James Bannan20 January 2009, 12:00 PM
Got your hands on the Windows 7 beta and want to dual boot it alongside Windows Vista? Here's our step-by-step tutorial to get you up and running with Microsoft's latest OS.
Page 2 - Create Free Space for Windows 7
We assume that before you start this tutorial, you have backed up the drive (partitions and data) that will host the two operating systems.
Your first step will be to modify the Windows Vista system partition to make space for XP using GParted
The GParted Live CD ISO is available here – burn it to CD and boot the system from the disc. The version we used was 0.4.1-2.
When you boot from the GParted LiveCD, depending on your system, you should just need to select the auto-configuration boot option.
Option 1 - Using GPartEd
During boot, press Enter three times to accept the defaults for keymap, language and graphics settings.
When the main GUI loads, right-click on the main Windows Vista NTFS partition (depending on your setup, probably /dev/hda1) and select Resize/Move.
Use the slider to reduce the partition size and free up enough room to install Windows 7 (at least 10GB) and click Resize/Move.
The changes haven’t actually been made, they’ve just been scheduled to run. To commit the changes and resize the partition, click Apply. GParted will ask to confirm the changes – hit OK and away you go.
Option 2 - Using DISKPART
Boot the machine from the Windows 7 DVD. Select the appropriate language and then "Install Now".
On the product key page, press SHIFT + F10 to launch a Windows PE 2.0 command window. Then type in DISKPART and press enter to get into the DISKPART utility.
Now type in LIST VOLUME - this gives you a readout of the volumes available on the system. Select the main Windows Vista volume by typing in SELECT VOLUME 0 (in most cases it will be Volume 0 - in our lab in was Volume 1).
Now type in SHRINK. Windows 7 will reduce the size the selected Volume by around 50%.
Option 3 - Using Disk Management
Using the Disk Management GUI is really no different to using DISKPART (it's the GUI frontend to the DISKPART utility), but using the GUI does mean that you can make the changes within Vista before rebooting to install Windows 7, without needing to use DISKPART on the Windows 7 DVD.
Right-click on Computer and select Manage. In Computer Management, expand Storage and select Disk Management.
Right-click the primary partition (the one you need to make space on) and select Shrink Volume
The default values which Vista provides represent a fairly aggressive shrink - as long as the values will give you enough space to install Windows 7 (at least 10GB), accept the defaults and select Shrink.
Vista will churn away for a moment, and then you'll see the newly-created free space on the primary disk. Now you can reboot and install Windows 7.