Windows 7: Reinstall Win 7 to a partitioned drive?

My new laptop came with two independent internal drives (1TB 500GB x 2), drives C and D. I have since partitioned Drive C. If I use the reinstallation DVD that came with the computer will I be able to reinstall the OS to the OS partition or will I have to delete the C and F partitions and format C as one single drive and install the OS to it instead.

Would it be better to use the Recovery partition to reinstall and if so will it reformat Drive C during the process, leaving me with a single, non-partitioned drive. I suppose it doesn't really matter since I can always partition the drive after installation.

Thank you in advance for your time and any assistance provided.

C.B.

It depends whether you have a recovery disc or a Windows DVD.

If it is a recovery disc it would have the same effect as using the recovery partition, i.e. your hard drive will be formatted and the computer will be put back to its factory state.

If you have a Windows DVD, then you can reinstall Windows on the C drive without affecting your existing disk layout.

Thank you for your prompt reply. It's an OEM reinstallation DVD. By the way, is there any advantage to using either the Recovery partition or the DVD? Is one better than the other or do they both contain the same information?

C.B.

You're very welcome.

The advantage of using the recovery partition as opposed to the recovery disc is that it is a lot quicker, but using either will restore your system to its factory state.

You say you have an OEM reinstallation DVD. Does it state on the DVD exactly what it is? You need to be sure that it is either a Windows 7 DVD or a factory restore DVD as there is a crucial difference.

The DVD says Windows 7 reinstallation DVD. Dell tells me that there is no preloaded 3rd party software on it. We'll see. I'm running it now in the laptop. I'm not concerned about how long it takes as I also have this desktop.

C.B.

OK, that confirms you can use that DVD to reinstall Windows without affecting your current setup. You would just need to make sure you install to the C drive as you will be given a choice during the process as to which partition you install it to.

You should also have the facility to create a set of Dell recovery discs. You can either check the Start folder, read the instruction manual or have a look on Dell's support site.

Dell - Drivers and Downloads

Just enter your Dell Service Tag to see what software and drivers are available for your computer.

Thanks for the reply, seavixen32. I was in fact offered the opportunity to install to the OS partition, which is what I am now doing. I'm fairly certain that I'll be given the opportunity to create a recovery disc, as that option was given when I received the laptop and fired it up for the first time.

C.B.

OK, just post back if you need further advice.

You guys are great. I'm reinstalling, even though the laptop is less than two weeks old, because I made several registry changes trying to get my 32-bit gadgets working in this 64-bit OS. I don't have any short term memory so I don't really remember what I did in the registry. The 32- bit gadgets work perfectly in this desktop, which is also x64, but only two of them work in the laptop and I don't understand why.

Thank you.

C.B.

Update: Well, the installation is finished, except for all the updating. The only difference I notice is that my previous F partition on Disk 0 has changed to E and I'm showing Disk 1 as Drive D, which is as it was; however, I'm also showing, at the bottom of the list in Disk Management CD-ROM O DVD 5.23 GB Online and W7SP1_ULTIMATE (F) 5.23 GB UDF Healthy (Primary Partition). I've never seen this happen before during any other installation I've done.

That's very kind of you and you're very welcome.