Recovery

Been reading problems might come up from partitioning if so use recovery disk, I got my computer used no disk with it if I need one will this repair anything that might go wrong? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Window-XP-32-Bi ... 1160268816

It's critical to have a way to recover from disaster, whether the ebay disk you link to is any good - I do not know. There are a lot of tools out there to create a recovery backup including clonezilla which is free.

Win XP will soon be unsupported so if you must keep a Windows installation you should buy a copy of Windows 7 as it includes the capability to make a partition backup which can be recovered...

Starting at square 1 is the best place to start - by that it would be helpful to know:

1. Is your notebook one that came with XP on it?

2. or does it have 7?

You will need to make a decision sooner or later as to what you want to do with your notebook as support for XP ends in April 2014. The other thing to consider is that you might have applications that won't run on Windows. I advise you check that:

a. Your notebook is capable of being upgraded to Windows 7 - if not consider Zorin 6 LTS as a replacement.

b. Check the vendors of your applications that they will run on Windows 7 and will be continued to be supported. If not, see what equivalents there are in GNU/Linux.

c. Be sure to back up all your critical data to DVD's or an external hard drive.

If you purchase Windows 7 you can create a Windows Repair Disc.

Is a desktop came with XP pro can be upgraded to 7. If I partition now (with the XP pro) when I do upgrade will it simply erase the Zorin too since a clean install must be done? Or should I just wait till I have the 7 installed to put the Zorin alongside, I don't plan to install 7 till updates end.

Hi, sorry for the delay. I would play safe for now, wait until XP ends (but you could be benefiting from a better system!), then after updating, do the partitioning then. Before you do go ahead, put your live Zorin disk in (it could have moved on a tad by then in release numbers!), and boot into 'live' desktop and take a screenshot of your partition lay outs then we can advise the way forward when you get there!