So i tried partition 2, becasue its got the same drive listed twice, for sum reason, btu i got another error
'not valid for this operation'
here is my list of partitions on this disc
0 extended 172GB 8032kb
2 logical 172 GB 8064kb
1 primary 59GB 172GB
i tried 0 and 2
but no luck
I didn't quite get where you want Win7 to go, if you had it all work to your satisfaction?
Is that one primary partition where you want to get Win7 installed? Is it currently empty (you believe) because you formatted it?
Or is it to one of the two logical partitions inside of the extended partition?
Is there any more unallocated space on the drive, or is it totally allocated as you show above?
The extended partition (which holds the two logical partitions inside of it) is not relevant, and you can't just point to one of those two logical partitions as the target for the Win7 system partition, at least not without some true other primary partition on the drive which is currently marked as "active".
That's where Win7 normally wants to plant its own boot manager files... in a primary partition marked as "active", on the hard drive specified in the BIOS as "hard disk #1". In other words, on an install to a brand new empty drive there really normally would end up being TWO primary partitions involved, (1) "active" primary partition for the boot manager files, and (2) primary Win7 system partition.
So room needs to exist during an install for either (a) Win7 to create two primary partitions on its own, namely "system reserved" partition as "active" and also a Win7 system partition, or (b) you need to have one existing "active" primary partition and additional unallocated space for a second Win7 system partition to be created, or (c) you have an existing "active" primary partition and an existing logical/primary partition that's empty into which Win7 can be installed.
From the messages you describe, it would seem that the one primary partition you have on the drive is NOT marked as "active"... and there's likely no further unallocated space on the drive in which one can be created.
Is that one primary partition a data partition? Or is it where you want Win7 to go?
If that space currently used by what presumably is an empty primary partition is where you want Win7 to go, how about deleting that partition completely, leaving only the extended partition and the two logical partitions inside of it, which again is not relevant. The rest of the space on the drive (currently that one primary partition) would now be "unallocated", and there will be no partition on the drive that is either "active" or "primary". It should thus look like a brand new drive to the Win7 installer... or at least there should be free unallocated space in which Win7 can create what it wants, which is the creation of a "system reserved" partition to be marked "active", and then the Win7 system partition itself. Starting off as unallocated", this space would thus be divided into two primary partitions by the Win7 install process, and you'd get what you want I believe.
This is exactly how things would work if you started literally on a totally empty brand new drive, with no pre-existing partitions on it. But in your case, you've simply created sufficient empty unallocated space on this existing partially allocated drive, so that Win7 installer can create what it wants.
Now, if you run the Win7 installer it should ask you if you want to install to this unallocated space as one of your options, you say yes, and it creates (a) a small "system reserved" 100MB primary partition which is will mark as "active", and (b) Win7 system partition for the OS, also marked as a primary partition. I'd think if you didn't do any other partitioning during the install that just about the entire unallocated space (produced when you delete that primary partition) should be used for the Win7 C partition.
So, you'd end up with (1) 100MB "system reserved" (primary) partition, marked "active", (2) 172GB Win7 (primary) system partition, (3) extended partition (primary) with the two logical partitions sub-defined inside of it. I think this is what you want to end up with, yes?
Of course I'm still guessing that it is the primary partition space in your list where you really wanted Win7 to go. Yes? Or am I misinterpreting?
Assuming you have another working system somewhere you should
download and burn the standalone boot CD ISO for Partition Wizard. You can then boot to it and delete that primary partition from the drive above on this machine, thus making it "unallocated" and now available for the Win7 installer.
You should also
download and install the standard Partition Wizard program that runs under Win7 and WinXP, for future use in any partition work.
