windows 7 questions

[joecool]

So I'm finally moving to Win7. I've got the full install disc (not the upgrade disc) and I'm installing it on a new build, new clean SSD, etc. There are a few things that are confusing me:

1) I've got two drives in the system - an SSD for the OS, and an HD for data. The SSD is plugged into SATA port 1 on the mobo, and is reported as such in the BIOS and BOOTITNG (my boot loader). However, under Win7 it is reported as drive 1 and the HD is drive 0. What gives? And more importantly, does it matter?

2) I let Win7 figure out where to install itself and would up w/two partitions on the SSD - a 100MB partition that has some system files (or so the drive manager says), and the main partition w/the actual OS etc. What's the deal w/the 100MB partition? I normally image my OS using BOOTITNG so I can do a quick restore if I have a problem. Do I need to image both partitions to be able to create a working backup?

3) Despite the fact that my user account has Administrator rights, there are some directories I can't open in the file browser, like "Documents and Settings". What gives? How can I get at these?

4) My BIOS supports AHCI but I installed with the drives set to IDE mode. Now when I try to switch to AHCI I get a disk read error. Do I need to install in AHCI mode? BTW when I switch to AHCI in the BIOS, it stops showing me what drives it has detected on the SATA ports. Is this expected or a bad sign?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[RebateMonger]

The Win7 installer will create a 100 MB System Reserved partition when you install Win7 on an empty disk. If you want to fix this, a quick search will reveal many articles on what to do. The System Reserved partition contains boot files and Recovery files that allow you to boot the computer into Recovery mode with no Recovey or Install DVD. The Installer won't create the partition if there are already partitions on the disk.

If you leave the System Reserved partition, then, yes, it needs to be imaged and restored if you want to restore a working system disk.

Also, when installing Win7, I highly recommend disconnecting any disks not necessary for the actual installation. Otherwise, you can end up with boot files on your data disk, which can be an unpleasant surprise.

The "Documents and Settings" folder in Win7 doesn't really exist. It's there for compatiibility with programs that don't know how to handle the missing folder. The "Users" folder contains what D&S used to contain.

There are ways to "fix" a disk that's had Windows installed in IDE Mode but you want to change to AHCI mode. You can change the disk controller back to IDE mode, make changes to the Registry, and then change the controller back. Perhaps others can give you the details, but, again, they are well-published on the Internet.

 

[joecool]

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Sounds like I should just leave the reserved partition - it's not hurting anything and may help out some day.

As far as IDE vs. AHCI, the install is pretty painless, I'm tempted to just clear the partitions and try again w/AHCI enabled from the start.

 

[RebateMonger]

As far as IDE vs. AHCI, the install is pretty painless, I'm tempted to just clear the partitions and try again w/AHCI enabled from the start.

That's certainly the "safest" method. I've never tried the switch so I can't comment on its reliability. But I'm sure there are folks here who've used it.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I would do that if possible because it will give you the least amount of potential problems.

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Sounds like I should just leave the reserved partition - it's not hurting anything and may help out some day.

As far as IDE vs. AHCI, the install is pretty painless, I'm tempted to just clear the partitions and try again w/AHCI enabled from the start.

 

[WildW]

If you're happy with an OS reinstall, go ahead - ideally with only your boot disk attached. For what its worth though, enabling AHCI after install is fairly painless. It's just setting one registry value and rebooting a couple of times, not too much to go wrong I don't think - certainly worked fine for me.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

 

[joecool]

thanks for the link ... i'll give it a try.