The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Help (please!) needed with installing Windows 7 on a Dell laptop?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by No expert, Oct 27, 2009.

  1. No expert

    No expert Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi there,

    I have a Dell Inspiron 1721 which came pre-loaded with Vista Home (32bit)
    The laptop has a "recovery" D: drive which I guess allowed the laptop to revert to factory (Vista) settings in case of problems.

    I then upgraded to Vista Ultimate (32bit)

    I have recently done a clean install to Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit), using the Upgrade Version of the retail software.

    I have a couple of questions:
    (1) Do I need the existing D: "recovery" partition? I do not intend to ever go back to Vista but is it useful as a a safety net in case something happens?

    Note that I have the Vista Operating System CD that came with the laptop when I bought it.

    (2) I presume Windows 7 already includes a "recovery" section somewhere on the laptop. If I delete the Vista recovery partition, can I use the Windows 7 recovery in case of problems?

    If so how can I do that? (e.g. press F2 or something when the laptop boots?

    (3) Finally, would be advisable to re-install Windows 7 cleanly, (after having removed the Vista partition) so that Windows 7 can create its "recovery" data in its own dedicated partition?

    Many, many thanks and I'd appreciate a reply!
     
    No expert, Oct 27, 2009
    #1