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    my experience with W7 dualboot install

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by bjcadstuff, Jul 11, 2009.

  1. bjcadstuff

    bjcadstuff Notebook Consultant

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    I had built a new desktop computer about 5 months ago, and loaded XP on it. It has a single hard drive, partitioned into 3 partitions. The third partition, E:, is about 100Gb and I use it for temporary files. I.E. if I want to collect some files into a single folder and burn that to CD, I do that on E:.

    Today I installed W7 RC1, and installed it on the third partition. Here is what I discovered:

    1. When I boot into W7, the drive letters get shuffled- the third partition becomes C:, the first 2 partitions become D: and E:.

    2. I did what I thought was a clean install, but the files and folders that were already on that partition are still there.
     
    bjcadstuff, Jul 11, 2009
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  2. kegobeer

    kegobeer 1 hr late but moving fast

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    1. That is normal behavior for Windows 7. Windows must be on the C drive in order to operate.

    2. If you didn't format the partition, you didn't do a clean install.
     
    kegobeer, Jul 11, 2009
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  3. bjcadstuff

    bjcadstuff Notebook Consultant

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    It didn't give me an option to format the partition, just asked me to select which partition. It also asked me to choose upgrade install or full install, and with full install it warned that things would be lost. The partition contained mostly digital photos, and it seemed to have left them alone.

    The reason I posted my experience was that beforehand I googled and asked the question on several forums. Nobody could tell me what would happen with my drive letters. Now I know and I thought I would post in case someone else had the question.
     
    bjcadstuff, Jul 11, 2009
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  4. Ole man

    Ole man Notebook Evangelist

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    I don't think so. Something got messed up when installing an unoffical build (7067 or something) and Windows got installed on the E: drive (oddly I couldn't change it to anything) and worked correctly otherwise.
     
    Ole man, Jul 11, 2009
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  5. kegobeer

    kegobeer 1 hr late but moving fast

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    Regardless of your odd experience, Windows must be on the C drive. I'd wager if you did another installation of your unofficial build, it would end up on the C drive.
     
    kegobeer, Jul 12, 2009
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  6. kegobeer

    kegobeer 1 hr late but moving fast

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    There are instructions on how to install Windows 7 on the Microsoft website, which explain how to do a custom install. The custom install includes options to create and destroy partitions and format said partitions. Believe me, the ability to format is in there. If you search through my posts, I provided a link to someone else that also said they were not given the option to format.
     
    kegobeer, Jul 12, 2009
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