Need help installing Win7 on XPS 14

Hi, I received a request from a friend who bought a XPS 14 ultrabook recently and she wants Windows 7 instead the pre-loaded Win8. So I managed to change the BIOS settings to boot to an external DVD drive with a Win 7 disc, it proceeded to the part asking me what type of installation I wanted, I selected Customs, now the next screen showed the following:

Disk 0 Partition 1: Winretools 2.0GB (OEM Reserved)
Disk 0 Partition 2: ESP 500MB (System)
Disk 0 Partition 3: 120MB MSR (Reserved)
Disk 0 Partition 4: OS 455.7GB Primary
Disk 0 Partition 5: PBR Image 7.4GB OEM (Reserved)
Disk 1 Partition 1: DATAPART1 29.8GB Primary

Can somebody share your thoughts on what I should do? I have installed Win7 on my desktop PC many times and never had a problem - usually I just deleted all existing partitions and merge them into 1 big partition and installed the OP in it. But since this ultrabook has a 32GB SSD and 500GB HDD, that's why it shows all those partitions and I'm totally lost as what to do.

Question:
1. Is Disk 1 Partition the 32GB SSD? should I install the Win 7 OP in this partition?
2. If I'm supposed to install Wn 7 in Disk 0, which partition can I delete or not delete? which partition contains the recovery files?
3. If I install Win 7 in Disk 0, will I still be able to take advantage of the fast boot?
4. If I install Win 7 in Disk 0, can I delete the Disk 1 Partition?

The 32GB SSD+500GB HDD makes things very complicated. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi bestco,

Yes, the Disk 1 Partition is the 32GB mSATA SSD drive and it is not recommended to install Windows 7 on it. You can delete all the partitions of Disk 0 and create a single drive similar to Desktop. Disk 0 Partition 5 contains the recovery files. You will need to delete the Disk 1 partition and recreate the Hibernation partition after installing Windows 7 to use the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Acceleration.

Please change the SATA Operation in the BIOS to AHCI before starting the installation and let me know if you need further assistance.

 

Thanks! exactly the info I needed. A few other questions.

1. How do I recreate the Hibernation partition and make the Rapid Storage Technology Acceleration work?
2. So I plan to delete all the partitions on Disk 0 (except Partition 5 which contains the recover files) and install Win 7 on it, if I do so can I still use the F8 command to restore the computer to the factory condition?
3. The computer showed UEFI boot in BIOS by default, I changed it to Legacy boot for installing Win 7. After installation, do I need to go back to the BIOS to change it to UEFI boot again?

 

Hi bestco,

Thank you for your reply.

1. I have attached a word document that contains steps to create a Hibernation parition on the mSATA SSD (Needs to be done after installing Windows).
2. You will not be able to restore the computer factory defaults after installing Windows 7 by deleting all the partitions.
3. Yes, you will have to change the BIOS to Legacy and change the SATA Operation to AHCI before the installation. You can continue to use the Legacy mode.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

 

Hi, Rajath,

Thank you so much for the helpful info!

I managed to create the Hibernation Partition by following your instruction. I also installed the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver which I downloaded from the Dell site, when I launched the Intel Rapid Storage Technology program, it showed both the HDD and SSD with a green check mark on it, but I didn't see an option that allows me to enable acceleration for the SSD, can you tell me how to do that?

I know the acceleration is not working because it still takes about 1 min to boot to desktop.

Thanks again.

 

Do I need to enable the Intel Smart Response Technology in BIOS? This setting is under SATA mode in BIOS, which is currently set to AHCI as you suggested, I changed it to Smart Response but the system wouldn't even boot and kept giving me blue screen or error messages.

 

Hi bestco,

Thank you for your reply and for providing an update. Yes, will have to change the SATA Operation in the BIOS it Intel Smart Response Technology. I suggest you to uninstall the Intel Smart Response Technology application change the setting in BIOS, reinstall the application after the system boots into Windows. This should enable the "Accelerate" option.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.