Windows 7: Save my hidden partition?

Hi! I just bought Windows 7 today and am excited to install it. I've backed up all the personal data I needed to and am now ready to install it, except for one thing. I can't make recovery disks for my current installation of Vista 64-bit (ie, if I really need to go back to it, I can't thanks to computers not coming with physical recovery disks anymore) because the utility that came with my computer won't work.

I really want to install Windows 7, but...
I know that the Vista files and my drivers are all on a hidden partition in my hard drive, will a clean install of 7 wipe this partition, and if so, is there a way I can prevent this? Or am I pretty much safe to install Windows 7 anyways?

Please help!

If you install WIndows 7 it will disable the recovery partition so it might as well be deleted. I would call your computer tech support and have them walk you through making the disks, so they will either correct or witness the failure and send you a disk set.

Then boot from your Windows 7 installer and choose Custom install>Advanced tools, delete each partition and then fashion a new partition of desired size out of the space to format and install upon.

Your Windows 7 installer will have all of the most recent drivers you need except for very rare specialized hardware which can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. I have just done a dozen 7 installs and always check the manufacturer's product support page for each computer and all of the drivers were older than what Windows 7 gave. You can get your Adobe flash/reader and Java runtime from their sites.

Ah, I was hopping to get 7 installed before I go to bed. I mean, I can buy the recovery disks for $20 from Gateway (which is stupid, because they should have shipped in the box with the computer, IMHO), and I'm not likely to really need the recovery stuff.

I'm just hesitant to contact their tech support, since it's really, really, bad (I told them I had a video card issue, that I'd updated the drivers, and rolled them back and nothing worked... they made me update the drivers, send it in, and replaced the processor on my old machine).

Forget the "recovery partition" then. Go ahead and install 7....you won't want or need to go back to vista anyway

That's what I figured. I only have 6 things I really need as far as programs go (Java IDE, Blu-Ray movie player, Photoshop, WoW, iTunes, and then a bunch of games I like, but can run most of them on either of my two other computers... one will stick with Vista and the other has XP).

Then do it. THe only reason you would need to restore it to factory install is if you wanted to sell it and pull your retail Windows 7 off to migrate to another computer. But you can do that with an disk of your Vista version which you borrow from a friend - any disk will do.

I was waiting to see if my old fave Gateway would stop giving clean copies of the OS in addition to a driver/apps disk as they always did before, now that Acer bought them. Now I guess Dell is the only one that does. They make most of their profit now from the sponsor's bloatware, which you are free of goin the snappy clean install route.

Yeah, I'm just worried about program compatibility. I know my computer should run 7 spectacularly (heck, I've barely had any problems with Vista 64) and I'm really doubting I'll need to restore back to Vista otherwise. Since 7 is new and all, though, it looks like it's just Vista with some extra functionality and updated graphics.

You might want to run the Windows 7 compatibility test to see what it says. Maybe back up your Windows>System32>Driverstore>FIleRepository. THat way if you have any errors in DeviceManager with drivers you can Update Driver and have it browse that folder.

7 is O.S. perfection - light as a butterfly, quick as a bee.

I think it is the greatest invention since the computer, but I've only been around since the Kaypro 1.

It really leaves nothing to be desired. Next stop is holographics.

BTW, use the great new Windows 7 backup imaging to save an image of your finished job externally so that you never have to reinstall again.