here's a topic I am getting confused on, after reading many different things, so I want to ask about this here.
I understand that many PC sellers like Dell put hidden partitions on new PCs for various functions. Originally I thought that my new Dell would have something related to a "recovery" partition to reset the PC back to factory installs.
But after reading more and more I think that is only part of the puzzle, that there may possibly be at least 3 different types of hidden partitions.
The hard drive on my Acer laptop (Aspire V5-552) has 5 hidden partitions. One I expected, assuming it contains an image of the original set up. But what are the other 4? I list them below with what details Macrium Reflect gives;
Recovery – NTFS Primary 255.9 of 400 MB used. Esp – FAT32 (LBA) Primary 48.6 of 300 MB used Unnamed, unformatted primary 128 MB C: - NTFS Primary … main part of HD 496 GB Unnamed NTFS Primary 337.5 of 350MB used Push Button Reset – NTFS Primary 12.56 of 15 GB used
OS is Win 8.1 and I'd really like to tidy things up ... it won't give me a lot more space, but it looks a mess and I thought you could only have 4 partitions total?
The hard drive on my Acer laptop (Aspire V5-552) has 5 hidden partitions. One I expected, assuming it contains an image of the original set up. But what are the other 4? I list them below with what details Macrium Reflect gives:
Recovery – NTFS Primary 255.9 of 400 MB used. Esp – FAT32 (LBA) Primary 48.6 of 300 MB used Unnamed, unformatted primary 128 MB C: - NTFS Primary … main part of HD 496 GB Unnamed NTFS Primary 337.5 of 350MB used Push Button Reset – NTFS Primary 12.56 of 15 GB used
OS is Win 8.1 and I'd really like to tidy things up ... it won't give me a lot more space, but it looks a mess and I thought you could only have 4 partitions total?
I use latitude E5530 Now, which have two hidden partition, one is no name, and it is 39MB and it have 100% space didn't use, ( OEM partition). Another one is called Recovery and it as 752MB and it is NTFS format and in the brackets it says system, active, main partition.
So what is the function of those two partition?
Can I delete the recovery partition? cause I need change a hard drive and I will made a recovery image.
I'm having a problem to install windows 7 pro on my Lenovo t440s ( that came with windows 8 ) using a memory stick.I went to the windows 7 installation menu and formatted the Windows 8 partition, so now I have :
Disk 0 Partition 1: WINRE_DRV 1GB OEM Disk 0 Partition 2 : System_DRV 260MB System Disk 0 Partition 3 128MB MSR Disk 0 Unnallocated Space 225GB ( it was the old windows 8 partition ) Disk 0 Partition 4: Lenovo_Recory 12.1GB OEM
However, when i try to use the free space to install the windows 7 i get this error :" Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partitions style. "
I tried to bot using Legacy Boot Only and after using UEFI/Legacy Boot and nothing changed, I'm still receiving the same error.I read that I have to select each of the partitions on the drive, and select Delete. Then the drive will show a single area of unallocated space that I should use to install windows.there is any problem in delete all my partitions of Lenovo T440s? Can I delete the OEM partitions?
When taking off the hinge cover on my Dell XPS M1210 I found out that besides Power and Media Direct switches there is a third hidden switch labeled SW_CAP.
My question is: Does it serve any purpose?
PS. I started taking my lappie apart due to overheating... sometimes the fan would not turn on...any suggestion? Replace the fan?
I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop two years old Windows XP 80GB HD
I notice that my C drive has a capacity of 51.2GB while my D drive has a capacity of16.8 for a total of 68GB. Now I know that I should only expect around 74GB due to the decimal vs. binary issue. But I wonder where is the other 6GB (74-68)? After reading many posts, I am assuming it is on a hidden partition. Thus my questions are...
1. If there is a hidden partition, can I get rid of this partition somehow to get me another 6GB? I am pretty much maxed out on HD so I could use every bit of possible. When I bought the laptop, I made sure to get the reinstall disks. So I have a disk that says "Operating System- Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Version 2005 with Update Rollup 2" and a second disk that says "Drivers and Utilities - For Reinstalling Dell Insiron and Dell XPS Computer Software". So I assume that whatever is on the hidden partition is the same as on the disks, and thus I could get rid of the partition. Agree?
