Help with partitions

[Jar of Files]

Friend of mine bought a Dell laptop without Windows so it came with Ubuntu instead. Now he'd like to install Windows 7 x64. Here's how the partitions look currently:

Name                        Total Size    Free Space    Type
Disk 0 Partition 1          39.0MB        38.0MB        OEM (Reserved)
Disk 0 Partition 2: OS      5.0GB         3.9GB         Primary
Disk 0 Partition 3          289.1GB       0.0MB         System
Disk 0 Partition 4          3.9GB         0.0MB         Logical

So how to proceed? Shouldn't touch partition 1? Just delete partition 2, 3, 4 so you get this one unformatted space where you choose a smaller size for the OS and then later in Windows format the rest?

Also when you decide to leave OS on its own partition and installing all the apps and stuff on another one then what about the Program Files folder? That still stays on the C:\? So you just manually create Program Files folder on another partition and start to install there as all the software still defaults to C:\Program Files\ that you have to manually change every time? Or what about AppData folder or Temp folder? Programs still going to put their files there on the C: drive? Basically when people talk about leaving OS on it's own partition does it then mean that they somehow move some system folders around too?

[zeta_immersion]

hey man, format it all, no need for dell crap

if you want, you could clone the drive if need may be but I say, erase it all, no need for any of those partitions or remove the drive and put your own one in and format ahead

[Glen]

If the laptop didn't come with a Windows license, you probably won't need the OEM partition. Since the drive appears to only be about 350 GB, I would re-partition the drive to a single partition and install Windows. I personally haven't found any need for additional partitions unless I'm dual booting between Windows and Linux, but others might have different opinions on that topic.

[+BudMan MVC]

The OEM partition is where the dell test tools are stored (Dell diagnostic utility partition), the tools you can boot while machine is booting I believe with F12

More than likely you have little use of these tools, they are for like checking keyboard and crap - I have never found an actual need for them.

I would think of the other 4GB parts is prob a recovery partition, so you can put it back the way it came from dell, etc. Again if your going to install windows, and that recovery more than likely has ubuntu on it? Which you can clearly reinstall if you want without need of dell anything. So yeah you can delete that as well.

To delete the OEM partition which is prob hidden you might have to do a few steps to get it removed. With windows you have normally do a diskpart command of "delete partition override" the GUI will not allow you to delete, etc. But with gparted or something you might be able to just delete?

When I have deleted these I have always done it from inside windows before a wipe, etc. So I have used the diskpart command -- fairly sure the gui diskmanager in windows will not delete it.

[Jar of Files]

Alright, thanks for your input. But any comments on the second part of the post?

[ITFiend]

Friend of mine bought a Dell laptop without Windows so it came with Ubuntu instead. Now he'd like to install Windows 7 x64. Here's how the partitions look currently:

Name                        Total Size    Free Space    Type
Disk 0 Partition 1          39.0MB        38.0MB        OEM (Reserved)
Disk 0 Partition 2: OS      5.0GB         3.9GB         Primary
Disk 0 Partition 3          289.1GB       0.0MB         System
Disk 0 Partition 4          3.9GB         0.0MB         Logical

So how to proceed? Shouldn't touch partition 1? Just delete partition 2, 3, 4 so you get this one unformatted space where you choose a smaller size for the OS and then later in Windows format the rest?

Also when you decide to leave OS on its own partition and installing all the apps and stuff on another one then what about the Program Files folder? That still stays on the C:\? So you just manually create Program Files folder on another partition and start to install there as all the software still defaults to C:\Program Files\ that you have to manually change every time? Or what about AppData folder or Temp folder? Programs still going to put their files there on the C: drive? Basically when people talk about leaving OS on it's own partition does it then mean that they somehow move some system folders around too?

Assuming you don't care about any data currently on the drives, I recommend booting to the Windows Installer, dig through the installer repair functions until you reach the actual menu, and launch command prompt. If by chance the repair tools will not allow you to move to the menu due to issues on disk0, you have to delete the OS partition through the GUI first. The following is what I?d write into the command prompt on a drive that size; change things up as you like (do not include anything on a line once you reach #):

###

diskpart

select disk 0

clean #(This will entirely destroy all partitions on the disk and zero wipe the MBR)

create partition primary size=1500 #(1.5gigs, required to enable bitlocker. Only use size=200 if you know you'll never use bitlocker.)

format fs=ntfs quick label=BootMgr

active

create partition primary #(claims all remaining space)

select partition 2

format fs=ntfs quick label=System

exit

exit

###

You don't need to worry about drive letters; just live with the defaults it gives you during install. After your done installing Windows:

BootMgr will not receive a drive letter (don't assign it one except for brief periods if it requires maintenance).

System will become C: automatically when you boot from it.

K.

[Bernie Magalong Villarubia]

i have also the same problem and i need your advice too.. i'm using asus model, and i'm planning also to install win 7 ulimate 64 bit from win 7 ultimate 32 bit (it is not the original os).

disk 0 partition 1: recovery 19.5 gb 9.5 gb primary

disk 0 partition 2: system reserved 100.0mb 61.0 mb system

disk 0 partition 3 116.3 gb 56.3 gb primary

disk 0 partition 4: data 329.8 gb 109.8 gb logical

any help for here....??suggestions..appreciate a lot