Need IBM Hidden partition working with a fresh install winXP

[Thinkfunny]

Hi all,
I have read the topic "How to Fresh Install Win XP (Step-by-Step Guide)" by UCI_MECH. It is very useful for me but, I still want keep the IBM Hidden Partition working. Therefore, I can still roll back to the manufacturer state if I want anytime. How can I do this? Can I just leave that partition?

Moreover, I have one more question about replacing a new hard drive but I want the IBM Hidden Partition still works on the new hard drive. How can I setup this partition to work on the new hard drive? I have the IBM recovery CD I created from the old hard drive.

Thank in advance

[GomJabbar]

AFAIK, to install the Hidden Partition on the new hard drive, you need to use the Product Recovery Disc set or else clone a drive that already has it.

If I am not mistaken, to do a fresh XP install on a hard drive that has the Hidden Partition already you just install normally. Make sure that the Predesktop Security in the BIOS is set to Normal or Secure before you start. Normal should be OK, but Secure would be even safer to protect your Hidden Partition.

After you install Windows you will need to use the Rescue and Recovery - Recovery repair diskette to make the Hidden Partition bootable again. I see on the page that Lenovo now shows how to make a bootable CD as well as a bootable diskette for this operation.

[Thinkfunny]

Thank you so much GomJabbar. Therefore, I have to check my rescure and recovery if it matches with the version of receovery repair supported by IBM.

However, right now, IBM Thinkpad is the product of Lenovo, can I still use the old softwares and drivers from IBM and get support from Lenovo?

Thanks

[christopher_wolf]

To prevent any changes to the partition, when installing another OS, you can always choose to put it into "Secure" mode. That prevents anything from writing over it and you could choose to do it if you would like to preserve a pre-existing partition rather than redoing it.

[Kyocera]

Check the HD CLone FAQ. It covers everything step by step.




Down here

[yossarian]

Man.. I wish I had read this thread before doing my fresh reinstall a few days ago.

Oh well heh. On the upside I've reclaimed 3gb of hdd space.