2. If folks suggest keeping the partition, or when I run out of HD again, is it fairly easy to add HD GB to the 1505? Again, I have read tons of posts and it seems pretty simple, even for a newbie like me. Is it pretty easy? I'll probably start a different post if I get to this step.
I have had to recover my Acer Aspire 5103 laptop twice now and on both occasions the Recovery (Alt + F10 at the acer logo) did not work.
I have now reinstalled Windows Vista after formatting and partitioning my hard drive into 3 equal partitions with C and D in NTFS format using Paragon Partition Manager.
That is 112Gb of 120Gb because the recovery software is on the 8Gb hidden partition and I intend to install Linux on the 3rd partition.
how to unhide the hidden partition so that I can format it and merge it with the C drive.
I have downloaded all Vista and Acer drivers and programs so the hidden partition is surplus to my requirements.
how to retrieve acer hidden partition.i accedentally delete ie.dont have backup for it,have a backup the acer factory setting but but didnt recover the hidden partition.
I have an aspire 4930 laptop which came with Vista pre-installed. To cut a long story short I installed windows xp to replace this which has been a total disaster (although the system is still working). I would like to start afresh with vista so need to do a factory reset. I have no recovery CDs.
I can confirm that the hidden partition PQSERVICE is intact. I cannot however run the erecovery software from windows because it was lost along with Vista and as far as I am aware I cannot download a windows xp compatible version.
WinXP over-wrote the ACER MBR so the Alt-F10 command stopped working however I have used a live CD version of GRUB to boot to the recovery partition, sidestepping the need to restore the Acer MBR. When the vista partition boots up Acer eRecovery Management loads, however the "restore system from factory default" and "restore system from user's backup" options are both greyed out.
I just wanted to know if there was a way to reconstruct the hidden recovery partition with the recovery dvds? The thing is that when i bought the notebook I noticed the partition and thought it was just garbage(how fool), so i totally erased everything, the good thing is that i made the recovery dvds with Erecovery before that.
I have a new FW285DH. The hard drive is 350GB 7200rpm. I found there is hidden 10gb at the first partition for recovery. You can't see that in My Computer. You can only see it in Disk Management. Since I don't need vista any more, I deleted that partition and make myself 10gb more space.
When you do a clean installation of Windows 7, it will force a 200mb at the first partition which is also a hidden partition. I wonder what is that 200mb partition for. There is no such thing in Vista.
I am going to install Win7 RC on my Vaio TT21XN. Have made Recovery DVD. If I remove hidden partition and install new system (for example Win7) and after some time will want have hidden partition back will it be recovered after using Recovery DVD?
I just go a new harddrive that I wanted to install as my primary HD. Its a Western Digital 320GB 7200rpd drive.
My question is since I will be reinstalling Vista and all the other programs, how do I recreate the Recovery partition that is on my current HD.
Thanks again. As far as backing up things, I have a 2nd HD bay where I have a 500GB installed for all my saved music videos, files ect so its not a problem
Can the hidden partition be emptied and made "visible"?
My laptop is rather new, and I noted that the C drive was pretty full already. I deleted many software items and added other software that I needed, but there isn't much left anyway. The D drive is largely empty however. Can the C drive be repartitioned? Is any special software needed to do that?
The hidden partition seems not to be of much use after one has made the 3 DVD factory default backup. Can it be deleted? Made Visible and used for something else?
This guide is made based on an Acer Aspire 5315, but will probably work on other machines with a hidden eisa rescue partition.
This is for everyone who has got problems unhiding and accessing the hidden rescue partition, and have tried all the methods with d2d disabling and changing partition type, perhaps with partedit32 or ptedit32, only to find out that nothing has happened after rebooting.
Download and install "Diskpart" from Microsoft, a small but powerful textbased utility, the link below is a direct download: [url]
Here's the step by step to succeed...
Press "win + r" to bring up the run window Type: "cmd", to bring up the command window Type: "diskpart", a new command window pops up with a "Diskpart >" prompt Type: "rescan", a configuration check runs Type: "list disk", a list of the availible disks appears Type: "select disk 0", if your hidden partition resides on that disk of course Type: "list partition", to find out with partition is your hidden one (probably about 10 gb and without name).......................
When I bought my Aspire 5733 laptop about 18 months ago it came with a hidden partition built in now I cant remember what the partition was called or how to find it .
