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Question

W7 Pro multiple partitions question

by Sep 27, 2012 1:39AM PDT

I have a 6 month old Samsung ultraportable that has developed Windows problems and I am trying to re-install Windows 7 Pro. The history is that Windows 7 Home Premium came pre-installed, and I upgraded to 7 Pro right after I bought it, with no problems. Everything has been great until the last 2 weeks when the laptop would not start. After trying multiple times to recover, including the Windows recovery disc and Samsung's internal recovery options, I have given up and am now attempting a clean, fresh re-install. I have already done this once (yesterday) and I am having the same non-start problems.

In an attempt to do this in a truly clean way, I want to wipe out everything that might be leftover. My question is how to do this, particularly regarding the partitions that are already setup on the laptop. Here are the partitions that setup is finding:

Disk 0 Partition 1, 10.6 GB/0.0 MB free; "Primary"
Disk 0 Partition 1, 4.3 GB/4.3 GB free; "OEM (Reserved)"
Disk 1 Partition 1, 100 MB/70 MB free; "System"
Disk 1 Partition 2, 446 GB/393 GB free; "Primary"
Disk 1 Partition 3, 19.7 GB/959 MB free; "OEM (Reserved)" - this one is also named "SAMSUNG_REC"

Questions:
1. Should I leave all these partitions intact, or delete them and start over?
2. If I should leave them intact, into which partition should I install the fresh version of Windows 7 Pro?
3. What is your advice on whether other partitions should be set up for A) programs, and B) data (documents, photos, music, etc)?

Thanks in advance.

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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Answer
Your choice here.
by Forum moderator Sep 27, 2012 1:43AM PDT

I restored a Samsung recently using restore DVDs I created when I got the machine. I removed all the partitions so I had a blank drive then booted the first restore DVD and followed the instructions on screen. PAINLESS.

As to what Window 7 DVD you have now, what is "CLEAN"? You encounter folk that are trying to avoid the apps that make today's laptops work and you have to give them time to crash many times before they give up and use the restore media.
Bob

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Painless sounds great - nothing to lose?
by dhair Sep 27, 2012 1:56AM PDT

Hi Bob - thanks for the quick reply. Your suggestion is VERY tempting. I would love to delete all the existing partitions. However, I have also seen posts where it is suggested that the OS be installed into a dedicated partition, and all the data into a different partition. What is your view on that? Thanks.

Dennis

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False security.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 27, 2012 2:11AM PDT

I've seen folk do that and claim it will save their files. The truth is that it doesn't always work and most users are then asking why the apps don't use their data drive.

If you feel you want to try your hand at controlling the partitions rather than using the PC, I think you should do that. It's your hardware, your choice.
Bob

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Painless works
by tonyron227 Sep 27, 2012 4:26AM PDT

I would suggest you use what Bob suggested and not delve into what others claim to work...just my opinion based on my experience...

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