Purpose of unknown partition

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Wayne

PM-8 is showing me a 4.7 GB partition (in a 95 GB drive) between drives C &
E (D for a CD drive).

Under column labeled "Type", it reads:

CP/M, Concurrent DOS, CTOS.

What is this for? Necessary?

Can it be eliminated?

Regards,
Wayne
 
Wayne said:
PM-8 is showing me a 4.7 GB partition (in a 95 GB drive) between
drives C & E (D for a CD drive).

Under column labeled "Type", it reads:

CP/M, Concurrent DOS, CTOS.

What is this for? Necessary?

Can it be eliminated?

Regards,
Wayne
Click to expand...

Is it a Dell computer ? they have a restore/backup files somewhere on
hard drive these days


--
Dave
www.davewhitter.myby.co.uk

Music is Art - Audio is Engineering
Steam is Fun
 
Fri said:
PM-8 is showing me a 4.7 GB partition (in a 95 GB drive) between drives C &
E (D for a CD drive).

Under column labeled "Type", it reads:

CP/M, Concurrent DOS, CTOS.

What is this for? Necessary?

Can it be eliminated?
Click to expand...

I'll bet it's a recovery partition inserted by your manufacturer. The
purpose is to let you reinstall Windows in the same state it came
from the factory -- i.e. with all your data wiped out.

Check your computer documentation or ask tech support.

If that's what it is I would definitely burn a copy to DVD and then
probably delete the partition. I'd make the DVD copy because if the
disk goes south you have no recovery method at all.
 
It's a Service Partition for you computer. If you need to reinstall the
Operating System or re-image it to factory condition you need this
partition, it contains all the information and backup files for your pc
and Operating System. Is it necessary? Yes, unless you have a restore
disk or a full version XP and the necessary drivers for your computer.
Can it be eliminated? Yes, of course it can but what will you do if you
need to reinstall the operating system or return the computer to factory
conditions?

John
 
Thanks for the advice! I do have a full XP disk & could save the drivers
separately. What does one normally do when mnfrs no longer supply backup
disks? What good is a backup partition when all goes, as someone said,
south?

Wayne
 
'Wayne' wrote:
| Fantasic idea! Have been concerned about what happens when it all goes
| away!
_____

It is not necessarily a good idea to delete the partition even if you can
copy it to a CD disk. When 'unknown partition' appears, it means the
partition is NOT a standard partition, and you may not be able to recreate
it easily, and the CD disk, if you can even make it, may not work as a
restore disk.

Phil Weldon

| Fantasic idea! Have been concerned about what happens when it all goes
| away!
| Wayne
|
| | > Fri, 17 Mar 2006 19:28:52 GMT from Wayne <[email protected]>:
| >> PM-8 is showing me a 4.7 GB partition (in a 95 GB drive) between drives
C
| >> &
| >> E (D for a CD drive).
| >>
| >> Under column labeled "Type", it reads:
| >>
| >> CP/M, Concurrent DOS, CTOS.
| >>
| >> What is this for? Necessary?
| >>
| >> Can it be eliminated?
| >
| > I'll bet it's a recovery partition inserted by your manufacturer. The
| > purpose is to let you reinstall Windows in the same state it came
| > from the factory -- i.e. with all your data wiped out.
| >
| > Check your computer documentation or ask tech support.
| >
| > If that's what it is I would definitely burn a copy to DVD and then
| > probably delete the partition. I'd make the DVD copy because if the
| > disk goes south you have no recovery method at all.
| >
| > --
| > Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
| > http://OakRoadSystems.com/
|
|
 
'Stan Brown' wrote, in part:
| If that's what it is I would definitely burn a copy to DVD and then
| probably delete the partition.
_____

Are you sure that the recovery partition can be recreated from the copy, and
that a copy is even possible? After all, it is an 'unknown partition' type.

Phil Weldon

| Fri, 17 Mar 2006 19:28:52 GMT from Wayne <[email protected]>:
| > PM-8 is showing me a 4.7 GB partition (in a 95 GB drive) between drives
C &
| > E (D for a CD drive).
| >
| > Under column labeled "Type", it reads:
| >
| > CP/M, Concurrent DOS, CTOS.
| >
| > What is this for? Necessary?
| >
| > Can it be eliminated?
|
| I'll bet it's a recovery partition inserted by your manufacturer. The
| purpose is to let you reinstall Windows in the same state it came
| from the factory -- i.e. with all your data wiped out.
|
| Check your computer documentation or ask tech support.
|
| If that's what it is I would definitely burn a copy to DVD and then
| probably delete the partition. I'd make the DVD copy because if the
| disk goes south you have no recovery method at all.
|
| --
| Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
| http://OakRoadSystems.com/
 
HP and Sony tell you to immediately make a CD/DVD copy of that recovery
partition upon receipt and setup of the computer. I would have expected Dell
to do the same or perhaps the disc you say you have is a copy of that
partition. In so far as your original question, NEVER EVER delete a hidden
partition UNLESS you are positive that it contain nothing you will ever
need.
 
