some questions regarding clean vista install

the main reason why i am goin to clean install vista is because my laptop of late has been very slow..vista takes abt 5 minutes to load, and my laptop hasnt been performin as it used to...

my plan is to clean install vista, and then to parition the hard drive(currently it has only 1 big parition) my plan is to install the OS on one partition and then install all my programs on another partition with the OS and user files only being on C..will tht improve speed and performance?also, tho i install the programs on another partition they will come up in the start menu, wont they?

is my plan good or not?

 

Just a quick question before nuking the install... have you been maintaining the OS? Have you:
- run Disk Cleanup
- defragmented the HD?
- used msconfig to block useless startup programs?

 

If you haven't done a clean install yet and you are still running the default from HP then I definitely recommend it. When I got my laptop I used it for a couple days, then did a clean install and the increase in performance was definitely noticeable.

I always setup my computers with a OS partition, a partition for programs, a partition for games, and another partition for my files. That way, if the OS bombs and you need to reinstall you don't lose anything except files you have on the System partition. Yes everything will still show up in the start menu and you won't lose any functionality by setting up your computer this way. Just a extra tidbit of info. all of your game saves are usually stored in your user profile on the OS partition, so if you do reinstall and want to keep these make sure you make copies and then just put them back into the folder after you reinstall the OS and games, etc.

If you have any other questions about this type of setup let me know and I'd be more than happy to help.

 

thanks envision..your setup sounds pretty good..i think i might go ahead with tht..only prob is i was also planning to do a triple boot with XP and linux too, which means then tht i might end up with about 4 or 5 partitions!!!!is tht ok??i only hav a 160GB hard disk, but i might think of expanding it..

also, another question, all my user files such as pictures, music and stuff will be stored on the OS parition in the user files wont they?same with my documents and saved game files???i must remember to backup my current game saved files..

also, im finding it diffucult to find a vista installation disk to do the clean install based on orev's method..will i lose the geniuniness of vista by clean installin??will i lose it by buyin an illegal vista DVD and using tht as the medium??or can i get the medium thro other 'illegal' means??will these measure lose teh genuineness???

 

All your current user files will be stored on the OS drive because that is how HP laptops come by default, with only 1 partition. They should be stored inside your documents and settings folder for your username (of course you could've saved information elsewhere, but only you would know that), which includes all your game saves. So if you want, just backup your entire user directory and that should contain most of your documents.

Now since you are planning on using Linux as well, remember that Linux doesn't play with NTFS and I've only heard of a few add-ons out there that will allow you to read/write with NTFS, but don't know much about them or how they work. If you wanted to use your extra partitions for games/files in both Windows and Linux, you'll have to format them FAT32.

About the Vista disks, I'm not too certain where you can obtain them at, but I do know you can get Vista Anytime upgrade disks that will allow you to do a clean install. Now if you got a Vista disk from your friend that is the same version of Vista that you have you can use his disk and if you follow Orev's guide you won't have to activate Vista, which you'd need to do by phone if you went the standard route of using the CD key on the bottom of your laptop. If you get a Vista disk for your version of Vista though and follow Orev's guide you won't have to worry about activation, because it will use the files that came with your laptop to deal with that. One thing you have to remember with Windows, you aren't paying for the CD or buying the software, you are simply purchasing a license that will allow you to use the software. So all in all, the CD you use (as long as it doesn't contain the activation cracks and so forth) won't matter as long as you use your License Key on the bottom of your laptop or follow Orev's guide.

 

so basically it doesnt matter whether i get the disk from MS, from a friend, download or buy a 'copy'??using my activation info and stuff on my laptop will enable me to to activate and ensure it is original??i think the 'copy' i might buy will come with activation cracks and stuff, but i need not make use of them right?

so i might go with 1 OS partition(user files too?or can i transfer them to the data partition?i doubt tht right?), 1 data partition(FAT32) for games, programs and files common wit linux, 1 XP partition and 1 linux partition...tho im doin all this wit 160gb!!!lol

abt the drivers and stuff, am i to jus copy the SWSetup or am i to go to the HP website and download all the drivers for my laptop??ive used it before once or twice..on a lenovo guide, i saw tht they recommend installin drivers for the chipset too..do i need this for my HP laptop too??

