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.

    Partitions, RAM for Windows 7 Clean Install (Question)

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by superdigg, Jul 3, 2009.

  1. superdigg

    superdigg Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi all,
    I am planning to go from Vista 32-bit to 7 64-bit, and I know I'll have to do a clean install of the OS to do this. However, I've never done a clean install before, and I have a question about partitions.

    My situation is this: I have three partitions, as set by Dell when I first ordered my notebook. "OS (C :)", "DATAPART1 (D :)", and "RECOVERY (E :)". When I do a clean install, will Windows 7 give me the option to simply reformat the OS partition (which is 59.9GB), or will I need to reformat the entire drive? Sorry if this is noobish, but I am indeed a bit of a noob when it comes to partitions and clean installs.

    Actually, one more question - I'll be upgrading my RAM from 2 gigs to 4 to go along with the switch to 64-bit. Is it best to make this change before or after I install the new OS?

    Thanks!
     
    superdigg, Jul 3, 2009
    #1
  2. MisterQ

    MisterQ Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    34
    Messages:
    206
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    You can let Windows 7 install on just C, while keeping all your files on D. The RAM change, I'm very sure, as long as you use x64, would be fine, before or after.
     
    MisterQ, Jul 3, 2009
    #2
  3. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

    Reputations:
    2,869
    Messages:
    1,831
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    The Windows 7 installation is very easy and straight forward. I think you'll be surprised. However, it is wise to read this material from Microsoft to be fully informed about the process. The installer will offer you a selection of which partition to use, so you should have no need to format the entire drive.

    Another wise precaution would be to backup all your vital data from any partition. The RC seems very solid and trouble-free, but it's important to remember that it's a work in progress. Therefor, you must prepare yourself for such, by properly backing up your data. I personally would recommend a full hard drive image using software such as Clonezilla. However, that may be more thorough and more of a pain than you need. Simply copying your important work documents to a thumb drive is an easier, though less thorough alternative.

    If I were in your shoes I would install your new RAM before Windows 7. That way you won't be in a quandary deciding whether Windows 7 or your RAM is the issue, if the RAM isn't recognized properly. Note that since you're currently on a 32-bit OS, if Windows detects around 3GB then the installation went successfully.
     
    Gregory, Jul 3, 2009
    #3