[RESOLVED] Access hidden recovery partition

[Nightwalker83]

Hi,

I have been trying to reset my ASUS Notebook N60Dp Series running Windows 7 to default settings after a malfunction. I created a Set of 4 backjup DVDs via the backup program that was installed when I first bought the laptop. However, the system is refusing to acknowledge that the last disk (disk 4) is even in the drive and thus will not continue with the installation. Apparently, the backup disks are needed to access the hidden "Recovery" partition on the system. Seeing as the reinstall via the disks has failed I am currently trying to install Windows 7 Professional x64 bit then see if I can make the hidden partition visible and accessible on the system using the provided Windows system tools.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks,


Nightwalker

[Nightwalker83]

This was originally posted by krAn on btoforums: http://btoforums.com/showthread.php?t=1542

Windows Recovery Using Hard Disk Partition

The Recovery Partition includes an image of the operating system, drivers, and utilities installed on your Notebook PC at the factory. The Recovery Partition provides a comprehensive recovery solution that quickly restores your Notebook PC’s software to its original working state, provided that your hard disk drive is in good working order. Before using the Recovery Partition, copy your data files (such as Outlook PST files) to floppy disks or to a network drive and make note of any customized configuration settings (such as network settings).
About the Recovery Partition
The Recovery Partition is a space reserved on your hard disk drive used to restore the operating system, drivers, and utilities installed on your Notebook PC at the factory.
IMPORTANT: Do not delete the partition named “RECOVERY”.
The Recovery Partition is created at the factory
and cannot be restored by the user if deleted. Take your Notebook PC to an authorized ASUS service center if you have problems with the recovery process.
Using the Recovery Partition:
1. Press [F9] during bootup (requires a Recovery Partition)
2. Press [Enter] to select Windows Setup [EMS Enabled]
3. Read the “ASUS Preload Wizard” screen and click Next.
4. Select a partition option and click Next. Partition options:
Recover Windows to first partition only.
This option will delete only the first partition, allowing you to keep other partitions, and create a new system partition as drive “C”.
Recover Windows to entire HD.
This option will delete all partitions from your hard disk drive and create a new system partition as drive “C”.
Recover Windows to entire HD with 2 partition.
This option will delete all partitions from your hard drive and create two new partitions “C” (60&#37 and “D” (40%).
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the recovery process.


Windows Recovery Using DVD

The Recovery DVD includes an image of the operating system, drivers, and utilities installed on your Notebook PC at the factory. The Recovery DVD provides a comprehensive recovery solution that quickly restores your Notebook PC’s software to its original working state, provided that your hard disk drive is in good working order. Before using the Recovery DVD, copy your data files (such as Outlook PST files) to floppy disks or to a network drive and make note of any customized configuration settings (such as network settings).
IMPORTANT! Remove the optional secondary hard disk drive before performing system
recovery on your notebook PC. According to Microsoft, you may lose important data because of setting up Windows Vista on the wrong disk drive or formatting the incorrect drive partition. Link to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937251/en-us for more details.
Using the Recovery �DVD�:
1. Insert the Recovery DVD into the optical drive (Notebook PC needs to be powered ON).
2. Restart the Notebook PC and press Esc on bootup and select the optical drive (may be labeled as “CD/DVD”) using the down cursor and press Enter to boot from the Recovery DVD.
3. Select a partition option and click Next. Partition options:
Recover Windows to first partition only.
This option will delete only the first partition, allowing you to keep other partitions, and create a new system partition as drive “C”.
Recover Windows to entire HD.
This option will delete all partitions from your hard disk drive and create a new system partition as drive “C”.
Recover Windows to entire HD with 2 partition.
This option will delete all partitions from your hard drive and create two new partitions “C” (60%) and “D” (40%).
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the recovery process.

However, since we totally formatted my laptop and I can no longer use the recovery drive I post the info so no one else has to go through the same trouble.

[dilettante]

A chunk of most recovery partitions is just the ISO images used to create the restore disks. On machines with a "live" restore partition there may be bootable software that can use the ISO images to recover without creating the CDs/DVDs.

On many systems this can be reached by pressing a special key during BIOS start/POST. On many Acers this is the F10 key. If this fails and you failed to burn disks (or they won't load when you try to use them) you're stuck with buying a set of disks.

I've read that there are ways to fiddle around and make the recovery partition active and boot to it, but I don't think there is any generic procedure for doing so.

I just tried to rerun the utility to burn recovery disks and it seemed to start to do so again (I canceled). Can you start yours and try burning a fresh set? Some only let you burn one set, but maybe you can burn a fresh set. I'd think bad recordable media is more likely than a corrupted recovery partition.


Oops, we crossed paths posting.

Yeah, if you trashed the hard drive contents the recovery partition is gone. Sorry.

[Nightwalker83]

A chunk of most recovery partitions is just the ISO images used to create the restore disks. On machines with a "live" restore partition there may be bootable software that can use the ISO images to recover without creating the CDs/DVDs.

Yeah, I created the set of DVDs needed to backup the system (in this case 4 of them). All went smoothly until I tried to use disk 4, the system couldn't read the disk for some reason and didn't progress through the recovery process. Also, my laptop came with a DVD entitled "Windows 7 Recovery Media for Windows 7 Products" which, I'm guessing was the dvd I was meant to use to access the recovery partition on the laptop?

[dilettante]

Probably a bad burn/bad media or something. Well I hope my DVDs are usable if I ever need them. Recordable CD/DVD media don't hold an image forever either though they should be good for several years.


I don't know about that "Windows 7 Recovery Media for Windows 7 Products" DVD. It sounds like that (plus the product key off the laptop's license sticker) should be all you need to reinstall Windows with your machine's drivers, i.e. to factory default... though one DVD seems small if it takes 4 to make the recovery backup.

But if it was just for making use of the recovery partition even one DVD seems like overkill. One CD I could see since you probably have no floppy drives, but a DVD?

[Nightwalker83]

But if it was just for making use of the recovery partition even one DVD seems like overkill. One CD I could see since you probably have no floppy drives, but a DVD?

Bluray drive if I remember correctly! Yeah, I hate multiple cd/dvd backups for that very reason, if one disk is ruined then you have lost everything.