Can I partition this hard drive and run Win 7 or 8 OS as the boot with other partitions set for storage? Any major problems in doing this?
1327233
yes- normal drive like any other... you can do whatever you want with it in terms of partitions, boot and just storage.
1327234
I agree with what was said already, but also want to point out that you should separate data drives from the OS drive. This is a good drive to put lots of data on, an SSD that is much smaller is ideal to put most programs and the operatingsystem on. SSD's are lightening fast and not very expensive, while this drive is fast for rotating storage, but better to minimize accesses on larger drives so they last longer, and take advantage of their massive storage capability -- evenwith an NAS setup. IMHO.
1327235
No problem with that configuration as long as you have a motherboard that will natively recognize a 4tb drive.
1327236
If you are referring to one single operating system, then basically any hard disk can be partitioned with the boot partition as the primary partition and the storage partitions as logical partitions. If you are referring to dual boot with multiple operating systems, then you need to be careful about setting the size of each boot partitions to avoid going over cylinder 1024. A boot loader might be able to overcome this limitation but I haven't really experimented with it in recent years.
1414510
I'd imagine you can. Windows 8 writes on NTFS partitions same as Windows 7. There shouldn't be any changes to the architecture. In short, 8 saves to the hard drive the same way as 7.
636932
You could by a license for Windows 7, reformat the primary drive, and then install the OS. Windows 8 is just another Vista in my opinion.
1343731
Not 100% sure what you are asking ... I hooked up my 6 hard drives to the switch one being 8.1 if the drive already has OS installed no reason to activate just hook it to the switch. But if you are loading and If you have a mirror copy then no, but fresh install yes... and you can load 3 windows 7 if you like on different drives as long as you have a different product key for each. One product key one drive.
932551
Currently running four 4T WD drives , Win 7, 64 bit machinr. No idea if they support boot, using all for storage with four other 2T and 4 other 1T drives. Most are Seagate.
1088528
The drive comes like any other drive and can be used with any OS that supports hard drives. There is no reason why multiple OS installs can't be made on it, following the standard multi-boot issues.
1718377
Absolutely will work just fine as all three of those operating systems use NTFS. However the limit of 32bit Windows XP means it cannot recognize a hard drive that is larger than 2 terabytes regardless of how it's partitioned so I recommend formatting an entire 2 terabyte hard drive or smaller as NTFS.
1341220
I use a 4TB drive in mine with Windows 7. It works great. Solid case. I love it.
1268592
Hello Terrence, I have not done any partitioning, but from what I've read, all hard drives whether internal or external can be partitioned. I am not a techie so I get most of my information online (the rest from computer technicians). Here is one site I've checked out...http://techchannel.radioshack.com/partition-external-hard-drive-1628.html. Hopes this helps. Cheers!
649858
I was told that you cannot install windows 7 over windows 8, but was I was also told by someone else that you can format the hard drive and install windows 7.
468670
The OS on this unit is actually going to be Win7 PRO 64bit. Please let us know if you have any other questions.Thank You,ServerMonkey
648056
Yep, works great... we use the SSD for the OS and installed programs. Then use a 1TB drive for data. Very fast boot times with this configuration.
426231
Is this compatible with Windows 7 without going through the hassle of a new drive???
1775421
You would need a valid (unused) Windows 7 key, so most likely you'd need to buy a copy. I just did this, there are a few changes you need to make in bios to get it to install, too.
1294662
I dual boot win 7 and 8.1 and haven't experienced any issues. I find 8.1 to boot up fastest and overall better performance. Win 7 works great though!
2080194
That should not be a problem where the hardware is concerned. However, keep in mind your partitioning scheme. You will want to do a GPT partition table (as opposed to MSDOS partition table) with any partitions over 2TB. How you go about that will depend on the OS that you are using.
168283
no you dont...just use your preexisting disc, or software. if you have the software, you can burn it on a disc or put it in a bootable usb drive.make sure you back up everything on your hard drive, cos the system will delete everything so it can be installed on the hard drive.ive had the problems many times, but for some reason, one day, my hard drive was able to have windows on it...