Hidden partition on Dell Comps?

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi,

I purchased a Dell 8600 with XP.

There is a hidden partition size of some megs I can't access.

I suppose this being a service partition for dell repair. Is there
anithing interesting on that partition, and how can I access it?
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

This would most likely be a Restore Partition, which contains a "disc image"
that would return your computer to factory state.

Bobby

"Carmen Neumann" <KNblablaU@gibtsnet.de> wrote in message
news:cprnqp$pro$05$1@news.t-online.com...
> Hi,
>
> I purchased a Dell 8600 with XP.
>
> There is a hidden partition size of some megs I can't access.
>
> I suppose this being a service partition for dell repair. Is there
> anithing interesting on that partition, and how can I access it?




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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Carmen Neumann <KNblablaU@gibtsnet.de> wrote:
>There is a hidden partition size of some megs I can't access.

Get into the Boot menu when the BIOS starts up and boot the diagnostic
partition.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

hidden partition.? interesting. is this why my 160 gig hd is listed as
only having 150.? and if not, why is that, anyway? and when i say 150,
that is total capacity before anything, including the os, is installed.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Perhaps someone already said this, but it is a diagnostic partition.
It stores diagnostic software that can be accessed from the BIOS
startup screen (F12 I think).

It doesn't hurt to delete it but then in the event something low level
fails you may not be able to access the diagnostics.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"jd" <sickboy2all@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1103206019.243655.38350@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
| hidden partition.? interesting. is this why my 160 gig hd is listed as
| only having 150.? and if not, why is that, anyway? and when i say 150,
| that is total capacity before anything, including the os, is installed.
|

Understanding Advertised vs. Actual Drive Storage Capacities;

http://compreviews.about.com/od/storage/a/ActualHDSizes.htm

--
D

I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details. :)

Remove shoes to E-mail.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

went to the site hillbillbudd recommended and it took care of all my
questions about hd storage space. and while the numbers do add up, i do
think hd manufactuers should be required to give real world gig numbers
right out of the box. because apparently they do know the true
practical gig amount before formatting. no matter if the computer
science math tells you to up the gig count. understood, if your machine
has a 160(150) gig hd like mine this is not too big an issue. but if
you order a lower gig machine like, let's say, 40 gig, and your comp
arrives with something under thirty gigs(assuming factory formatting)
then it might be a problem.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On 16 Dec 2004 06:06:59 -0800, "jd" <sickboy2all@aol.com> wrote:

>hidden partition.? interesting. is this why my 160 gig hd is listed as
>only having 150.? and if not, why is that, anyway? and when i say 150,
>that is total capacity before anything, including the os, is installed.

most of the time when you call tech service this partition is
corrupted and they tell you to format and reinstall.

When I get a new Dell I usually format it anyway to get rid of all the
programs that are trials and I will not use anyway.

Yes, that is why your computer does not say the full Gig amount.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

tellme <whois@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On 16 Dec 2004 06:06:59 -0800, "jd" <sickboy2all@aol.com> wrote:

>>hidden partition.? interesting. is this why my 160 gig hd is listed as
>>only having 150.? and if not, why is that, anyway? and when i say 150,
>>that is total capacity before anything, including the os, is installed.

>most of the time when you call tech service this partition is
>corrupted and they tell you to format and reinstall.
>
>When I get a new Dell I usually format it anyway to get rid of all the
>programs that are trials and I will not use anyway.
>
>Yes, that is why your computer does not say the full Gig amount.

No, this is only *part* of the reason your computer does not say
the full Gig amount. The other part of the reason is quite
clearly and effectively explained in detail at the web site link
HillBillyBuddhist posted in *his* reply to "jd". Essentially, HD
manufacturer's MBs and GBs haven't ever been the same MBs and GBs
that computers and OS's like Winxx define MBs and GBs as. Even
not counting losses due to formatting the HD, a manufacturer's
160 gig drive is really only ~149 gigs.

Disremember when it started, only recently, but on new Dells
there will be /two/ hidden partitions. The old 32MB diagnostic
one that we've grown to know and love, and the new "restore the
computer to the factory default OS/program installation" one,
which is a bit larger than that diagnostic one, by an order or
two of magnitude.
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

> Get into the Boot menu when the BIOS starts up and boot the diagnostic
> partition.
>
Aha, thx!
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Well, as far as I know format takes up a certain amount, but format
restrictions also take up a certain amount too (ie block side, etc)
though I am fully aware that I could be wrong there.
Also, last I noticed drives were measured in bits not bytes.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

> ... that dichotomy dates back to prehistoric times, PC-wise.
> And if you think this presents a conundrum with a 40 gig drive,
> think what it did to the first 10*M*B [erm, 9.3 MB] drives on the
> 198mumble IBM PC, ...

But don't forget, Ogden, that back in those days, 10 megabytes really
*was* 10 megabytes. The original 10MB IBM PC-XT hard drive was 10
binary MBs (CHS 306/4/17 = 10,653,696 bytes). Certainly, by the time I
bought my 340MB Western Digital WD2340 and my 540MB WD2540, most
manufacturers were advertising in decimal megabytes, but I've still got
a box of old 20MB Seagate ST225's (CHS 615/4/17) and 30MB ST238R's (CHS
615/4/26) that really were 20 and 30 binary megabytes.

I noticed the method of advertising capacity changing somewhere in the
early 1990's. That was when I bought a WD2120 (120 binary MBs
advertised as 120MB) and a Connor CP30104 (116 binary MBs advertised as
120MB).
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

They also don't give out your CHS anymore, which leads me to believe
that it has to do with the actual phyiscal layout of the drive.
 
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

> They also don't give out your CHS anymore, which leads
> me to believe that it has to do with the actual phyiscal
> layout of the drive.

Well, they do--CHS specs are still printed on the labels of most HDDs.
But CHS is moot in the world of 8GB+ drives because CHS values can't be
used to reference a sector above 1023/255/63, which corresponds to
about 8GB. There are still cylinders, heads, and sectors, but with
8GB+ drives LBA addressing is used instead.

The decimal vs. binary megabyte is a simple mathematical relationship,
not solely related to HDDs. The same math also applies to ram, except
that ram manufacturers don't confuse people by advertising their
products in decimal MBs like HDD manufacturers do.
 
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