The only reason I purchased my xps m1710 is that I thought it was the top of the range model at the time, now all I want to do is replace the hd but at the same time retain all the functionality of the hidden restore partition and the media centre partition. You would expect Dell would make this easy for me as the owner and as Dell market themselves as providing user friendly IT solutions.
I have tried using trueimage to clone the drive but when trying the new drive on boot up it gets to the Dell 'blue bar' then freezes. I have tried copying partition by partition but this is even less successful.
I have tried restoring the restore 'ghost' image to the new hard drive but symantec ghost reports incompatibilities with the image file.
I am upgrading my original Samsung hd (SATA) to a new hd and would like to keep the hidden partition and mediacentre partition as my original hd. I have a new SATA hd which is currently connected in a USB enclosure. I am not a hd or filesystem expert and don't want to spend a year studying the goodells website.
I have the Precision M6500, and before the Windows 7 partition there are two smaller partitions that I don't want or need. I will install from the DVD if I need to reinstall it and I use Acronis to do full image backups.
So I started up with changing the active partition from one of those recovery partitions. Suddenly I get the "BOOTMGR missing" pain in the a$$. No problem to fix it of course, I use a Linux Partition Manager boot CD for that.
But the problem is that if it reacts that badly to that change (I even tried the original Windows 7 DVD to startup repair, fixboot and fixmbr, but it didn't help),
then I fear that removing those partitions all together will really mess things up. Can I force the Windows 7 bootmanager over to the OS partition, or is this some custom Dell stuff that means that I would have to reinstall 7 totally to get it fixed?
I have to extend my C: partition because it's becoming to small (I'll use gParted for that), so I figure I can use the opportunity to get something done about that awful MediaDirect 3.5 too.
Right now I have four partitions on my hard disc: a 47 MB partition, then C:, then D:, then a 2 GB partition. I figure the first and the last are used for MediaDirect 3.5.
Could I just uninstall MediaDirect 3.5 from within Vista, then install MediaDirect 4.0, then repartition my hard disc including deleting the 2 MD partitions? Is this all secure when it comes to the scary "home" button?
Oh, and btw: I need MediaDirect 4.0! Is there some way to get it? Do I have to convince someone from Dell to send it to me?
(And if I DON'T get MD 4.0 could I somehow re-route the "Home" button, and still safely get rid of those 2 MD partitions?)
I'm trying to install Win7B, and the main problem is that I already have four partitions on my HDD and it won't let me create any more.
There's the main C:/Drive, then the three Dell ones: Recovery, and two blank ones that (after some googling) I believe are for diagnostics and DellMediaDirect .....
I would like to create a dual-boot Vista and Ubuntu on Dell Studio XPS 13. When I tried to partition the hard disk, I found that there are Dell Utility and Recovery partitions.
What are these partitions? Is it safe to delete them? If I delete them, can I restore them back again? How can I backup, if possible, these partitions to CD or DVD before deleting them
I got a virus somewhere along the line. Every time I do a factory install it's never right. Can the hidden recovery partition become corrupt? If so, how do I wipe my hard drive clean so I can use the "Completely Restore Coomputer to Factory Default" setting?
Got a Aspire one 722 from mom-in-law. She didn't use it much. Sticker says I have a 320GB HDD but Properties only show 284 GB. How do I recover the lost HD space?
I discovered the space holds MS Office but I can't access Office without purchasing it which I have no need for so this is just a closet full of stuff I don't want and apparently I can't use the storage space either.
I have an HP G71 laptop with an Atheros AR9285 WiFi adapter. I am trying to connect to a Netgear WGT624v3 router. It was working but stopping. I can connect with other wireless devices and my laptop has good signal strength of the network. I was hiding the SSID but I turn it back on. This did not fix the problem. I had an access list set up in the router but turned this feature off. This did not fix the problem. I turn off my Norton firewall. This did not fix the problem. When I ran the update driver, it said the drivers were up to date. When I ran the diagnostics on the adapter, it said the network connection was not connected to the adapter.
I want to run dual boot with windows 7 and ubuntu. The problem is that i already got 4 primary partitions, even tho I only use one myself.
One partition is an OEM partition of 39 mb. One is at 797 kb, and I have totally no clue what this partitions is for. Ive tried googling for hours, but I cant find anything. And then I have the 100 mb partitions created by windows 7.
What of those partitions can I delete? All of them? And do anyone know what the 797 kb dynamic data partition is?
