Ok, I think I will take the plunge tomorrow and let you know what happens. But, if you have further information to give, I will still be available to read since I have my other laptop standing by in case something flubs...:) Ok, but here is the one other question I have. I don't have a retail version of Windows Vista only a recovery CD which will put the computer back to out of the box state. Would I need a retail version to partition the drive? ____________reply separator____________ I've sent in several tutorials on this just over the last year. We just got in from our monthly food shopping and I need to separate and repack the meats in a few minutes, so I have to make this quick. Your best bet is to back up your system and then start from scratch. After the backup is made and double checked, you can use the first OS install to recreate your partitions (Disk Manager won't be available until after the install). The second, third of fourth screen you'll see includes a button called "Advanced". Click on it and tell the install that you want to choose the partition used for the installation. When it gets to that point in the install, you'll be given the option to Delete &/or create as many partitions as you'd like. If the entire hard drive is already partitioned, you'll have to first delete that partition before you can break it up into smaller chunks. Based on a 110GB drive If your main OS is XP, I would give the first volume at least 20GB. If it's Vista, I'd go with 25GB as the minimum. These numbers assume that you will host your Documents folder on another partition and install all programs to another partition. If this is not part of the plan, these suggested sizes increase dramatically. Since this first one will always be an OS volume, it'll need to be designated as a Primary partition (should be the default option). The next partition will hold Win7 as part of a dual-boot setup. I don't know what the specific requirements or 'growth over time' patterns are for W7, so I'm going to assume they're similar to Vista. Make the second volume at least 25GB (I'm again assuming the situation above), but this time, set it as a Logical drive. You should then create a third Logical drive out of all of the remaining space as a host for your Docs, Program Fiels folder and anything else you wish to keep separated from the OS's (I try to separate a lot more than I usually recommend, so ask if you're not sure of something). Then, tell the install to continue. The moment the install is done, you'll want to install tell the OS to Move/use the third volume for the items listed above. The methods for doing this depend on the OS, so I'll let you digest this much and come back when you're ready to learn more. :) Peace, Gman --------------------------------------------------------------- Please remember to trim your replies (including this sentence and everything below it) and adjust the subject line as necessary. To subscribe, unsubscribe or modify your email settings: //www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk OR To subscribe to the mailing list, send an email to pctechtalk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject. To unsubscribe send email to pctechtalk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject. To access our Archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/ //www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/ To contact only the PCTT Mod Squad, write to: pctechtalk-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To join our separate PCTableTalk off-topic group, send a blank email to: pctabletalk+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---------------------------------------------------------------