How can i (re)create the hidden partition ?

[malafuti]

Hi everybody,

i have changed my HDD because the other was out.
Then, i used my recovery disk, everything is ok but it didn't create the hidden partition.

Where is the problem ? what can i do ?

[rbena]

What is your model no. Are you using the original Product Recovery disks for this model? And did you install the recovery disks onto a blank hard drive?

[mgo]

Hi everybody,

i have changed my HDD because the other was out.
Then, i used my recovery disk, everything is ok but it didn't create the hidden partition.

Where is the problem ? what can i do ?

Which recovery disk did you use? Is it the disk that you created when the machine was new? I am puzzled that you said "disk" rather than "disks" (plural). Usually, you will have several recovery CD disks or one boot CD and a recovery DVD. Running those will create the hidden recovery partition first on a fresh hard drive, and then will install the factory original image to your machine, running a bunch of batch files from the hidden partition.

Did you go to Windows Disk Management and see if the hidden recovery partition is listed? It should be. It will not show up just by looking in Windows Explorer.

[malafuti]

My model No is T42 2373-5WG

I'm a student and i bought my laptop to a shop wich was a partner of my school.

So we received our laptop with xp and office preinstalled and they gave us a recovery dvd wic restore xp and office ( + a save on the c drive)

And did you install the recovery disks onto a blank hard drive?

no, i partitionned it before using the recovery dvd but i let a no allocated space (10gb) for the hidden partition

[rbena]

... we received our laptop with xp and office preinstalled and they gave us a recovery dvd wic restore xp and office ( + a save on the c drive)

There is the possibility your recovery DVD with XP and MS Office does not contain the hidden partition, or it is not properly configured for installing from this recovery DVD supplied with your notebook.

As MGO has suggested, first go into Windows Disk Management and see if the hidden recovery partition is there. If it is simply not operating or if it is not there at all, I'd recommend you go back to your school computer support or your Thinkpad vendor and have them install the recovery partition along with XP and office. Also ask if they can supply a set of Product Recovery disks for your T42. Otherwise, it is worthwhile that you pick up a set of these disks. Your present setup may run fine with XP and office, but if you ever want to reset your T42 to the factory configuration for selling, or for simply setting up differently from a basic install, you'll need these Product Recovery disks.

Remember, it's important to back up any personal data on your hard drive before having work done on your T42.

[malafuti]

i have a question, many of my friends have this laptop, so can i copy their hidden partition and paste it in my hdd ?


will it working ?

[mgo]

i have a question, many of my friends have this laptop, so can i copy their hidden partition and paste it in my hdd ?
will it working ?

It would require a 3rd party program such as Acronis to grab that partition from their machines. Then, you would still need the Rescue & Recovery disks to run the install from the hidden partition.

A much easier solution would be to borrow their recovery CD/DVD set and re-install everything on your machine. During that procedure, the disks also create the hidden recovery partition. That factory original recovery would also re-install the ThinkPad Rescue & Recovery program so you would then have future access to the hidden partition.

After all your work is finished you could then create your own recovery set for later use.

[malafuti]

A much easier solution would be to borrow their recovery CD/DVD set and re-install everything on your machine

We have the same dvd

[underclocker]

FYI, I'm pretty sure that if you partition the drive prior to running recovery from CD's/DVD's, you do not get the option to create the HPA/recovery partion. You need to use a kill disk program to delete all partitions and then be sure that the predesktop/HPA is set to Normal under security in the BIOS.