I uninstalled the Rapid Restore backup software that came with the T40 Thinkpad. After the software was removed, the service partition still remained (approx. 14 G) with a "System Volume Information" folder which contains subfolders of restore logs and DOS files in the root directory. These files occupy 2.5 MB of space in this partition.

Can this partition be removed without affecting the functioning of the predesktop?

Is there any utility provided by Windows XP that can be used to change the size of an existing partition to occupy the space freed up from the removal of this service partition?

I assume you had RR ultra 3.0. Something went wrong during the un-installation process, normally the service partition will be reduced to the normal value (about 1.5 GB). I would install and uninstall RR 3.0 to see if the uninstallation process works in the second time.

Check
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... nknownuser

In any case RR 4.0 is much better since it does not increase the service partition but creates hidden folder on any location you wish: other partition, network,DVD:

http://www-306.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-54501

Yes, WinXP does provide possibilities to delete, create, formate partitions (except the system partition): right click my computer->administration or management (I don´t have an english version)->the penultimate option in the context menue.

In case you did not activate the hidden partition in the bios you could delete the service partition but I am not sure, do this only, if you have the recovery CDs and all your data saved.

is rapid restore avaible also for desktop? any info regarding it? and it's features?

Yes it is.

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/think/thinkvan ... store.html

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... Q2QAK.html
See Supported systems at the bottom of the page.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-44466

Note: IBM Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore replaces IBM Rapid Restore Ultra.

Regards,
G-Man

Yes, Rapid Restore did not uninstall itself properly.
No, IBM Support was not able to help me correct the uninstall.
Yes, I managed to complete the additional steps required to complete the uninstall and delete the service partition without corrupting my Windows XP installation.