Windows 7 partitioning when RECOVERY ET AL at right end of HD?


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Thread: Windows 7 partitioning when RECOVERY ET AL at right end of HD?

  1. #1
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    Windows 7 partitioning when RECOVERY ET AL at right end of HD?

    I do not need partitioning help, nor installing help as such. Howver, I do have one question on installing SuSe 12.2 dual boot on a Windows 7 HP 2000-369WM laptop.

    This 500GB HD has Windows 7, as I said. Normally, I use a live CD, then install gparted if it is not on the CD. then, I shrink the main partition to make room for the other partitions as desired. I have done this a number of times. Dual boot since 1999. No problem there.

    But, here is my concern. Normally, on gparted, the recovery and so forth are at the left on the HD.

    On this machine, they are way out to the right side at the end of a 447GB partition I want to divide. That is, OS, then 447GB mostly empty, prime for other distros, then the recovery and hptools partitions at the end.

    So, my question is, will I mess things up if I make smaller partitions to the left (I assume first on HD) before the HPTOOLS and RECOVERY PARTITION?

    Or should I move the recovery and hptools partitions left, thus leaving my partitions above the Win 7 HPTOOLS and RECOVERY partitions?

    Or, maybe there is no worry what I do?

    I have never seen this before. Thanks for any help. I am going to do an image backup on DVD before I do anything, just in case.

    I haven't been on in quite a while because I had no questions for quite a while. Google fixes most issues these days.

  2. #2
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    I am myself would not move the position of the partitions as the boot loaders normally hard-coded the hard disk address to find the beginning of the next code they have to load.

    MS resizer (under Disk Management does not permit shrinking from the left hand side and hence no bodily shift of a partition. Gparted can shift a partition position but this should only be done with data-only partitions (those no booting required) or you know the technigues to reconfigure the boot loader.

    Windows 7 generally relies a separate partition, often named as "System Reserved" for placing the boot loader there and the main "C-Drive" can have no boot loader. Therefore it is safer not to touch the small partitions used by MS Windows.

    In practice when a first partition is created it occupies the sda1 slot in the partition table and the location does not matter at all. The next one created takes sda2 and so on. Thus your hard disk should have sda1 and sda2 listed if you test it with a terminal command "sudo fdisk -l".

    If you shrink the large 447GB NTFS to create unallocated space and say create an extended partition then the sda3 slot will be used up for that purpose. Inside the extended partition you can have say 11 logical partitions recognisible by all Linux and MS Windows. You can do whatever you like with them because every Linux can boot from a logical partition. Also every MS Windows (from Win2k to Windows 8 can also be installed in and booted up from a logical partition "if" there is another NTFS/Dos primary partition for housing the boot loader. I have 5 MS Windows installed in logical partitions and all their boot loaders are in a Dos primary partition.

    Therefore your hard disk will work perfectly as long as you do not move the position of the partition of sda1 and sda2, shrink the large one on the right only and create 1 primary, 2 primary, 1 primary+1 extended, or just 1 extended partition.

    Linux will only warns that the position of the partitions are not in disk order but the disk will have no operational difficulty with any PC operating system.

    Hope the above helps.
    Linux user started Jun 2004 - No. 361921
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  3. #3
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    >>Windows 7 generally relies a separate partition, often named as "System Reserved" for placing the boot loader there and the main "C-Drive" can have no boot loader. Therefore it is safer not to touch the small partitions used by MS Windows.

    Yes, it all made sense except this paragraph. So, when the distro (I am tending toward Suse since it will boot up with the Ralink wireless chip) asks where to put the boot loader, where do I tell it? It sounds like the usual sda1 choice is out???

    Yes, I do think I understand the partition information, and never thought where to put the boot loader, since I didn't realize Windows 7 was different. Thanks, Saikee.

  4. #4
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    Disregard, Saikee. I woke up from my daze, and realized I first should have Googled before asking you to type in stuff already online. When I did, I found plenty on the differences in dual booting Windows 7, and the older versions. At this time, I assume I can work through it. I may post a link here which tells it in case someone else comes here, I hope that is okay. I can't remember if we were not supposed to link or not.

    http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2012/05/17...and-windows-7/

    This is for Ubuntu, I will find out if SuSe 12.2 is the same.

  5. #5
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    If you want Linux to control the booting you put it in the MBR and that is /dev/sda. A device disk with the partition number missing means the whole disk and is the MBR in Linux.

    The other alternative is to put Grub in the root partition of Linux but you need to reconfigure Windows 7 boot loader bootmgr to dual boot. A free graphic program that can help you to achieve this is "EasyBCD" inside Widows 7. Using Linux is the simplest and quickest.
    Linux user started Jun 2004 - No. 361921
    Using a Linux live CD to clone XP
    To install Linux and keep Windows MBR untouched
    Adding extra Linux & Doing it in a lazy way
    A Grub menu booting 100+ systems & A "Howto" to install and boot 145 systems
    Just cloning tips Just booting tips A collection of booting tips

    Judge asked Linux "You are being charged murdering Windoze by stabbing its heart with a weapon, what was it?" Replied Linux "A Live CD"

  6. #6
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    Okay, then I can put the Linux Grub in /dev/sda and it will dual boot. I was getting confused because the pages I found insisted I had to use Windows 7 boot loader, because Windows updates will over-write the boot loader.

  7. #7
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    Okay, the page I linked tells how to use the utility you mentioned. Sorry for my confusion, think I got it now.

  8. #8
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    When one dual boots both Windows 7 and a Linux either boot loader, bootmgr of Windows 7 or Grub of Linux, can be selected for controlling the dual boot. A user can change his mind and switch the choice at any time.

    I can't recall losing Grub after an update with the Windows 7. Even if it does it is still easier or less work to restore Grub than bootmgr.
    Linux user started Jun 2004 - No. 361921
    Using a Linux live CD to clone XP
    To install Linux and keep Windows MBR untouched
    Adding extra Linux & Doing it in a lazy way
    A Grub menu booting 100+ systems & A "Howto" to install and boot 145 systems
    Just cloning tips Just booting tips A collection of booting tips

    Judge asked Linux "You are being charged murdering Windoze by stabbing its heart with a weapon, what was it?" Replied Linux "A Live CD"

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