Upgrading n Partitions..

[sushu_2]

hey guys.. i a week back i got a shiny new hp mini 210-1117TU.. it has got intel N450 1.66Ghz, 2gb ram, 320 gb HDD, Intel GMA 3150.. the sad part is that.. it came with Win 7 starter & 3 partitions..
1) Local Disc C: (288 GB)
2) Recovery D: (11.8 GB)
3) HP_Tools E: (93.3. MB)

I have a few questions..
1)Can I upgrade to Win 7 Professional or Ultimate?

2)Can i Have 5 partitions? As in..
a) Local Disc C: (50gb) (the partition where i'll install the OS)
b) D: (90gb)
c) E: (90gb)
d) F: (85 gb)
e) G: (5gb) (For installing HP_Tools.)

3) Is it mandate to make a "Recovery" partition? (I don't think that i would be needing it..)

4) From where can i download the drivers once i'm done upgrading the OS?
5) From where can i download HP_Tools?

5) Can anyone tell me a few games considering the configuration as mentioned above that i can play on my netbook?

Thanx in Advance...

[glc]

I would completely leave it alone except for uninstalling some of the crapware it came with. Netbooks were not designed to be gamers, the processor is too slow and the graphics engine is too weak.

[sushu_2]

well.. i agree about the gaming part.. but can i install win 7 professional and also biforgate the total disk space as mentioned?

[glc]

I'm sure you can, but I don't recommend it. I don't see why you would want to do either. Some things are best left alone.

[sushu_2]

i want partitions because.. i don't wanna save my files on C:.. that's because even ur aware that there r chances of the C drive gettin corrupted or the whole thing crashes and losing my data..
if there r partitions.. even if it crashes, atleast my data would be safe in the other drives..

[EzyStvy]

You also backup your important data...so multi partitions isn't a big deal

[glc]

If it crashes, there's a good chance that you will lose all the partitions anyway. However, you can repartition in place with this free software:

Easeus Partition Master Home Edition - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

I'd recommend you use it to shrink the C partition and create a data partition - but leave the recovery and tools partitions completely alone, and leave 7 Starter on there.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Just a words of caution: messing with the MBR will render your Restore to Factory function useless. Should the system crash, you will have to install Windows and all drivers manually. You will need an external CD drive, and possibly will have to order the recovery CDs from the manufacturer, as I don't think Windows 7 Starter is sold to end users (I might be wrong about this and you can purchase it off newegg, though). I've seen machines that were repartitioned and then lost this function.

I have to second G's suggestion and strongly advise to leave the machine alone. If you're concerned about data loss, just back up regularly to an external hard drive (something you should be doing anyway, partitioning or no partitioning).

[glc]

Starter is not sold to end users or to any vendors. It's strictly sold to netbook manufacturers. No media is available unless the manufacturer makes recovery kits.

[sushu_2]

I might sound dumb.. wats MBR??

[glc]

Master boot record.

[MikeMoss]

Hi

I wouldn't make multiple partitions on such a small drive.
For one thing the drive could die and leave you with nothing.

Instead buy a 500 Gig or 1 TB external USB hard drive and make a complete disk backup of the entire C:\ drive. External drives are really cheap anymore.

My C drive is using 172 gigabytes and has no data stored on it.
Only Windows and software.

In the event of a total unrecoverable crash you can be back up and running in an hour with no hassles or reinstalling .

Check out this site for information on upgrading Windows 7.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...e/starter.aspx

You could probably run World of Warcraft on you lap top, it has pretty low requirements, I have a friend who runs it on his old, old, Pc from his external USB hard drive.

I'm guessing that Dell has a place to download all the drivers for your computer.

Mike

[glc]

I'm guessing that Dell has a place to download all the drivers for your computer.

I kinda doubt that Dell would have drivers for an HP........

[sushu_2]

@Mike.. well i visited the link that u gave me..n downloaded the windows 7 update advisor.. n it states that the net book is capable enough to upgrade to win 7 professional or win 7 ultimate..

[MikeMoss]

Originally Posted by glc I kinda doubt that Dell would have drivers for an HP........

Sorry I thought he said "Dell"

In that case the HP web site should be able to supply the correct drivers.

[quartet-man]

Originally Posted by glc I kinda doubt that Dell would have drivers for an HP........