for home use from here:

Free Download Magic Partition Manager freeware: EaseUS Partition Manager, Disk & Partition Copy and Partition Recovery Software.

The Program Files folder should be left where it is on the system partition.

You should try to ensure that all your data files are stored on the new data partition rather than in any of the many "my music", "my documents" or any other similar folders in the user folder on your system drive.

 

[June Jack]

I should probably have mentioned that the 100 MB OEM partition and the 9.77 GB Recovery partition from the original setup are empty. So would it be best to delete them and start over again with the Win 7 reinstall?

 

[patcooke]

Are you certain that the recovery partition is empty? It would have contained a copy of the image required to recover your system back to factory settings including your OEM licensed copy of Windows together with all required drivers. Is it a retail and different copy of Windows 7 you have installed and is there some reason why you are doing that rather then recovering to your original OEM version?

 

[June Jack]

Yes it is empty. I tried to reinstall using the Dell disk but the install failed due to \'corrupt or missing file\'. My PC was unusable because Windows had taken over all of the space, and I was clutching at straws! We had a retail version of Windows 7 at home which was purchased to upgrade another laptop from Vista so I thought I\'d give that a try as a last resort - it installed successfully. Just trying to fine tune things now and make the best of a bad job

 

[patcooke]

It may just be that your settings are not permitting you to see the contents of the recovery partition - it could save so much hassle if you could recover from there it is worth making 100% certain that you cannot boot to it - if you have not already done so try the dell recovery partition boot:

Power off and back on again. As soon as the Dell logo appears on your screen, press “F8.” Select “Advance Boot Options” menu and navigate to select “Repair Your Computer”. Press “Enter" and logon as administrator. Select “Dell Factory Image Recovery and DataSafe Options.” Follow the prompts in the recovery partition. If all this fails then resort to the suggestions I made in my first post. btw, it is also worth checking that you have only made this one install using the Windows 7 disk you purchased - if it has previously been installed you will soon face problems with MS validation.

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[June Jack]

You\'re right! Windows Disk Management was telling me that both partitions were 100% free but when I look at it on Partition Wizard it shows that there is indeed stuff there. I was going to try what you suggested but F8 is still not working for me (I see from Google that this is not an uncommon problem!). To be honest I\'ve had way more than enough hassle with this already and I\'m inclined to just leave things be as I now have a working, useable set up again. The laptop that the Windows 7 upgrade was purchased for is now defunct, having been replaced with a new Windows 8 machine. Are you sure that I can\'t just leave it be on this one?

 

[patcooke]

If the product was previously validated at the time you installed it then it is likely that you will have problems in the near future with the new install. You can sort it by contacting MS but you should find it easy to run the recovery which will have the advantage of setting your system with all the drivers etc which came with the Dell machine. If you wish to try it you should be able to use the partition wizard to mark the recovery partition as active then rebooting - that should force it to boot straight into the recovery.

 

[June Jack]

Thanks for all your help! Will have to leave it now for the weekend but will give what you suggest a try next week and let you know how it goes!

 

[patcooke]

ok - keep at it!