Acer - Hidden partion PQService

  • Thread starter Thread starter OdlDevelop
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OdlDevelop

Good evening, I got a problem with a Acer Power F5 desktop. In the pc
there’s Windowx xp installed and due to viruses probably, it’s not
going to boot anymore. I’d like to format the c partition and
reinstall all the software but I can’t launch the recovery procedure
pressing Alt and F10 keys. I think I lost the original dvd for system
recovery. I checked with Ubuntu and I still can see the hidden
partition PQService and I’m wondering if I can burn is some way the
files and folder I got inside the PQService partition and use the
fresh made dvd for restore the factory system inside my pc. I can copy
without any problem the data contained inside the hidden partition
but, can I burn those files? Do I have to create a particular dvd?
Could you please help me? Thank you, best regards
 
Good evening, I got a problem with a Acer Power F5 desktop. In the pc
there’s Windowx xp installed and due to viruses probably, it’s not
going to boot anymore. I’d like to format the c partition and
reinstall all the software but I can’t launch the recovery procedure
pressing Alt and F10 keys. I think I lost the original dvd for system
recovery. I checked with Ubuntu and I still can see the hidden
partition PQService and I’m wondering if I can burn is some way the
files and folder I got inside the PQService partition and use the
fresh made dvd for restore the factory system inside my pc. I can copy
without any problem the data contained inside the hidden partition
but, can I burn those files? Do I have to create a particular dvd?
Could you please help me? Thank you, best regards

You might consider going to Acer Support, seeing if they have a recovery
utility that can be burned onto a disk to help you get access to the
partition. If that's not possible it might be worth speaking, chatting,
e-mailing someone there for some direct information to how to access that
partition, as it sounds like you will need a propriatory program to get to
it.
 
OdlDevelop said:
Good evening, I got a problem with a Acer Power F5 desktop. In the pc
there’s Windowx xp installed and due to viruses probably, it’s not
going to boot anymore. I’d like to format the c partition and
reinstall all the software but I can’t launch the recovery procedure
pressing Alt and F10 keys. I think I lost the original dvd for system
recovery. I checked with Ubuntu and I still can see the hidden
partition PQService and I’m wondering if I can burn is some way the
files and folder I got inside the PQService partition and use the
fresh made dvd for restore the factory system inside my pc. I can copy
without any problem the data contained inside the hidden partition
but, can I burn those files? Do I have to create a particular dvd?
Could you please help me? Thank you, best regards
Click to expand...

There's probably a recipe around somewhere, for your situation.

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/3473-acer-pqservice-experiences-to-share

The first post there, is a recipe for changing the partition type,
so the partition is visible. Rather than using Diskpart, there are
other tools for that. For example, you could change the Type field
with this.

(ptedit32 is a utility that used to be part of Partition Magic, and
can be downloaded for free. You can enter a value in the Type field, to
change the declared partition type for a partition.)

http://www.vistax64.com/attachments...n-partiton-recovery-dell-xps-420-dell-tbl.gif

Later on, there is a discussion of using some tool to "mount" a particular
file type held within the partition. I presume some files become visible,
once you do that.

The thing is, the details may change, from one generation of Acer
to another, and that thread is around "Vista vintage". So your recovery
might be slightly different. But if you do a search on "Acer PQService",
some good info is bound to pop up.

According to that thread, the Alt-F10 thing can get busted, if the
MBR (sector 0) has been attacked or overwritten. The MBR contains
512 bytes total. It's the very first sector on the disk. 64 bytes
is enough to contain descriptors for the four primary partitions
on the disk. 446 bytes contain boot code. It could be, that the 446 byte
section got damaged, and you lost the alt-F10 as a result. (Some malware,
uses the MBR as it's point of entry.) So one suggestion there, was to
repair the MBR. As that would bring back the alt-F10 thing.

Paul
 
Paul said:
There's probably a recipe around somewhere, for your situation.

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/3473-acer-pqservice-experiences-to-share

The first post there, is a recipe for changing the partition type,
so the partition is visible. Rather than using Diskpart, there are
other tools for that. For example, you could change the Type field
with this.

(ptedit32 is a utility that used to be part of Partition Magic, and
can be downloaded for free. You can enter a value in the Type field, to
change the declared partition type for a partition.)

http://www.vistax64.com/attachments...n-partiton-recovery-dell-xps-420-dell-tbl.gif

Later on, there is a discussion of using some tool to "mount" a particular
file type held within the partition. I presume some files become visible,
once you do that.

The thing is, the details may change, from one generation of Acer
to another, and that thread is around "Vista vintage". So your recovery
might be slightly different. But if you do a search on "Acer PQService",
some good info is bound to pop up.

According to that thread, the Alt-F10 thing can get busted, if the
MBR (sector 0) has been attacked or overwritten. The MBR contains
512 bytes total. It's the very first sector on the disk. 64 bytes
is enough to contain descriptors for the four primary partitions
on the disk. 446 bytes contain boot code. It could be, that the 446 byte
section got damaged, and you lost the alt-F10 as a result. (Some malware,
uses the MBR as it's point of entry.) So one suggestion there, was to
repair the MBR. As that would bring back the alt-F10 thing.

Paul
Click to expand...


In the same thought to what Paul is suggesting is an XP based program that
sounds similar. If the HDD is SATA it would not be terribly difficult to
remove it from the laptop and connect it to another system which also has
SATA connections to run this program.


http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Simplest-Way-to-Unhide-a-Hidden-Partition&id=497809

However, I'm still first to the thought of contacting Acer support to see
what they may suggest.
 
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