 

1. also, another question, all my user files such as pictures, music and stuff will be stored on the OS partition in the user files wont they?

With either XP or Vista your Documents or My Documents folder is special and can be moved to another partition or drive if you like. Right click on the folder, select Properties, then Location on the Tabbed menu, type the location of where you would like to save the Documents folder and then select Move. All the files you mentioned in item 1 will now be saved to the new location instead of on C:.

2. also, im finding it diffucult to find a vista installation disk to do the clean install based on orev's method..will i lose the geniuniness of vista by clean installin??

The answer is no. You can use ANY Vista disk, be it one of the Anytime Upgrade disks, your friends Vista Disk, or whatever as long as you use YOUR License Key. All Vista disks have ALL the versions of Vista for a given operating system type (i.e. 32-bit). It is the KEY that determines what version gets installed, i.e. Basic, Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate.

3. abt the drivers and stuff, am i to jus copy the SWSetup or am i to go to the HP website and download all the drivers for my laptop??ive used it before once or twice..on a lenovo guide, i saw tht they recommend installin drivers for the chipset too..do i need this for my HP laptop too??

Well, definitely copy the SWSetup folder for future use/reference but I would also install all the HP drivers for your particular notebook. You will probably find this easier by downloading them from the HP website and installing. Remember that Vista drivers are not necessarily the same as the drivers required for XP. I think you have some work cut out for you to get it all running. Good luck with multiple OS’s. Sounds like fun, NOT .

I would like to make just one comment (IMHO). Although having multiple partitions sounds like a great idea and in theory does keep your OS separate from your data, you need to have good housekeeping techniques and be kind of anal to consistently keep all your data and programs separate from the OS partition . The gains in operating speed will be negligible for all practical purposes. I gave up on this type of setup long ago, just my personal preference. I am not saying it is not good practice but it does require that you keep good track on what you are doing.

Of course if you intended to indeed have multiple OS’s installed, multiple partitions will be mandatory. Just remember that every time you install new software, by default, it is going to want to install it on C:. Each and every time, you will have to tell your software to install elsewhere. The same goes for running software, by default software will try to look for its data on your C: drive, you will have to tell it where you actually stored the data. Just food for thought before you go through all this work. Some people like to constantly mess around with their computers and some just want them to work well without hassle.

 

i went over to my father's office to get some advice from the IT guys over there, and they completely reinstalled vista..they had these upgrade disks, but unfortunately they werent bootable..so they installed XP and then installed vista thro XP..so my computer is finally working ok i guess the vista start up speed is amazing!!!!cant remember when i last saw it like tht!!!!!

one thin im not too clear abt still, even after deeastman's post, and i hope someone can explain to me... if i manage to install all my programs and keep all my data on another partition will it improve speeds??i was thinkin of installin stuff like office and my user files on C and stuff tht i use like MATLAB and solidworks on D and keep other stuff on D as well...and keep only essential programs on c??or is the speed saving not notceable??so then how do i divide my stuff beween the partitions??do i save some stuff on C, then save some on D??like tht??and not stick to some pattern or something??

thanks for all the help guys..its seems to work awesome!!!!i think i might skip the triple boot(vista, XP and linux and mayb jus go with only vista and linux??)

 

btw does double boot (vista and XP or vista and Mac or vista and linux) or triple boot slow the computer down?

 

I also got a question. After clean install, do the quicklaunch buttons still work fully and completely with WMP, WMC and QP (if QP is reinstalled) after install QL buttons from HP site???
and is the little remote fully functional without any drivers with all above said softwares??

 

No, they are independent from one another