Which partitions do I actually need?

OK, I won't install Mac OS, Could I'll try Linux. Just a quick question, if I wanted to install XP, would I do the same steps as you posted earlier, and the ones for Linux?

Any particular reason you're not fully satisfied with Win7?

Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

No, as I said earlier, I'm doing it for the sake of doing it.
Would you recommend reinstalling windows without HP's bloatware?

Another question, repeated it may be but hey.

If I delete HP_tools and recovery partitions, I'll still be able to restore to having all HP's bloatware with the recovery discs, and on the spare partitions I can install new OS's, ie linux.

Tomtom111 said:

If I delete HP_tools and recovery partitions, I'll still be able to restore to having all HP's bloatware with the recovery discs, and on the spare partitions I can install new OS's, ie linux.

No.

Two issues:

1: Your recovery using the recovery disks may not work. You'll never know until you try it.

2: If your recovery disks do work as advertised, you will be back in your original position of 4 partitions and bloatware. No "spare" partitions, whatever that means.

ignatzatsonic said:

Tomtom111 said:

If I delete HP_tools and recovery partitions, I'll still be able to restore to having all HP's bloatware with the recovery discs, and on the spare partitions I can install new OS's, ie linux.

No.

Two issues:

1: Your recovery using the recovery disks may not work. You'll never know until you try it.

2: If your recovery disks do work as advertised, you will be back in your original position of 4 partitions and bloatware. No "spare" partitions, whatever that means.

Yesterday, I lost the C, recovery and HP_tools partitions and therefore windows. I managed to boot from the discs and reinstall windows, with the bloatware and all four partitions repaired.

What I meant by spare partitions is that if I delete the recovery and HP_tools partitions, because of the disk being a basic disk I'll be able to crete two new partitions in the place of the ones that I delete, and on to those I can install new OS's, or just the one. Also, if I do lose the new OS's that I will install, I won't mind because I'll just go through the same process as before.

Other than the issues you brought up, should the current OS still work fine with two partitions deleted?

As long as System Reserved or C are currently marked System Active, then you can delete Recovery and Tools.

However since you want the HP bloated preinstall I would keep Recovery since it's the most stable method to recover to factory condition and disks should only be viewed as a backup method.

For this reason I gave you the method which has always worked best for creating a new OS partition on HP's where the user wants to keep the factory preinstalled Recovery and Tools.

OK, not sorted. I converted the c partition to logical, and created a new partition (10GB) and made it logical. When I try to boot from the install disc (ubuntu and xp) it just starts to boot windows 7. What's going wrong now? The iso files are fine. So...