Install without 100MB partition new drive

MacGyvr · 15 Oct 2009

kukubau said:

John Henry
Nice guide mate, +1 for ya!

But actually i'm doing a little different, shortly,

Diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list partition
select partition 1
format fs=ntfs quick

I just skip some steps.

What steps did you skip??? I don't get it. You took the "clean" step out, that's all.

nate42nd posted the whole process of creating a partition on a harddisk that was cleaned of all existing partitions, valid for new disks.

So your addition is no gain. You didn't help much.

Everyone knows how to run diskpart. And for those who don't know, diskpart is very well documented.

Thanks nate42nd.
(the 100 mb partition is created only for 64 bit version and not for 32 bit)

NO thanks john henry

Not correct. Both 32 bit and 64 bit create the boot partition.

MacGyvr · 15 Oct 2009

I don't understand why you would NOT want the boot partition to be there. It also contains the Windows Recovery Environment that can help you recover from a corrupted operating system.

Sometimes doing something just because you can isn't the best reason.

nate42nd · 15 Oct 2009

MacGyvr said:

I don't understand why you would NOT want the boot partition to be there. It also contains the Windows Recovery Environment that can help you recover from a corrupted operating system.

Sometimes doing something just because you can isn't the best reason.

Some people want it. Don't use this if you want to use it. I don't use it or know anyone who has ever used it. I posted this for the masses.

nate42nd · 15 Oct 2009

zrtom said:

Nate,
If you create the OS partition yourself with the Windows 7 installation disk, I'm not sure whether the install disk knows to align it properly, but it might. And I believe W7 only creates the System Reserved partition when the disk is raw.

It seems that Windows 7 aligns both the System Reserved partition and the OS partition on a cleared (raw) hard drive. That's how it's been, for me at least, on 20-25 W7 installations to SSDs.

So.... you could let Windows 7 create both partitions from a raw disk and just live with the 100mb partition or you could align and format a single OS partition with diskpar. You could also let W7 create both partitions from a raw drive and then delete the 100 mb partition, leaving it unallocated, since the OS partition would be aligned. In fact, you might want to check the alignment of the disk as you have it formatted and if it's okay, install directly to that partition.

In any event, correct alignment is critical for the SSD. If you need any links on aligning partitions with diskpar, etc., let me know.

Tom

p.s. Not answered as a guru; I'm just up late.....lol

Looks like if you want Windows 7 to create the partition for you (to properly align it) you are stuck with the 100MB partition. I have been sitting here for 20 min trying to delete and reformat with the install disk but it will not let you get out of it,,,,,

zrtom · 15 Oct 2009

I think if you format the drive (aligned) on, say, another computer and then throw W7 at it, the install disk will use the partition as it is.

I like having the Recovery Enviroment on a separate partition. Indeed I've use the setautofailover.cmd to move it to a small RE partition in the past. Here's some reading on the issue. A little old, but still pertinent.
Windows RE Notes : How to install Windows RE on the hard disk

nate42nd · 15 Oct 2009

Thanks man, I decided to just use the 100MB partition for a while. When I get the final copy I will do away with it. It can't hurt anything and according to you I now have an aligned partition now. Thanks for the help. I might need some in the future and maybe I can help you with something.

zrtom · 15 Oct 2009

Great! Sounds like a plan.
Tom

Nosmo · 15 Oct 2009

nate42nd
Good info. Thank you.
I have read that if you have a second hard drive installed, Win7 will stick the 100MB
partition there. Have you found this to be true?

Win 7 aligns the partition to 1024 by itself so no worries.
If in any doubt, in Diskpart add the line
create partition primary align 1024, but this is not required in Win7

nate42nd · 16 Oct 2009

Nosmo said:

nate42nd
Good info. Thank you.
I have read that if you have a second hard drive installed, Win7 will stick the 100MB
partition there. Have you found this to be true?

Win 7 aligns the partition to 1024 by itself so no worries.
If in any doubt, in Diskpart add the line
create partition primary align 1024, but this is not required in Win7

Thanks for the tip. Also no, I had 3 disks connected when installing and it put the 100MB on my SSD.

Install without 100MB partition new drive-diskmanagement.png

Dark Nova Gamer · 16 Oct 2009

Didn't really read more then the first page (its 4:17am so I'm tired) although, the way I get rid of the 100mb partition is..

During setup, after it creates the 100mb partition, delete the other one (the one you want to use, trust me), then 'format' the 100mb partition, then 'Extend' the 100mb partition to use all of the one we deleted earlier.

That is how I do it anyways, quick and simple.