Solved Hard drive partition problem in Windows 7 on a HP laptop for dual boot

Hello there!

I am trying to dual boot Windows 8 release preview along side my present Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. I understand that windows 7 only lets four partitions at once. My PC came in with four partitions, namely:

SYSTEM
(C
RECOVERY
HP TOOLS

So when I try to shrink the space in the C drive and go through the new simple volume wizard in the Disk Management, a message comes up saying the disk will be converted to dynamic if I proceed. I was a little confused and stopped there. I read a few threads online and downloaded the minitool partition wizard but I am really lost as to what to do. To summarize it all up, I am trying to dual boot windows 8 release preview but I have four partitions already so is there anyway I can delete one of them or create an extended partition? I also included screenshots of my partitions. Please help! Thank you in advance.

You don't need the HP Tools partition, delete it and then shrink C to create unallocated space to create a new partition, then, when u install 8, use the setup.exe in the Sources folder, this allows for a custom install where u designate the partition. ...and welcome to the forum sneakymode!

Here are a couple other options for trying out Windows 8,

VirtualBox - Install Windows 8

VMware Player - Install Windows 8

That way you don't have to bother with deleting partitions.

I would try the virtual machine but I still want to learn doing it using partitions. And without HP tools, I wouldn't be able to run diagnostic tools, if I have to. Right? Or is there any other function for it? While I do trust you, I am still worried that I wouldn't be able to boot if I delete it. I am still a newbie at this stuff haha and thank you! I love it here!

Update:

If I convert the C drive to logical using minitools wizard and then shrink it and create a new drive for windows 8, will I be able to install OS on that new created drive without losing any potential threat of losing data or corrupting my hard drive?

sneakymode said:

Update:

If I convert the C drive to logical using minitools wizard and then shrink it and create a new drive for windows 8, will I be able to install OS on that new created drive without losing any potential threat of losing data or corrupting my hard drive?

Click to expand...

Since you have a 200MB system partition, your OS (/7 and /8) can be installed in logical partitions. So your plan will work.

The maximum of 4 applies only to primary partitions. But you can have 3 primaries and (I think) 124 logical partitions (of which the first is an extended partition under which the others sail).

Note though, that a /7 and /8 double boot is not ideal. You will get much longer boot times (especially for /7) and uninstalling /8 is a bit tricky. I highly recommend to run /8 in Virtual Box. That is a much easier deal. And have a look how fast my /8 boots in Virtual Box (this is real time): Start Win8 in vBox1.wmv - YouTube

sneakymode said:

Update:

If I convert the C drive to logical using minitools wizard and then shrink it and create a new drive for windows 8, will I be able to install OS on that new created drive without losing any potential threat of losing data or corrupting my hard drive?

Click to expand...

Yes this is the solution which works best with HP's after dealing with this for several years now here in the Forums.

You want to keep Recovery and make your Recovery disks so you have a primary (from boot) and backup (disks) method to run Recovery. You also want to keep HP tools to run the diagnostics.

Nevertheless HP's have the worst load of bloatware in the industry so be sure to also Clean Up Factory Bloatware. Most tech enthusiasts prefer to Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. Then use a Win7 backup image for recovery and save the Recovery disks if you ever want to sell the machine or ship it back under warranty.

Thank you so much! It worked and now I have it installed. The tutorial is wonderful as well. I will probably do it soon on both laptop and desktop. I am so glad I discovered this forum. Thank you once again!

Glad it helped, Sneaky. You can find many other tutorials in our Tutorial section, and always ask us anything.

Mark this thread Solved at top when ready.