Sat, 18 Mar 2006 02:48:18 GMT from Phil Weldon
'Stan Brown' wrote, in part:
| If that's what it is I would definitely burn a copy to DVD and then
| probably delete the partition.

Are you sure that the recovery partition can be recreated from the copy, and
that a copy is even possible? After all, it is an 'unknown partition' type.
Click to expand...

Hence my contrast between "definitely" and "probably".
 
You got the picture! The service partition is next to useless in real
life and absolutely useless when the drive goes south. If your computer
is out of warranty you will most likely be stuck having to pay for a
second operating system license, and, when XP is officially retired you
will be stuck having to buy an operating system license/media on ebay
because, a: the computer will be too old and underpowered to run the
newest fandangle Windows and b: the cost of the new fandangle Windows
will be more than the computer is worth!

To properly maintain/fix Windows in certain situations you need the cd
media, that's it that's all. What can you do about it? Bitch and
complain to Dell, then write a real paper letter (not a useless email)
to Dell Chairman, Micheal Dell and tell him that you will never again be
buying one of his stupid computers unless they provide real installation
media to go with it! It cost the whole better part of about 22 cents to
include this cd with a new computer, this is a simple case of
insatiable greed by these pc suppliers!

As for burning the partition to CD/DVD that is an excellent idea but
keep in mind that this is a special bootable partition that is launched
by BIOS hard code and instructions. There is no guarantee that you will
be able to restore this partition to a new hard drive and have it launch
and execute properly. You will most likely have to make an image of it
with imaging software and test it on another drive before disaster strikes.

And a final word to the wise, as mentioned by a previous poster, return
to factory conditions literally means "Return to factory conditions"!
Using this service partition will most likely erase ALL the files on the
computer. And if you think that making a new partition on the drive and
storing your data there will circumvent the problem think again! Most
likely the restore process will undo your hard drive. It will FDISK the
drive and remove the partitions, factory conditions means "factory
condition"! Now, that being said, when you actually want to use the
restore process these partitions are simply amazing and nest to
miraculous. You just sit back and watch will your whole pc is made to
be just like new in mere minutes... no chasing for cd's and drivers and
what not. A nifty thing...

John
 
Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:26:29 -0400 from John John
And a final word to the wise, as mentioned by a previous poster, return
to factory conditions literally means "Return to factory conditions"!
Using this service partition will most likely erase ALL the files on the
computer. And if you think that making a new partition on the drive and
storing your data there will circumvent the problem think again! Most
likely the restore process will undo your hard drive. It will FDISK the
drive and remove the partitions, factory conditions means "factory
condition"! Now, that being said, when you actually want to use the
restore process these partitions are simply amazing and nest to
miraculous. You just sit back and watch will your whole pc is made to
be just like new in mere minutes... no chasing for cd's and drivers and
what not. A nifty thing...
Click to expand...

All true.

My own way around this issue is to make frequent backups using
Acronis True Image 8. By experiment I found that it can restore to a
partition of different size from the one it backed up, so if I have
to replace my hard drive I'll lose nearly nothing. (I have Partition
Magic, pre-Symantec of course, on a bootable CD so I can create
partitions on the hard drive.)

I actually had to do this last fall, when a Windows CD-ROM trashed my
hard drive!
 
'Stan Brown' wrote:
| Hence my contrast between "definitely" and "probably".
_____

Which is not a clear distinction. It is bad advice. Especially if you
don't know anything about the results of the proceedure.

Phil Weldon

| Sat, 18 Mar 2006 02:48:18 GMT from Phil Weldon
| <[email protected]>:
| > 'Stan Brown' wrote, in part:
| > | If that's what it is I would definitely burn a copy to DVD and then
| > | probably delete the partition.
| >
| > Are you sure that the recovery partition can be recreated from the copy,
and
| > that a copy is even possible? After all, it is an 'unknown partition'
type.
|
| Hence my contrast between "definitely" and "probably".
|
| --
| Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
| http://OakRoadSystems.com/
 
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