How much free disk space do I need to install Vista over XP Pro SP3?
Asked by
ETpro (
34605
)
October 12th, 2011
I’m still struggling with migration from XP Pro to Windows 7. The problem is outlined here. Windows XP is running on an old 80 gig drive, and it’s becoming increasingly unstable. I ran chkdsk d: /r on it, but it’s still flaky. When I booted into that drive this morning, it worked fine for about a half hour then froze so solid it wouldn’t obey the three-fingered salute. I had to use a bus interrupt to kill it.
The 80 gig drive is about 94% full. If I can run chkdsk on it again and get it back to bootable condition, I can clean it up from a separate 1 terabyte SATA I have Windows 7 Ultimate installed on in the same machine. How much space do I need to first install Vista on the 80 gig drive, which can install over XP and pick up XP’s settings, then put Windows 7 over Vista, which will thereby transfer my critical email boxes into Windows 7?
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* /Red flags raised *
I think that assuming that Vista will install correctly regardless of free space is a fatal error.
That is not counting the fact that the more steps you go through, the greater risk of fucking the thing hard and without lube, and considering the risks of using that hard drive in the first place, I wouldn’t push your luck.
Now that that disclaimer is out there, I have a question that may make it effectively moot. Do you have an external hard drive of some sort?
The reason I ask is that Clonezilla doesn’t just copy files; it will clone your geriatric little hard drive to something that actually has a little free space. After that, you can do as you damn well please knowing that you really have your stuff. Not just the old files, but an actual mirror image, structure and all. Yes, I am concerned that your backups may not actually be good enough! Now, if you have a completely identical drive that just happens to have, say, 224GB free instead of less than 5GB, you won’t have to worry about installing an OS that requires a minimum of 15GB for a clean install!
I have a 500 gig external that my sone password protected and then forgot the password. So we haven’t figured out how to get into it. I also have a spare terabyte internal drive I could move the files to. I’ll check into that option.
Remember, don’t just copy, clone ;)
BTW, Parted Magic includes Clonezilla and so much more. It may not have anything else that is useful in this case, but it is a handy tool kit to have in general.
Thanks for the tiops. Much appreciated.
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