Will Partitioning my hard drive get rid of my operating system?

Question

I want to partition my hard drive so I can switch between Windows and Linux. I understand partitioning may cost me some data which is why I have backed up all of my important stuff to an external hard drive, but I am concerned that the Windows OS will be lost too. Is there a way to back that up/ make sure that doesn't get wiped during partitioning?

Answer 1

Run Linux in a Virtual Machine



The term virtualization may sound very geeky but in simple English, all it means is that you can another OS over an existing OS. For instance, you can run Windows on a Mac or you may install Linux on a Windows 7 machine using virtualization software.



To get started, download and install the free VMware Player on your Windows desktop. Then download the VMware image for Ubuntu and extract the zip file (I use PeaZip). Now double-click the Ubuntu.vmx file that you just extracted and the Linux virtual machine will load inside the VMWare Player. Simple! Here the links:



http://www.trendsigma.net/vmware/ubuntu1104.html



https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/free#desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_player/3_0

Answer 2

Not if you use a partitioning software and are knowledgeable on how to do it. Screw up and bye bye data!



Why not just start from fresh: Install Windows on a partition size of your choice, then install Linux on another partition, the size of which you will select also.



Yes, you could use drive back up software to save what's on that drive (the OS only) then restore it to the partition you have reserved for Windows.

Answer 3

Of course here's more than 2 way to backup the windows. But first I need to know which windows you'r using ? If you using Windows 7 or 8 its very easy to backup.

For windows 8 you can check there:

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/12/using-windows-8s-hidden-backup-to-clone-and-recover-your-whole-pc/



and for windows 7 you can check there:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS616jQOURg



the two process is almost same and very easy, just require few steps to complete,

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If you want just partition your HDD that contains the Windows OS but you don't want to make change on the OS drive then you can do partition very easily.

Steps are below (for only windows 7 & 8 dont know about earlier versions):



1_ Go to "Control Panel" and type "disc" then click on "Create and format hard disk partitions" under "Administrative Tools"



2_ Then click on any drive and you can delete/shrink/expand & create new volume. you also can change drives letters here.



This all applicable for the drive that not contains the OS. Its no Problem if you'r OS drive stays in same physical drive. This will not delete the Windows OS. But Make sure to backup the drives data to another drive of the same physical drive or somewhere else before deleting/formatting the specific drive.



But if you want to do this by Windows XP this may be different and may you need to backup hole HDD data to another physical drive.



Hope this will help you.

Best of luck :)

Answer 4

It sound like you want to venture to Linux. As a new user, may suggest to you to install Ubuntu. It is probably going to be the easiest for you to get used to. The install helps you partition your drive. When it asks, tell the installer you want to install them side by side. Backing your files up was a good idea, but you have little to worry about. I have been dual booting windows and linux since win 98 with no problems. The partitioning tool Gparted is written very well.

Answer 5

If you delete or make a partition over your windows partition, then yes. You can safely work with two different partitions on one hard drive, though setting up booting might be a pain.

Answer 6

There are some good programs for making another partition, not sure of the name of the program I used, but it had the word ese at the end of it, its a freeware, and wont delete any of your things, just do not use the windows partition manager as it sucks.

Answer 7

yes, you can partition the drive and not lose anything. You would do this by shrinking your current partition with your windows on it and with the raw data you would format it to install the new OS. good luck. I have 3 OSs running on my computer. win7, win8, and osx