cannie

After burning the recovery DVDs, using Partition Wizard you can go on as follows: 1.- Don't touch in any way the 100 MB hidden Primary Partition 1! 2.- Reduce the size of the C drive, Primary Partition 2, to about 25 GB. 3.- Delete the Recovery Partition and the OEMs specific tool box Primary Partition. 4.- Create into the left free space as many logical units as you wish, until the whole disk is used. 5.- Burn new recovery DVDs to backup this new configuration! The recovery partition is definitively lost in any case, and therefore it is always convenient to obtain and keep a Windows 7 install DVD to be used instead of it, keeping also into an external device a copy of the mainboard manufacturer's drivers ("swsetup" or "cabs" folders). In case of need this would allow you to reinstall the same Windows 7 version from scratch using the same activation key. HTH

Latest improvements: Light text corrections, not affecting at all the contents of the tutorial . HTH

Hi johnhc! IMHO limits to searches are applied by MS for a better OS security: nothing so secure as invisible OS elements. I tried many apps and at last the best one I've found is FreeCommander. HTH

Paragraphs 4.2 and 4.4 have been improved for better results. HTH

IMHO the best option is to use a partition manager bootdisk. You may use i.e "Partition Wizard". Its freeware image for Windows 7 (to be burnt using Nero or any similar program to create a boot CD) can be downloaded from www.partitionwizard.com/download.html Don't touch the System Reserve 100 MB NTFS partition! It controls all others and your computer wouldn't work at all afterwards. HTH

Text has been modified to include paragraph 4.4. HTH

As usual, I divide your post in parts for a better answer: 1.- Windows 7 is a very special OS: it creates an special boot partition when installed first into an unallocated space. So methods must also take it into account. No connection at all between Touchsmart from HP and this humble tutorial, made as a completion of a previous work for Win98 and XP that you can find in the Windows 98 thread of this forum. 2.- Yours is also a valid option if your machine allows you to do all that. But there are a lot of difficulties when you try to install Linux or any previous version of Windows into new computers running preloaded Windows 7 64 bits, and even to run most linux or bartpe CDs. Because of this impossibility it is even more important than ever to install an easy working clone to replace the original: no problem of drivers or incompatibilities of any kind, and a single and simple install and update procedure. Best wishes cannie

You only need to install into the C drive the Microsoft Windows 7 OS files and very few things more. Most apps offer you the possibility of installing them into any other drive unit. You are able to create as many logical units as you wish for them and also for your personal files and folders. This way your personal files will never be affected by any failure of the OS, being also faster the recovery of the C drive when needed. HTH cannie

Modified paragraphs 3 (to simplify the process) and 5 (to include system image managing). Best wishes cannie

Hi Bi2L! Even when HD is commonly used for "High Definition", the same initial letters are valid for "Hard Disk" and also "Hard Drive" in opposition "Pendrive" or "External Drive", according to the context into which they are used. Best wishes cannie

Changed all internet direct links into red letter text lines for increased compatibility. HTH cannie

I've numbered your questions for an easier answer: 1.- This method is only based upon a previous one by choosing, collecting, resuming and putting together many ideas suggested by other members, now updated and rebuilt in order to optimize your HD for Windows 7 and duplicate your installation into the same HD, using your Administrator rights for it. You can find such antecedents here: How to create easily a second Win98/XP in the same computer BTW: Being this explanation very important, last paragrah of the tutorial has been modified to include it. 2.- Windows 7 is about 10 times bigger than Xp and is by far much better in every sense, including protection measures. Thanks, R600! cannie

Probably in a near future all hard drives will be outdated and substituted by solid state devices, but today is today.

Well, I see it this way: 1.- Even when the recovery system now used by Microsoft is by far the best of all existing ones, no scheduling saves the last minute introduced personal files, unless you save inmediately every change, and today, as you know, your personal files are very frequently dispersed into hundreds of GB. 2.- Of course I exclude a physical failure of the HD. In that case the only solution is a new one. But in the everyday use we all have lived experiences in which restoring to a previous moment was not enough and you had to pick your external image to rebuild totally the HD, including the personal, and normally outdated, files and folders. Then you must stop working, and that may be a big problem in critical moments. HTH cannie

Hi mOgely! I've resumed and numbered your questions for a better answer. 1.- The purpose of the tutorial is not to describe a backup method: there are a lot of excellent ones. But as a consequence of the proposed optimized system the recovery "unmounted" copy is a backup for both primary partitions. You may also backup your personal files into an external device, but they are not permanently in danger. 2.- If you simply use the traditional image obtaining methods, when your C drive fails you must stop working and you loose all your not previously saved personal files. 3.- Using virtual machines for testing is also an excellent option for those who prefer it. HTH

The freeware program EasyBCD allows you to manage the boot options, and maybe you can use it to fix your OS. You can download it from here: HTH

Revised and improved in many points, collecting new suggestions and personal experiences. HTH cannie

Hi jaclaz! You are right. It was a simple "lapsus calami", and has been corrected. Thanks! cannie

You can do it easily using an external bootdisk,like the freeware Partition Wizard Bootdisk. The image can be downloaded from here: http://www.partitionwizard.com/download.html You need of course to build the bootdisk by burning the downloaded image into a CD with any .iso burning app. HTH

I forgot suggesting you the possibility of trying the Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bits version. Compatibility is much wider than on 64 bits. Good luck!

I have noticed that the compressed recovery .rar file can also be fully copied into a DVD by simply using the Windows 7 file manager. Trying to make it better I've modified the text to include this easier method. Of course you may keep using the UDF format of NERO or any other burning program for the same purpose. HTH cannie

If your computer came with any preinstalled 64 bits Windows 7 version you won't most probably find any SATA drivers at all for XP, not even for Windows XP 64 bits or any Linux OS, I'm afraid. IMHO the manufactured hardware is made just and only for Windows 7.

Modified paragraph C2 to improve the content of "Unmount.reg" by including the deletion of the boot device registry data, so that they become updated automatically at reboot. HTH

Hello rlstroncek! I have numbered your questions for a better answer: 1.- Units keep mounted even after running "Unmount.reg" and the registry is updated automatically at next reboot. The change is therefore no permanent and has no disadvantages at all. 2.- When you use "Unmount.reg" your registry gets modified so that you can use Windows 7 into any other primary partition. It achieves its goal by totally deleting any references to the unit into which the OS is working and also to all other mounted ones. It doesn't leave into the recovery file any reference to the original unit. You should rather save the recovery copy into an external device (copy/paste) or by building a rar file of it to be saved on DVD using the UDF format of Nero. 3.- No need to change the registry back to its state after each copy of the system: as soon as you reboot all units will be mounted, recovering the deleted registry keys. Enjoy it! cannie PS: Being this explanation very important, last paragrah of the tutorial has been modified to include it.

Hi jaclaz! It happened to me something similar some time ago. Not having any explanation for it I felt totally lost. After many trials I deleted the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices, then rebooted and the external HD worked again (¿?).