[StubbyClapp]

So I searched the forums but coulnd't find a case specifically like mine because it's an HP and I have an additional question regarding it.

I have an HP Pavilion dv9000 with Windows Vista and an AMD Turion 64 processor.

I don't have a problem with Vista, but I do have a few viruses on this PC and I'd prefer to clean it out completely anyways.

I've been wanting to install Windows 7 for a while, and I figured this was the opportunity. I've downloaded the RC on my tower PC and burned it to a DVD.

My questions are as follows:

- I've read on here that through drive options, I can reformat the hard drive through the Windows 7 CD (Drive options). I've noticed that there's an "HP RECOVERY" partition on the hard drive. I've also read how I can get rid of it through the Recovery Mananger.
Can I safely get rid of the HP Recovery partition or should I keep it there, even though I'm going to Windows 7 and my computer has viruses?

- If I get rid of it, I assume it will consolidate both drives into one... Is it safe to reformat the computer with the Windows 7 RC CD (keeping in mind I can't find my Vista CD)?

I think that's everything...
Thanks for any help. This forum is a great resource.

[vistashen]

You can very well get rid of the HP recovery partition by deleting all the partition and create a partition(I recoment atleast 2 primary partition). Since you are going to install the windows 7 HP recovery partition will not be useful which is for windows vista and also you have a vista CD.

Its very safe to reformat the partition anyway you are going to delete all the partition so, format is a compulsory.

[StubbyClapp]

Originally Posted by vistashen

You can very well get rid of the HP recovery partition by deleting all the partition and create a partition(I recoment atleast 2 primary partition). Since you are going to install the windows 7 HP recovery partition will not be useful which is for windows vista and also you have a vista CD.

Its very safe to reformat the partition anyway you are going to delete all the partition so, format is a compulsory.

I don't have the Windows Vista CD... only the Windows 7 RC DVD that I created from the Microsoft website.

But I take it I can safely get rid of the Recovery Partition?

Will I be able to create a partition after or during the installation of Windows 7?

[vistashen]

I cannot fully guarantee whether your computer will support windows 7. But in my opinion it should support since its similar to vista. But if in case it doesn't support you definetly need windows vista cd. In that case even if you delete all the partition and reformat you should be able to install the windows vista.

[StubbyClapp]

Cool.

So the only reason I would need the Vista CD is if my computer is not compatible and I need to downgrade back to Vista?

[vistashen]

Yeah Thats the only option but it should support.

[TheOutcaste]

Did you already create your Vista Recovery CD? If not, you should create it before deleting the Recovery partition, just in case.
Start | All Programs | Recovery Manager | Recovery Disk Creation

Might be HP Recovery Manager.

You can always leave the Recovery partition there until you are sure Win7 is working, then delete it and extend the Win7 partition into the freed up space.

Though installing Win7 may re-write the HP MBR, which would prevent access to the Recovery partition to do a Recovery (usually press F10 or F11 at boot). You may want to back up the current MBR first -- there are free tools for that but I don't have a link to any handy

HTH

Jerry

[nycmoonstar]

I agree that if your hardware configuration (RAM, CPU, etc) supports Vista, it should support Windows 7 (the same bit version).

The only issue you may have with Windows 7 is that a lack of drivers. From what I read, Windows 7's driver availability is very good as a lot of users seem to have no issues, however, each computer / model of computers has a different motherboard and motherboard components, and you never know if everything will work for you. Let along, if there's a program that you definitely need, I would at least research on whether that particular program has been reported to install and run smoothly on Windows 7. Reminder - Microsoft says we shouldn't try this on computers we need for work, school work or whatever else. The program is meant to be for TESTING. Basically, it will be a matter of luck whether things work as beautifully as some other people have reported.

You can certainly keep or delete the Vista recovery partition when you install Windows 7 into the partition that is currently used by Vista. I am personally not sure if there's any point in keeping the recovery partition because is the recovery partition able to restore your computer to the original facotry settings even if the Vista instllation itself no longer exists? Is it something that you have to run from Vista to utilize? Or it is like having an OS disk that you can use that partition from the boot to initiate a clean install of Vista? It would be moot to keep that partition if the parittion cannot be used for a clean install and all you can do with it is more like a repair install to original settings from inside Vista, as Vista will no longer exiist...... Does anybody know what HP's recovery partition is about?

[nycmoonstar]

Originally Posted by TheOutcaste

Though installing Win7 may re-write the HP MBR, which would prevent access to the Recovery partition to do a Recovery (usually press F10 or F11 at boot).

That's what I was kinda thinking... I'm not sure what their recovery partition is about, how that works.

Maybe the easiest or safest solution is to use the recovery partition NOW to restore it to the orignal setting or just leave it as it is, get Acronis True Image for 50 dollars, and take an image of the system, save it to an external drive. Then whatever happens with Winwodws 7, you can go back to Vista's factory settings or current settngs using that image...... Or can't you just request an installation and driver disks from HP?!?!! I dont know why companies don't ship them out with their systems to begin with, LOL! I have an old Dell with XP. I didn't get an installation disk but they FedEx one to me when I requested. You could try that.... if you are interested..

[gatewaypc700]

I just installed the Windows 7 without formatting in the first place. If the viruses are only infecting your windows directory, then you can delete the old windows directory after an install of windows 7.
James

[dustyjay]

If you have an Extrenal HDD I would suggest making a backup of your hard drive first. Of course you should run a virus scan and clean the system first. I recommend Avira PE it is free and works really well.This way if you decide to go back to Vista it will take about 15 minutes or so. Or you can buy the system restore discs for your computer from HP for $15 or so.

[StubbyClapp]

I really didn't have anything to back up. I tried downloading and running Avira beforehand but every time I tried to download it, I could not find the file... it's like it auto deleted it.

I say didn't because I just completed the procedure.
My only concern is that when I went to drive options to format the drive, it took about 10 seconds. Only 10 seconds. Can a format that short effectively wipe out my virus situation?

I have Windows 7 now and it's running well... I even did a full system scan with Avira and there were only two warnings total (two system files that couldn't be opened)... no infections.

I feel I should be good to go, but I still feel a little uneasy about the quick format. It didn't even give me an option for a full format.

[nycmoonstar]

The 10 sec format is what is expected. You don't need to worry about that. There's no option called "full format" but if you clikced on Format and got the warning message saying everything on it would be deleted, tehn you did full formatting on that partition.