Hidden restore Partition?

[Guest]

Hi all,

I am in the U.S.A., East coast.

I have purchased a new Toshiba A135-S4427 notebook that came preloaded with
Vista Home Premium, on a 120GB HDD.

Using SMC to look at the HDD, it shows up with a partition before the main
C: partition:

It is listed as "EISA configuration" at 1.46GB with 1.46GB free!

Talking to Toshiba tech support - Yeah rite!! They say they THINK it is a
system restore partition. I asked them -- How can it be a restore partition
when it says it is Empty? I got NO answer!
How come I got 2 DVDs that I think are "Restore" discs if you have a hidden
partition on the HDD? Again NO answer!!

Anyone have this same Toshiba notebook with this partition and have any idea
what the heck it really is and how to get it to boot from it???

Also, (if anyone has this same Toshiba Notebook), can YOU get it to play CDs
or DVDs without booting the system up?

Thanks!

Cin

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

I am certain that it the restore partition although I do not have that
model of laptop.
What you describe seems very much like similar partitions in other
computers.
Your manual should explain how to restore using that partition.

 

[dean-dean]

It looks to be the partition for the Toshiba Application Installer, which
allows you to reinstall the applications and drivers originally bundled with
your computer. The partition is hidden (Explorer can't see it), thus Disk
Management will report its size and free space as equal. This is normal.
In reality, it's probably quite full. It appears to be too small to be a
full recovery partition (hence, your Restore DVD's).

 

[Guest]

I have been thru the manual 2-3 times, nothing in there at all about this
partition or how to use it. Also nothing in manual about how to play CDs or
DVDs without starting system up!

Thanks,
Cin

 

[Guest]

dean-dean,

I DO have 2 "restore"?? DVDs that came with system. If the HDD partition is
too small to be a full recovery partition -- what the heck is it used for?

Is there a way to copy it to DVD (and then delete it), just in case I
actually do need it in the future?

My sister had a Dell desktop PC that had 2 hidden partitions on it, one a
restore part. and the 2nd a utility part. My Dad found a way to copy the
restore part. to CDs and then deleted both and repartitioned the HDD to
include their space. But he is not available to me as I have moved out of
state.

I would like to repartition this HDD anyway but would like to delete this
EISA config partition if I do not need it and get its space back. After
putting in hours of time to get rid of all the junk MS and Toshiba put on
this notebook, I will never use Toshiba's "restore" discs cause they will
just put all the junk back on it! My dad got me a copy of Acronis True Image
to make images of my system once it is setup the way I want it, and told me
to use that to restore my system if I ever had a problem!

Thanks again.
Cin

 

[GeraldF]

dean-dean,

I think Acronis True Image could do this for you.
You back up the image file to a USB hard drive or burnable DVD
verify the hidden partition backed up. Then delete it.

That is if you really need that 1 gig of drive.

 

[dean-dean]

The partition for the Toshiba Application Installer, which allows you to
reinstall the applications and drivers originally bundled with your
computer, only contains those installers, and its various data. It will not
restore your whole operating system. You have the 2 Restore DVD's to do
that. There should be a shortcut to the Toshiba Application Installer, on
you computer, that will show you just what it does, and what
programs/drivers you can re-install, unless you've deleted the shortcut, or
removed the .exe (or .cpl) program that the shortcut targets. If the
program that opens the partition is gone, the partition's contents can't be
accessed, at least by normal means. Even if you were to unhide the
partition, it may hold compressed files, file types, and databases that only
the user interface program/control panel Wizard could discern.

I would exercise caution regarding the removal of the partition, as I don't
know whether or not your Restore DVD's need files from this partition (e,g.,
your specific computer info, driver info, working data, installers, etc.)
should you need to use the DVD's. The forensics involved in discerning the
data in the partition probably wouldn't be worth the time spent to do so,
just to see if you can recover 1.46 GB of space. Too, the EISA (Extended
Industry Standard Architecture) partition can be re-created only by using an
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) system EISA utility. Furthermore,
deleting and re-creating the partition on a dynamic disk outside of Windows,
or by using means other than the OEM's utility to remove it, could lead to
data loss, system startup problems, or an inability to boot, depending on
just what the OEM had in mind for that partition, and how the configuration
was configured. For example, an EISA configured partition may hold boot
hotkey information used by your particular computer for special recovery
operations, outside of Windows. (If your computer documentation has
directions for a special boot hotkey, other than the usual Windows F8, then
it's probably used to access the EISA partition.) This is why the partition
is usually hidden in Windows, and protected by doing so.

For the curious, on some computers, once the Wizard (if there is one) is
invoked within Windows that uses the partition, the partition is un-hidden,
and will appear in Windows Explorer with a drive letter. However, other OEM
computers may invoke another program, such as PartSeal.exe, to continue
keeping it under wraps while the Wizard uses the partition's files.

As to playing CD's or DVD's without starting Windows up, you would have
buttons next to your keyboard for doing so. And yes, this ability could
possibly use the EISA partition to communicate with the player, and make it
all happen. Dunno.