Installing windows 7 on ubuntu 10.10 in Vostro 3500

[Gopu Pa]

since the day I have bought it. I have got ubuntu 10.10 installed by default when I bought it. I have windows 7 operating system at my office. So now I want to have windows 7 installed on my laptop. I am thinking of installing windows 7 (32-bit) by overwriting the default ubuntu 10.10 operating system. Actually I was trying to install windows 7 yesterday and there I found 4 partitions present on my hard disk. I am not a technical person. I have listed the partitions that I got below:
• Dell Utility(41MB)
• OS(5.4GB FAT)
• 310GB -ext4
• 4.2GB-swap
I don’t what these partitions are for and which I should delete and which I should not delete. Please help me out as I am confused. Any suggestions regarding this would be highly appreciated.

[Zhankana_n]

Well as you have said that you want to install windows 7 operating system on your laptop then I think you don’t have anything to do with these partitions. You can certainly go ahead and overwrite ubuntu 10.10 operating system. When you install windows operating system on ubuntu then just format and delete all the partitions present in the hard disk.

[teena_pansare]

I assume that windows operating system doesn’t have anything to do with ext4 format partitions. So before you try to overwrite windows os on ubuntu, make sure that you take a backup of all the data’s that you have in the partitions. Because when you will format it, all the data’s present in all these partitions will get lost.

[Ekpah]

As far as I know that the dell utility partition which is of 41 mb contains diagnostics which you run during startup. But it is not of very much importance. You can delete this partition. You can download the dell utilities from the internet. You can get them from the official website of dell. Just visit the site and get the drivers installed. Once you download the drivers of dell, just make sure that you install them.

[windows_user]

Let me tell you that you can install windows 7 without any much questions in mind. OS (5.4GB FAT) is actually the partition on which your ubuntu 10.10 operating system is installed. The last partition about which you are talking is most supposedly a swap partition which is used for ubuntu 10.10.

[Dolsy_bendal]

310GB -ext4 partition is actually data storage. You must have stored data on your system and all these data are stored in 310GB -ext4 partition. Windows has nothing to do with this even if you delete this partition. This partition is only recognized by the linux.

[Elijah]

I would like to say that if you want to install the windows 7 operating system then install it without concerning about the partitions. These partitions have no connection with the operating system. After installing windows operating system you will find new partitions. Once you install windows 7 on you system, try to install wubi.exe file. This file will help you to use ubuntu also. It will provide you with two operating systems. You can use windows or ubuntu which ever you want but the default operating system will be the windows 7.

[Ernesto4]

when you want to install any operating system, firstly you just need to make sure that the operating system that you are going to have is supported by your configuration of the system. after that you just need to make sure that you make the backup of your files that you have on your system. partitions mentioned by you has nothing to do with the os. you can install windows on ubuntu without any troubles. all the best