Hard drive & operating system question on new build

jnow

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Feb 24, 2009
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Apologies in advance for another noob question, but I'm trying to figure out the best course of action for my situation:

I ordered parts for my new build this weekend. They will be delivered today. I got Vista Home Premium from a friend of mine, but it's only the 32 bit version. I went to Microsoft's site and ordered the 64 bit dvd on Monday and still haven't received an email or anything from them saying that it's shipped.

It's busy season at work right now, so I am limiting myself to build these (yes, I am building two identical machines) on Sunday, which is my only day off. This will be my first time building a computer, so I want to make sure I'm giving myself plenty of time to get them both built. However, I will only have the 32 bit OS.

I posted in the Vista forum, but received minimal feedback (thank you to those who did respond). Basically, I gather that I can install the 32 bit version for now, and accept that the 4G of RAM will not all be utilized right away. When the 64 bit arrives, I can then install that version. My worries, aside from taking the time to uninstall 32 bit and do a clean install on the 64 bit, is that doing this will affect the programs and data I may already have on my hard drives.

To the questions:

Should I be worried about any program/driver/data loss from uninstalling the OS and reinstalling the different version?

Would I benefit from buying another HD and installing the OS's on that drive only? Will that make a difference in the outcome of the first question?

Would partitioning the HD do any good?

Should I just wait for the 64 bit discs to arrive?

Is there anything else I am missing or should be worried about?

Am I making a bigger deal out of this than I need to be? :kaola:



Like I said, this is my first time, and I just want to make sure all my bases are covered. The only time I've upgraded or changed OSs is when I've bought new computers, so I've never dealt with uninstalling and reinstalling different versions of OSs on the same machine.

Hopefully this long-winded rambling makes sense.

Again, thanks in advance.
 
you cant uninstall an OS?

Sure you can . You pop in a windows disc , partition and format the drive and you are starting with a clean slate and the old OS is as uninstalled as its possible to get .

By all means install the 32 bit , but only do it to to check the computer works . And do NOT connect to the internet , and do not activate Vista unless you want to spend more time explaining to MS than its worth .
Just installing it is going to have your computer running for a few days till the second disc arrives

When the 64 bit disc arrives , run it , partition the drive and format