Windows 7 Upgrading to Windows 7 as a secondary OS

[Quadophile]

I was planning on upgrading my Windows partition on my laptop from XP to 7. I am doing this because XP is getting a bit long in the tooth and I need to move on. Many of you have a lot of experience in installing it on different macines with different specs so was kind of looking for some tips on getting it done in a smooth way. Of course I will be doing my own research and have used 7 many times so it is not something I cannot handle.

My main operating will of course be the Linux so it will be a dual boot system. I do have plans on getting a new laptop but not immediately. Besides the Thinkpad T43 is a very robust machine and the last one from IBM before they sold it off to Lenovo.

My laptop at this moment has following basic specs:

Proc: Centrino- M 1.6 Ghz
Ram: 2GB (upgraded with 2 sticks of 1 GB each Corsair and maxed out)
HD: 40GB

I am not expecting it to run fast nor I intend to do intensive work on it, just basic browsing burning music, office apps and like.

Planning on reformatting the drive and allocating 15 GB for Windows, 5 GB for additional NTFS partition for Docs and balance for Linux. I have external drives for backups etc. and a Plextor DL DVD Burner.

Any input, suggestion, advice, do's and don't s would be very welcome

 

[Silverhazesurfer]

I would install Windows first. I don't dual boot a lot, but when I do...

 

[V_R]

You could just run the installer, it will put your old install in a folder called windows.old. But as your low on space i'd say maybe backup your data manually as your already thinking. TBH, i'm not sure 15Gb for windows will be enough. I reinstalled the other week (just Windows 7 on my SSD) and i'm sure its up to 20+ Gb already.. I'll take a look when i get home...

 

[Ian]

Yeah it's 16GB minimum for Windows 7 32-bit and I think it will prevent an install if you try with less - are you able to resize the linux partition to 15GB and keep 20GB for Windows?

 

[Quadophile]

Thanks guys, that is a great help as I want everything to go smoothly and I want my machine ready latest by Sunday evening so that during the work week I don't have to deal with major issues, bits and pieces no problem. Besides my linux partition will be there as main operating system so I will be able to get my things done even if I run into any problems with the windows 7 installation.

Yes I can change the partition size to 20 GB for Win 7 without any issues as the HD will be formatted anyway. I will be left with about 17 GB which is more than sufficient for other things.

In the light of your suggestion.

My partitioning will be as follows:

20 GB Windows (C)
5 GB NTFS for docs (D)
12+GB for Linux (Ext 4)

I can read Linux ext4 partition from within Windows by installing a driver so will also be able to access Linux Docs from Windows 7.

I will be starting to work on my machine on Friday night so I have plenty of time to come back to this thread and check for any further input.

I already know that folks have installed Windows 7 on their T43's and had minor issues which were eventually resolved. I have been doing some checking on that, but, I may miss out on something important, hence, this thread.

Thank you one and all.

I intend to keep you all posted and will also come back with my input once I am through with it including issues if any and general performance of the system on the whole so that others can benefit from it.

 

[Anon_F]

Good luck Quad.

 

[Quadophile]

Good luck Quad.

Oh I need that too for sure!

 

[Quadophile]

I have in front of me the Windows 7 Ultimate Edition DVD so I am now going ahead with the plan. Lets see what kind of ride it will be.

 

[Quadophile]

Just completed installation of Windows 7 and now installing Linux as a dualboot and updating it,

Windows 7 is running much faster on the machine compared to XP however one issue cropped up which will not have any solution. The built-in Intel graphics adapter is not supported on Windows 7 and therefore no Aero!

I allocated 20GB for the OS and after the install and updates it occupied 12 GB of space. It took only 20 minutes from inserting the DVD and getting to the desktop before any updates.

I will be installing some more software later when I have time and update the thread as and when it is necessary.

 

[EvanDavis]

Jhowever one issue cropped up which will not have any solution. The built-in Intel graphics adapter is not supported on Windows 7 and therefore no Aero!

.

Try using Vista drivers

 

[Quadophile]

Try using Vista drivers

You think it will work?

 

[EvanDavis]

You think it will work?

W7 is effectavly Windows Vista anywayon one of my desktops the NIC wasn't supported by W7, so used Vista drivers and all was well

 

[Quadophile]

OK I will check it out when I get back after a few errands that need to be taken care of. However I did check some forums including the Thinkpad forum but no one has posted anything about using the Vista drivers.

 

[muckshifter]

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx?lang=eng

 

[Quadophile]

Thank you for the tip and the link. I tried but it did not work.

I did a bit more research and found another solution to the problem. It is better than the generic vga driver but not the best choice - XP driver which works in Windows 7. It picked up and configured my IBM laptop screen by correctly identifying it and added some more functionality to the graphics.

I also attached the 4 GB Sandisk USB stick (allocated 2GB) and configured it for Readyboost which made a difference to some of the programs as they now start almost instantly.

My other partition is also ready with Linux and working perfectly. All in all, not a bad move.

 

[EvanDavis]

T.

I also attached the 4 GB Sandisk USB stick (allocated 2GB) and configured it for Readyboost which made a difference to some of the programs as they now start almost instantly.

.

HAve a Kingston 2 gig, and yes readyboost is good

 

[Quadophile]

Just realised that the Windows 7 Ultimate Edition that I used was infact an upgrade disk rather than for clean install. I spent two days finetuning it and downloading the updates. When I tried to activate Windows a message popped up saying "The key is invalid, the software is for upgrade only and not for clean install" Doh!

Does that mean I have to install XP again and upgrage from there? If so, I wasted all this time and have to start from scratch!

Arrrgh!

 

[muckshifter]

Just realised that the Windows 7 Ultimate Edition that I used was infact an upgrade disk rather than for clean install. I spent two days finetuning it and downloading the updates. When I tried to activate Windows a message popped up saying "The key is invalid, the software is for upgrade only and not for clean install" Doh!

Does that mean I have to install XP again and upgrage from there? If so, I wasted all this time and have to start from scratch!

Arrrgh!

No! call Microsoft Support and have them provide you with an activation code ... just tell them you had to replace the HD, if you get to speak with a real person that is.

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media

 

[EvanDavis]

Just realised that the Windows 7 Ultimate Edition that I used was infact an upgrade disk !

YOu can do a clean/fresh install with an upghrade disk, its just the way the activation goes after you have installed, as Mucks said, call MS and they will activate it for you. I often use upgrade disks as they are cheaper,

 

[Quadophile]

Sounds like a great idea, will get in touch with MS once I get back home. Thank you Mucks and EvanDavis.