To actually perform the shrinking, click the partition and then click “Resize/Move” in the upper panel. Insert 95,232 (or your desired size, of course) in the “after” entry field and click OK. This will cause a message about the pending shrinkage to appear in the lower panel. To start the shrinking, click on Edit → Apply All Operations.
GParted displays a progress indicator while it runs, which took about twenty-two minutes.
At this point, you may want to right-click the new, unallocated space and set it to a "Primary" partition. You can also elect to format the partition to NTFS right from GParted. That's purely your option, as the Windows 7 installer can do it, too. We tried it both ways, and the results were the same.
To exit the GParted Live CD, click the Exit icon at top right and wait for the shutdown to be broadcast. After several seconds, it will ask you to remove the CD, close the tray "if any," and press Enter.
Installing Windows 7
After rebooting from the Windows 7 DVD, the installation will begin. It will first ask for language, currency and time, and keyboard layout.
Windows 7 installed will take up about 17 to 20 GB on your new partition.
If you elected to not to partition the unallocated space, the Windows installer will automatically highlight it. However, clicking "Next" at this point will create an error message. Instead, click "New" and you'll be able to create the new partition and format it, or rather, set it up to be partitioned and formatted. The actual formatting takes place when the main install progress screen is showing.
Windows 7 will restart once during installation. Watch for this notification because this is when you'll be removing the DVD. This restart will automatically go back to the Windows installer. Of course, this means that Windows has added itself to the master boot record. Don't worry, though. Unlike Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 don't wipe out the GRUB configuration. It's still there, even thought Windows will mark itself as the primary OS.
Here are a couple of other notes about installing. If you have an Internet connection during setup, Windows 7 will ask you which group - home, work, or public - to add the connection to. If you select "Home Group" and it detects a Wi-fi radio, it will give you a group password. This automates setting up home networks somewhat, but it only works with other Windows 7 PCs.
Also, soon after starting Windows for the first time, it will warn you about needing antivirus software. (This is Windows, after all.) Clicking the link in the dialog will take you to the Windows 7 Security page. Scroll down and you'll find links to antivirus trials by Kaspersky, McAfee, and AVG.
I like this part, so here's an image from the earlier version of this article. It was what the Windows 7 release candidate looked like after setup.
And, yes, that background was a pun. That's a Siamese Fighting Fish, which is also known as a beta fish. (Some users have reported that they see a different background when they install Windows 7 RC. I did not. Alas, this image is not among those in the released version of Windows 7.)
Getting GRUB Back
There are several ways that you can get the GRUB menu back. Probably the easiest method is to boot the PC from your Linux distribution's installation DVD. Then select "Repair" to find the tools to correct the boot loader or to create a new bootloader. Both methods will find and include the Windows installation. (openSUSE marks it as "windows/c.")
You could also use the distro disk to start Linux from the hard drive. Then the commands
sudo grub
root (hd0,0)
setup (hd0)
in a terminal should repair GRUB and display the Windows option as well.
And if you're looking for something educational that you can later brag about, try using the SuperGRUBDisk to restore your MBR.
Finishing Up
And there you have it - how to dual boot Linux and Windows 7. As a long time Linux enthusiast (and before that an OS/2 user), I'm optimistic that this time Microsoft is getting it right for the mass of Windows users. It won't satisfy every user, just as no one Linux distribution does. If it makes things easier for the casual, non-expert user, that's all good.
Thank you for reading this, and thank you for visiting Bright Hub. I hope this article helped you install Windows 7 on your Linux box.