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Ask the Doctor

Resizing OS Partition

Posted 10/17/09 at 01:30:02 PM  by The Maximum PC Staff

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Ask the Doctor LogoI am getting an HP TouchSmart tx2z Tablet PC in the next couple of weeks for college. However, I need to install Windows XP on it, as it’s a requirement for the engineering software I will be using. Is it possible to repartition the hard drive and still keep the copy of Vista that comes preinstalled? If so, how would I do it? I don’t want to pay for a laptop with Vista on it, just to lose it for XP. Especially with Windows 7 right around the corner.

—Andrew Muscha
 

Andrew, if your school requires XP, you’d better get a different computer. HP’s support site doesn’t have any XP drivers for the TouchSmart tx2z. But the company may have a similar tablet with XP support—you should call HP and see.

Once you get a computer that supports XP, you can shrink your hard drive partition and install Windows XP in the free space. Vista’s Partition Manager can do that, as can third-party apps like EASEUS Partition Master (www.partition-tool.com). When you’ve got the space, boot from your XP install disc and install it to the empty partition. Use your Vista repair disc afterward to restore your boot manager, and you’ll be dual-booting in no time!

 

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.

 

COMMENTS:7
TAGS: XP, ask the doctor, hp touchsmart, support, partition, tx2z
COMMENTS
avatarTruth be told, people hear

Submitted by AntiHero on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 7:05pm

Truth be told, people hear about a windows os that's not the current running one, they freak. Nobody wanted XP, but were happy with 98 even though it sucked because of, survey says: "familiarity" which translates to "i don't like change." People hate change, and will show a complete distaste to something. Vista now isn't THAT bad. I know most things work on Vista nowadays, and if they don't it's not really anything important. Virtual Machine like VMWare will fix that though.

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avatarTruth be told, people hear

Submitted by AntiHero on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 7:04pm

Truth be told, people hear about a windows os that's not the current running one, they freak. Nobody wanted XP, but were happy with 98 even though it sucked because of, survey says: "familiarity" which translates to "i don't like change." People hate change, and will show a complete distaste to something. Vista now isn't THAT bad. I know most things work on Vista nowadays, and if they don't it's not really anything important. Virtual Machine like VMWare will fix that though.

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avatarWhat about a simple virtual

Submitted by hades_2100 on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 3:56pm

What about a simple virtual machine on top of Vista? Don't need drivers that way.

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avatarHow bout win 7 xp mode? 

Submitted by Pentium 0 on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 1:52pm

How bout win 7 xp mode? 

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avatarother partition managers (FREE)

Submitted by Crazybillybob on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 11:54am

Take a look at Gparted. (sorce forge.net)

It's linux based, but works on NTFS, and FAT32 volumes, you can download a
live CD and your off.

I used it at a past job when dealing with allot of HP systems that they wanted
to be dual partitioned... It's easy to use quick, and doesn't leave a oily
residue like partition magic can :)

 

Also
double check you software.. it my run under vista just fine..... better
yet wait a few weeks and order Windows 7 pro...and run the software in
XP mode :)

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avatar+1 for gparted. Simple, easy

Submitted by Modred189 on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 4:56pm

+1 for gparted. Simple, easy to use and rather hard to mess anything up. 

 

Otherwise, tell your school to get with the program and get new software that is modern.

 

If neither of those work, look into Virtual box. With it, you can create a virtual HD to install XP onto. The only drawback is if your software needs 3d acceleration, it's probably not going to work this way. 

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avatarsoftware compatibility

Submitted by van_helblaze on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 10:45am

Just because your school requires XP, doesn't mean that the software won't run in Vista, my school still uses XP, and is afraid to even upgrade to Office 07 (which drives me nutts).  I've found that all of the software that we have to use at school works equally as well in Vista.

 You should double check if it's your schools REQUIREMENT, or the software's REQUIREMENT, if you have a computer with Vista on it already, you can try to see how well the program works there.

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