IBM_SERVICE, is IBM bass ackwards or am I missing something?

[Photoshopped]

Why would they put the backup disk on a partition and not on a disk? I mean if you need to do a backup, it's probably because your HDD crashed right!!?? What am I missing?

The reason I ask is because I'm about to updgrade the HDD on my new T42p and was wondering if I should copy over the IBM_SERVICE partition. If I should, can anyone tell me how I would do it in Ghost? It only allows you to select one drive at a time for the source.

Thanks.
PS

[christopher_wolf]

Two Reasons:

1.) Well, if your HDD crashed...you are dead anyway; external CDs aren't going to help out. A serious disk failure would be related to the Hardware, not something that could be fixed by a Complete Reload.

2.) You can make your own set of Recovery CDs; no reason to have them lying around

It should be possible; see this thread for reference,

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=16932

[Photoshopped]

Two Reasons:

1.) Well, if your HDD crashed...you are dead anyway; external CDs aren't going to help out. A serious disk failure would be related to the Hardware, not something that could be fixed by a Complete Reload.

2.) You can make your own set of Recovery CDs; no reason to have them lying around

It should be possible; see this thread for reference,

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=16932

I disagree, i think most consumer users (not us geeks) don't do backups. when things go bad, they can buy another disk and reinstall the original image at least with recovery CDs. Even if you do backups, you don't need he IBM_SERVICE partition eating up several gigs of disk space.

Unless it has another purpose i don't see why they did it this way. Maybe I'm misunderstanding it. Maybe I should ask it this way:

Does the IBM_SERVICE partition serve any purpose other than to retore the original image? Would I need it for any of the Access IBM, ThinkVantage, or other features?

[christopher_wolf]

Short Answer:

No and No

Slightly longer one:

Well, I didn't mention anything at all about Backups. It doesn't have anything to do with making Backups; it is simply there to revert to the Original Factory Install. This is only for Restore Purposes, not Backups. If things go bad without a backup, then you have to bite the bullet if you didn't backup your work. Period. There isn't any real reason as to why they chose to do it this way; the only real reason I can see is that they wanted to "streamline" the process by having the System Restore itself and not with the user staying up at night feeding it a stack of CDs.

So far as I know, taking it off imposes no problems; though I would still make a set of Recovery CDs just in case.

[Zeitgeist]

Does the IBM_SERVICE partition serve any purpose other than to retore the original image? Would I need it for any of the Access IBM, ThinkVantage, or other features?

NO.

Just make your own recovery CDs/DVD and delete the Service Partition if you think you need the 3GB.

[Photoshopped]

Short Answer:

No and No

Slightly longer one:

Well, I didn't mention anything at all about Backups. It doesn't have anything to do with making Backups; it is simply there to revert to the Original Factory Install. This is only for Restore Purposes, not Backups. If things go bad without a backup, then you have to bite the bullet if you didn't backup your work. Period. There isn't any real reason as to why they chose to do it this way; the only real reason I can see is that they wanted to "streamline" the process by having the System Restore itself and not with the user staying up at night feeding it a stack of CDs.

So far as I know, taking it off imposes no problems; though I would still make a set of Recovery CDs just in case.

Thanks for the reply. I configured my T42 with a crappy 30GB 4200rpm drive so I am just going to keep that on the side for a backup so I'm not concerned about removing it, just wondering if I need to copy it over.

What I was saying about backups was that if you do backups, you got a working image and so you wouldn't need the recovery disks or the HPA and if you don't do backups, then the recovery disks would be handy. Not that the HPA was needed to do backups.

I did manage to get Ghost 9 to clone to a 7K100 and it works like a charm. Did it through USB also.

The only problem now is the laptop is not recognizing both of my memory sticks (got 1GB under the keyboard and 1GB on the bottom). I tried to access the BIOS by pressing the "Access IBM" button during the boot (that is how you access the BIOS right?) and got an error saying OS was missing. Anybody know what is going on with that? Sorry for all the newbie questions, I appreciate the help.

[Photoshopped]

Never mind, figured out that F1 was how you get into the BIOS on these:) The "Access IBM" was not working on boot because I copied over the MBR I think. Testing that right now. And figured out it was reading 1GB of RAM instead of 2 because one stick was loose in the slot. Argh...

[kyrotech]

Just make your own recovery CDs/DVD and delete the Service Partition to recover that missing 4 GB of precious space...

If your HDD dies IBM service will replace the HDD and load complete os image + recovery partition.

fear.

[GoEatFood]

on the go if something get's corrupted it's a quick fix. happend to a buddy of mine when we were on a road trip. it beats having to make disks and carry them around.

[mdarnton]

When I first got my computer and tried it the first time I had a problem, it deleted all my programs and files, and gave me a machine as it came from the factory. I don't call this a "quick fix"--I call it total destruction. So you're on the road, and your computer messes up, and the "solution" deletes everything. This is a cure?????

