What is service partition good for? Do I need it on new HDD?

[zodiac]

Hello guys,

sorry for opening up yet another thread, but there is an urgent question about the R&R system/ service partition / Thinkvantage software.

I just got the X60s these days and I am absolutely impressed and happy. One thing I want to do though is substituting the existing 5400 rpm HDD with the Hitachi 7k200 which seems to be significantly faster and the best around in its class.

Now my question is: Will I need the service partition on the new HDD? I have read a couple of comments on this forum, where people state, that the Thinkvantage button does not work properly without the service partition.

I am planning of making an image of my freshly set up, clean system with Acronis TI anyway. What would be the extra benefit from a service partition in my case? I am just not quite getting the IBM/lenovos idea behind the service partition, so I dont know, if I will really need it.

The Thinkvantage software when running Windows will work without the service partition as well, right?

And another thing: Will the lenovo splash on startup disappear on my new HDD?

Thanks very much for your time,
Martin

[makai]

There are a ton of opinions/discussions on the service partition, or the lack thereof. I for one like it as I really hate reinstalling using the CDs. I've also never found imaging software to be truly reliable, but that may just be me. Many times the image might "seem to be" corrupt... and the machine doesn't run "quite right" after reimaging. I've experienced this with Ghost, CloneXP, and Acronis. I spend hours trying to determine what the heck is going on and then eventually just wipe it and start all over. I do use Acronis, but then that image is for emergency only... just in case I need to recover the machine and data. For reloads, I always use the service partition.

In the old days, well, maybe not that old, hard drive size was the issue which prompted people to dump the service partition. Nowadays, with hard drive size increased, 4-5gb taken by the service partition is a non-issue. If you stick a 160gb drive into your machine and you actually fill it up, then you really need more drive space! Recovering the 4-5gbs the service partition took up is not going to give you much in that kind of scenario.

Personally, I carry two 2.5" USB enclosures with 160gb drives in each one. This is way more than enough to store backups/data on. Basically I never worry about my machine hard drive space as I move things as needed. As such, I also never worry about what the service partition takes up.

just my opinion!

And another thing: Will the lenovo splash on startup disappear on my new HDD?

I don't own a "Lenovo", but on IBM branded Thinkpads, the splash screen is part of the bios. I would think your Lenovo screen is also and shouldn't disappear with a hard drive replacement.

makai

[GeorgeP]

I was running a little tight on space so I removed the service partition from my machine. I also run Acronis and saw no need for it. I did make a backup of the service partition (and I have the product recovery disks) so I could always easily put it back, but I've never missed it.

The ThinkVantage button, pressed during startup, no longer brings up the predesktop recovery environment. However there is an analogous feature in Acronis...you can set up a secure partition for the Acronis recovery console, which is invoked with F11 during start up. Either way, once in Windows, the ThinkVantage button still brings up the ThinkVantage Productivity Center.

But I agree with Makai, harddrive space is so cheap now, If I were getting a new drive, I would just get a big enough drive so it's not an issue. In my case, it was just easier/faster to remove the partition than to put in a bigger drive.

...my 2cents

G