Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

Wow, Brink, you're fast. Awesome!

On trying to uninstall, we get a message requiring a password, and my wife thinks it's linked to an e-mail account she deleted, so we can't do the "forgot password" thing. There might be other ways in, but...

But even more than that, we've been getting blue-screen crashes and programs quitting suddenly and other weird quirks...not every day, but enough to be obnoxious. I know re-installing isn't a cure-all, but since we already have everything backed up we figured we wanted to give it a try and just see how it goes.

Thanks for weighing in!

Looks like the install is going ok...but I'm not actually sure where to install windows 7.

I have 3 partitions that look like this:

Disk 0 partition 1: PQSERVICE Total Size: 14.7 GB Free Space: 3.4 GB Type: OEM (Reserved)

Disk 0 parition 2: ACER Total Size: 290.7 GB Free Space: 26.3 GB Type: System

Disk 0 partition 3: DATA Total Size: 290.8 GB Free Space: 227.5 GB Type: Primary

I know that partition 2 is where all of my stuff goes by default, and I just started filling up partition 3 with overflow data. Can I or should I install anything in the reserved partition? What is it anyway? And why is it so big? My assumption is that I should go ahead and put windows in the partition 2 for my clean install (don't worry, I have everything backed up on external drives).

Thanks!

i've got everything in all 3 partitions backed up on external media and with carbonite, so I'm not worried about any of the data. It can all be erased or whatever.

Also, I should make clear that i've already got windows 7 installed, I'm just re-installing.

Brink, are you suggesting I cancel out of the windows installation where I used the Microsoft upgrade DVD, and instead see if it will run with the ACER DVD?

Also, whichever I end up choosing, which partition sounds like the appropriate one to install the OS in? I don't really know what the reserved partition is for.

Thanks!

Fair enough. Went ahead and did the microsoft install, everything seems to have worked fine, although I didn't get rid of that EOM partition.

Anyway, thanks for answering my beginner's questions!

For some reason, Acer splits up the hard drive into 2 partitions of equal size. In your case, those are disc 0 partition 2 and disc 0 partition 3, both about 291 GB. Acer provides you with 2 partitions, which is a good idea, but makes them the same size, which is silly or wasteful.

When you got the Acer, Windows was on disc 0, partition 2, and that is presumably where you directed the reinstall to go.

You don't have to accept those partition sizes. You can make C smaller or larger as you see fit and you can delete that disc 0 partition 3 partition entirely if you want to, and then expand C into the newly available space.

Hello,

i want to make a clean install on a blank hard disk by using an upgrade version of seven and windows 95. Is it possible ? THX