[GomJabbar]

When I first got my computer and tried it the first time I had a problem, it deleted all my programs and files, and gave me a machine as it came from the factory. I don't call this a "quick fix"--I call it total destruction. So you're on the road, and your computer messes up, and the "solution" deletes everything. This is a cure?????

Well, you are supposed to use it with the Rescue and Recovery or Rapid Restore Ultra backups that you made, to have a complete solution.

Why would they put the backup disk on a partition and not on a disk? I mean if you need to do a backup, it's probably because your HDD crashed right!!?? What am I missing?

If your HDD failed, you would use the Recovery Disc set along with your Rescue and Recovery backups (on CD's or DVD's or external HDD or network drive) to restore your system on a new HDD.

If you had a nasty virus infection or software install that went awry, you could restore from the service partition. No discs necessary. If you were on the road, at least you could get a usable computer again without carrying any extra gear.

In addition, AFAIK, if IBM/Lenovo sends a new HDD out on warranty claim, that HDD contains the Factory Install, so all you have to do is plug it in and you can start using your laptop.

I'm not saying that IBM's solution is necessarily the best, but it does work.

[ichi the killer]

When I first got my computer and tried it the first time I had a problem, it deleted all my programs and files, and gave me a machine as it came from the factory. I don't call this a "quick fix"--I call it total destruction. So you're on the road, and your computer messes up, and the "solution" deletes everything. This is a cure?????

Well, you are supposed to use it with the Rescue and Recovery or Rapid Restore Ultra backups that you made, to have a complete solution.

Why would they put the backup disk on a partition and not on a disk? I mean if you need to do a backup, it's probably because your HDD crashed right!!?? What am I missing?

If your HDD failed, you would use the Recovery Disc set along with your Rescue and Recovery backups (on CD's or DVD's or external HDD or network drive) to restore your system on a new HDD.

If you had a nasty virus infection or software install that went awry, you could restore from the service partition. No discs necessary. If you were on the road, at least you could get a usable computer again without carrying any extra gear.

In addition, AFAIK, if IBM/Lenovo sends a new HDD out on warranty claim, that HDD contains the Factory Install, so all you have to do is plug it in and you can start using your laptop.

I'm not saying that IBM's solution is necessarily the best, but it does work.

actually when IBM/Lenovo sends out a replacement hard drive in warranty it comes blank with no os. if you need the recovery cds you need to let them know when you report that your hdd has failed. they will send these free of charge with a failing hdd. however if you are looking to get recovery cds and thats it then they charge $45.00+tax and shipping. the best thing to do is just create the recovery cds when you get your new machine. that way you have them. once you create them the option to create them is no longer there so either make a copy or store the ones you have created in a safe place.

[GomJabbar]

Thanks for the correction - ichi the killer.

[Whyme]

So, is there a way to just reinstall the OS without trampling all over other programs?

[GomJabbar]

I saw a coworker reinstall Windows ME over an existing Windows ME installation. It worked well for him. It repaired his Windows problems and he did not lose his existing programs and data. I imagine if you do this, you should use the same Service Pack level to be on the safe side.

Note, to do the above I believe you need a Windows install CD. I know the Recovery Disc set will NOT do this without erasing all your data. I am less sure about repairing with the Rescue and Recovery workspace. Some of the Windows command line repair utilities would probably still work at least for certain repairs. I have heard of some people doing a repair of sorts by installing or reinstalling a Service Pack.

[christopher_wolf]

Well, when I needed to go back to a a saved image I had, I made an image before a certain install, I simply opened up the IBm Rescue and recovery Program, and it reloaded *everything* as far as I cna tell without losing any data I had; you can actually pick what parts you don't want it to restore to a previous image. For example, if you made an image contianing a program at Version 1.0, then upgraded that program to say Version 2.0 and you had to go back to the old image; you can tell IBM Rescue and Recovery to leave that program and all its data files, including your work, alone and completely reload the rest of the system back to the previous image.

[damorg]

This strategy also has to do with what IBM has traditionally seen (and hopefully Lenovo will continue to see) as one of the primary user-bases: "fleets" of mobile and desktop workstations in large organizations.

From a support perspective, there's a huge time and therefore $$$ savings knowing that any issue short of physical disk failure can be corrected by restoring a workstation to a known-good, factory-fresh (or deployment-fresh) state.

In a business setting, there's (theoretically) a minimized chance of data loss due to such a refresh: user work-files are probably either stored primarily on or regularly synced to a network share (perhaps even the whole user profile) and any applications are either already rolled into the "pristine" state image or can be quickly pushed down as an initial setup "patch ball" after the refresh.

As always, an individual's needs may be better served by a different, more customized strategty as opposed to a one-size-fits-many solution.

[pae77]

So, is there a way to just reinstall the OS without trampling all over other programs?

If you have an XP installation disk, you can use it to do a "repair install" and it will basically reinstall XP but leave your programs and data intact. You will, however, lose all XP updates that are newer than what is on the XP installation disk you are using, but they are easily reinstalled via Windows Update. It's been a while since I've done it but I believe you just insert the disk and start installing it and a couple of screens into the process you are given the option to select "repair" as the type of install you are doing.