Recommended size for Windows 7 installation?

R

rfe777

New member
I'm going to re-install Windows XP on my PC, but I'm preparing it for future installation of Windows 7. I'll partition one of my hard drives NOW for that, so I wanted to know what is the recommended size for that partition/folder(including extra free space for extra memory to run Windows 7 properly)?

TIA
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
CPU
Intel core i5 2400 quad 6mb 3.1 GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte H67M-D2-B3
Memory
KVR Kingston 4GB DDR3 1333MHZ
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon R7 200
Sound Card
5.1 on-board
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U2410
Screen Resolution
1900 x 1200
Hard Drives
Internal HD Western Digital 1 terabyte 7200 SATA3
Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
PSU
INWIN power man 450W A.PFC
Internet Speed
100 mb
Hello RFE,

The bare minimum required hard drive space for Windows 7 is 16 GB for 32-bit Windows 7 OR 20 GB for 64-bit Windows 7. Plus, you need to add space for any programs or files you may want to install. I would recommend no less than around 50 GB if you have it available.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
The requirement for the system is somewhere between 17 and 20GBs (64bit is a little bigger). Then you have to add your user data although I would recommend you create a seperate data partition. That has a lot of advantages.
Bottom line: for the system alone, 30 to 40GB should be ample. But if you keep your data in the C partition, then you have to add that.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba - 4 laptops and 2 desktops
OS
Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
CPU
from 1.6GHz Duo to i7
Monitor(s) Displays
2x HP w2207
Hard Drives
5x HDD, 7x SSD, 12x Externals
Keyboard
with trackball - no mices
Mouse
Trackball mice
Internet Speed
DSL 6000
8GB drive will fit a Windows 7 Ultimate installation with 1GB free after it is installed.
I know this for a fact since I had Win 7 Ultimate on my Dell Mini 9 with an 8GB SSD.
7.4GB usable space on the SSD, 6.4GB was the install size.

I personally would do 30GB if you plan on putting your programs on another partition or drive.
Mine is set at 100GB with my main apps on the same drive and games on another drive.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HAL-9000
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
CPU
Intel i7 3770K
Motherboard
Asus Sabertooth Z77
Memory
16GB DDR3 1333 Corsair XMS3
Graphics Card(s)
XFX HD6950 2GB EyeFinity
Sound Card
Logitech G35 & Sennheiser PC135 & VIA HD
Monitor(s) Displays
23" HP 2310e, 23" Samsung B2230, 21.5" Viewsonic
Screen Resolution
5760x1080
Hard Drives
16TB of Storage
128GB & 256GB Crucial M4 SSD's, 2X 1TB WD Black, 3x 2TB WD, 3x 2TB Samsung F4, 1.5TB Seagate, WD 500GB,
PSU
Antec True Power New 650watt
Case
Cooler Master HAF-932
Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler, 3x 230mm Fans, 2x120mm Fan
Keyboard
Logitech G15 and G13
Mouse
Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse
Internet Speed
50/10 Mbit
Other Info
Speakers : Alesis M1 Active Mk2 Studio Monitors , APC RS 1200 UPS, HP 4500DN Color Laser, HP P1006 mono Laser, Kodak 8500 Dye-Sub, Epson 1280 inkjet, Epson Worforce 610 MFC
My laptop has a 500 Gb drive and I have 100 allocated for the OS and apps and pretty much everything installed on Windows. The rest is allocated for storage of music, files, apps and documents and whatever else I might put on there. I make an image backup of my OS partition regularly and this recipe has served me well. I am not a gamer and I have heard of people installing their games on another partition, but if you have the space I would give the OS and programs at least 50gb and use the rest for storage. If you don't need that much for storage, go up to 100Gb for OS. This is kind of a personal opinion question, so there is no definitive answer except for you should have at least the minimum requirements for Windows 7 which is 20GB
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus K60IJ
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200
Motherboard
HP Laptop
Memory
4gb PC-6400
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel GMA 4500
Sound Card
onboard(laptop)
Monitor(s) Displays
16"
Screen Resolution
1300 X 766 with true 720p HD support
Hard Drives
320GB 5400RPM
Mouse
Microsoft 3000 laptop mouse
Internet Speed
15mbit+ down and 768kbit up
Other Info
1TB external Western Digital Essentials HDD
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