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Is there a possibility to install windows 7 (clean install) without making a extra (hidden) partition "system reserved" from 100mb?
or how can I delete this partition after install ?
Why is it for?
I have the meaning that this slows down my hard drive a little ?
thanks
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi Johan G,
Thanks for posting to Getting Ready for Windows 7 .
The 100MB partition is a system partition and contains boot files. Disk Manager will not allow you to remove this partition because removing this partition could cause the system to not boot.
Thanks for posting your question to Getting Ready for Winodws 7 community group.
Regards,
Debbie
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forumand let us know what you think.
Thanks anyway,
i wil try a install with an different harddisk.
The screen shot and the info are excellent. Your solution is so very simple.
But first to answer some of your questions, not in any special order. The only reason a hard drive (your external drive) would have or need an "Active" partition is if at one time a OS was installed on it. Even if the OS is deleted, the "Active" status remains. If the external hard drive and an internal hard drive (drive 0) are connected to the system when an OS is installed on the external hard drive, the Windows 7 installer will, by design, look for the "Active" partition on the FIRST drive in boot order (drive 0) and place the boot code there. If it does not find an "Active" partition it will use the first empty space available. So If there was empty space on Drive 0, then the Windows 7 installer would have by design created the 100MB partition there.
If you do not need to boot to the external drive, I suggest you remove the "Active" tag as it may cause complications later.
SIMPLIFY the installation of any OS by only connecting the hard drive you are installing to.
You can only extend a partition into EMPTY space. You must shrink a partition first to create the empty space and then extend the next partition into the empty space. However, the Windows Disk Management Utility is limited in what it can do. For example it can not extend a partition to the LEFT. You need a third party utility like Partition Wizard for a complete utility.
Your solution is simple and can all be done from Windows 7. First create a simple volume in the unallocated space at the front of the drive. Make it exactly 100MB, give it a drive letter, mark it as "Active", and format it as NTFS. Next assign a drive letter to the current "System Reserved" partition, any letter is ok. Now copy all the files from the old "System Reserved" to the new "System Reserved". You can do this because you gave them drive letters. When the copy is done, go back and remove the drive letter from the "Active" "System Reserved" partition and reboot. If there is any problem rebooting just do the "Startup Repair".
After reboot, you can delete the old "System Reserved" partition and extend C: into the empty space.
Cheers!
Robert
What is not explicitly mentioned is that in multiple HD systems, the 100MB will be written to Drive 0, no matter what drive is specified by the BIOS as the Boot Drive.
Also, if you have IDE and SATA drives, the 100MB will be written to the IDE drive even if the BIOS specifies the SATA drive as the Boot Drive.
MS seems to think that only 1 drive will be installed in a system during Windows installation.
Because the Boot Manager for W7 is stored in the 100MB partition is why either the user needs to be able to specify what drive it is written to, or if it is made at all. The default location for the Boot Manager needs to be based on the BIOS settings, not where MS wants to put it.
My PC could not boot at all until I forced W7 to install without the 100MB partition. My Boot Drive is my 1st SATA drive, and not the drive the 100 MB partition was written to (and thus the Boot Manager).
MS knew this since at least RC, but has failed to correct their error in thinking.
This is the only major fault with W7 so far.
iseeuu --Thanks for your instuctions. I have a few questions--just to be sure. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html Or rather http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/668-system-recovery-options.html I have a full retail Win7 DVD.
I understand I can use the Windows Disk Management Utility to do what you suggest.
Referring to the present Allocated space, you say "Make it exactly 100MB". It is now 101MB. Any reason not to use all 101MB?
"Now copy all the files from the old "System Reserved" to the new "System Reserved". I assume the new System Reserved is the old Allocated Space from which I have created a new Simple Volume and to which I have given a drive letter. But when and how does it become named "System Reserved"?
"go back and remove the drive letter from the "Active" "System Reserved" partition " From which System Reserved partition do I remove the drive letter? Both the old and new should be Active at this point since the old is already Active and I have made the Allocated Space/new Simple Volume Active. (I assume both can be concurrently Active partitions.)
If I mess anything up, does the Disk Management Utility have an Undo?
"Startup Repair"--Just want to be sure I know what this is. Is it what is called Repair Install here?
Thanks.
