Thread: Windows Vista preloaded

Dear Sir, I would first like to thank CHIP for living up to its name, time and again. I have a new Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop with Windows Vista pre loaded on it. I have the following queries:

- Dell has given me just one partition on my hard drive. I read in one of
the previous editions of CHIP that we can create partitions in Vista without formatting. I tried it but it was giving me an error, saying the drive already has the maximum number of partitions. Dell has given just two partitions, one is the normal one and other is labeled as recovery which has no drive letter/name and is invisible. How can I create another partition?

- I was provided with a recovery disk for Windows Vista from Dell. Can I install Windows XP and on my system using my old Windows XP CD and then install Windows Vista using the DVD provided by Dell?

- I use SIFY broadband on my laptop using the Ethernet card. Whenever I connect my Ethernet card and open the Network folder on the desktop, there are some icons which are unknown to. me. One of them is my own computer, while others have random names and show that they are some computers connected to 'Workgroup'. When I try to open them, a message says that I don't have access to those computers. It also stated "Make sure the device is connected" and so on. Does this mean my laptop has been hacked by someone? I use the McAfee Security Center provided by Dell which is regularly updated and I also use the default firewall settings of Windows and McAfee. I have a capped internet connection which is why I wasn't able to update Windows.

Kindly help me resolve the problems stated above as I am in a constant fear of losing important data on my laptop. Thanks in advance.

You can use Windows Vista's own partition resizing tool from the Disk Management window. You can shrink the existing partition and create another partition (volume) from the unused space on your hard drive. Other utilities such as Partition Magic or Partition Manager can do the same thing without having to reformat your hard drive. Do take a backup of all your data as the partitioning utilities can damage your files if the resizing process gets interrupted.

For your second query, you cannot use Windows XP on your laptop for several reasons. Firstly, you would have to format your hard drive and install Windows XP first and then install Windows Vista on another partition. You need to install an older operating system before installing a newer one. Secondly, Windows XP can only be used and activated on one single computer. If you have 'an old Windows XP CD and the same ropy has been activated and used on an older computer, you will need a new license to use it on your laptop. Using a pirated c'opy of Windows XP is not advised.

Thirdly, Windows XP would work on a laptop which is Windows Vista ready, but you might have trouble obtaining all the drivers it. If you install Windows XP on your laptop and try installing Windows Vista using the recovery disk supplied by the laptop manufacturer, the recovery disk will format the entire hard drive again and remove the previously installed Windows XP, I.e. return the laptop to its factory condition. You would need a Vista installation DVD to install it from scratch on the laptop.

As for your last query, the additional icons in Network are other computers visible on the network. It means that the local cable bringing the Internet to your computer is also connected to other computers in your bUilding or neighborhood, and you are able to
see them on your network. Change the 'WorkgrolJP' name of your computer and disable any shared folder or drive on your laptop. This would prevent any data from your computer from being visible to others on the network. Also do not try accessing another computer (even if you are able to do so) because you could inadvertently invite a virus from that computer into yours. You can install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 available on several of the past CHIP DVDs if your internet connection is slow or capped.