Hidden partition...

sgt · 10th Aug 2006, 01:25 AM

Does anyone know how to get rid of the 'hidden partition' on a Compaq laptop? (the one that calls itself 'Winbond S D Drive') I know there's a definite process, but I can't find my notes on it.

My laptop has been rebooting itself lately (every time I try to download something)

and I'd just as soon redo the entire drive w/o reinstalling all that HP crap. What a waste of space!!!

Adrian Wong · 10th Aug 2006, 09:59 AM

First check and see if the partition is being locked by a BIOS option. If so, you need to unlock it before you can delete that partition.

Dashken · 15th Aug 2006, 09:19 AM

Hidden in Disk Management as well?

Dashken · 15th Aug 2006, 09:59 AM

Try google for 'PowerQuest Partition Table Editor' and see whether your drive is visible from there. You can probably change the type of your partition there (if it's visible)... but do it at your own risk.

peaz · 15th Aug 2006, 02:55 PM

Hmmm just fdisk the disk and re-partition from scratch

hahaha

zy · 15th Aug 2006, 09:41 PM

i dont know what hidden partition it is .. but i do know hp laptops have a hidden partition for quickplay .. hmmm ...

1031982 · 16th Aug 2006, 05:13 PM

Ya, usually the hidden partition's are used for system restore information. It's cheaper for them, so they charge between $10 and $20 for an official Windows XP CD. (Jerks, can't just keep it simple with a disk. What if the whole HDD crashes? Then the customer is screwed if it's out of warranty!)

Dashken · 17th Aug 2006, 08:42 AM

Then you will need to know someone who's working inside to 'get it done' for you.

1031982 · 17th Aug 2006, 12:24 PM

Naw, usually something like Partition Magic will allow access to it.

Falcone · 17th Aug 2006, 01:58 PM

Back in the days when I had my IBM which comes with hdisk recovery partition, I sent a request to IBM (giving them excuses that the recovery on my HD failed) and they sent me the installation disk free.....

10th Aug 2006, 01:25 AM	#1 (permalink)
sgt Newbie Join Date: 31 May 2005 Posts: 16 Reputation: 31 Rep Power: 0	Hidden partition... Does anyone know how to get rid of the 'hidden partition' on a Compaq laptop? (the one that calls itself 'Winbond S D Drive') I know there's a definite process, but I can't find my notes on it. My laptop has been rebooting itself lately (every time I try to download something) and I'd just as soon redo the entire drive w/o reinstalling all that HP crap. What a waste of space!!!

10th Aug 2006, 09:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my BenQ Joybook 7000 notebook! Posts: 29,939 Reputation: 2958 Rep Power: 65	First check and see if the partition is being locked by a BIOS option. If so, you need to unlock it before you can delete that partition. __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? Keep Tech ARP free! Visit our sponsors! We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

15th Aug 2006, 09:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
Dashken Administrator! Join Date: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Penang Posts: 29,725 Reputation: 2162 Rep Power: 56	Hidden in Disk Management as well? __________________ \| Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.2Ghz \| ASUS P5B-E Plus \| G.SKILL 2x1GB DDR2 800 \| 6 HDDs (2TB+ only ) \| NVIDIA GeForce 7600GT \| Dell E248WFP 24" Widescreen \| Blog : Dashken's I-Blog Gallery : Dashken's I-Paintings

15th Aug 2006, 09:59 AM	#4 (permalink)
Dashken Administrator! Join Date: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Penang Posts: 29,725 Reputation: 2162 Rep Power: 56	Try google for 'PowerQuest Partition Table Editor' and see whether your drive is visible from there. You can probably change the type of your partition there (if it's visible)... but do it at your own risk. __________________ \| Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.2Ghz \| ASUS P5B-E Plus \| G.SKILL 2x1GB DDR2 800 \| 6 HDDs (2TB+ only ) \| NVIDIA GeForce 7600GT \| Dell E248WFP 24" Widescreen \| Blog : Dashken's I-Blog Gallery : Dashken's I-Paintings

15th Aug 2006, 02:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
peaz ARP Webmaster Join Date: 13 Oct 2002 Location: http://atpeaz.placidthoughts.com/ Posts: 8,500 Reputation: 1633 Rep Power: 31	Hmmm just fdisk the disk and re-partition from scratch hahaha __________________ Ken Ng Tech ARP Visit my web gallery - Ken's Digital Canvas Shoot and Earn Money from Stock Photography Sterling@PJ Community Forums

15th Aug 2006, 09:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
zy Dead Join Date: 16 Dec 2002 Location: Penang,Malaysia - Buffalo,New York Posts: 12,835 Reputation: 1998 Rep Power: 37	i dont know what hidden partition it is .. but i do know hp laptops have a hidden partition for quickplay .. hmmm ... __________________ current: P4-3.2\|P4P800-Deluxe\|512x4-DDR\|NV6600 WD2500KS\|WD5000AAKS\|AD-7191A\|1860NX\|Z2300\|MP470 home (malaysia): P4C-2.6@3.1-StockHSF\|AI7\|256x2-BT-D43\|512x2-DT-D43\|A9600XT-VIVO WD1200JB\|2xWD2500KS\|DRU-800A\|DVD-E616P\|LTR-52327S\|152x\|V.S.4121\|iP1500 laptop: M1210\|T7200\|2GBDDR667\|160GB5K160\|GO7400

16th Aug 2006, 05:13 PM	#7 (permalink)
1031982 Super Active Join Date: 25 Feb 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,580 Reputation: 285 Rep Power: 9	Ya, usually the hidden partition's are used for system restore information. It's cheaper for them, so they charge between $10 and $20 for an official Windows XP CD. (Jerks, can't just keep it simple with a disk. What if the whole HDD crashes? Then the customer is screwed if it's out of warranty!) __________________ Running : Gigabyte EP45-DS3R, Intel E7200 C2D, 2GB DDR2 Dual Channel, WD Raptor 74GB, WD 500 GB HDD, ASUS 16X DVD-ROM, LiteOn 16X DVD+/-RW, 1.44 MB Floppy, ATI Radeon HD 3450, Dell 2005FPW, and a SB Audigy2 ZS PRO with Logitech Z5300e speakers.

17th Aug 2006, 08:42 AM	#8 (permalink)
Dashken Administrator! Join Date: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Penang Posts: 29,725 Reputation: 2162 Rep Power: 56	Then you will need to know someone who's working inside to 'get it done' for you. __________________ \| Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.2Ghz \| ASUS P5B-E Plus \| G.SKILL 2x1GB DDR2 800 \| 6 HDDs (2TB+ only ) \| NVIDIA GeForce 7600GT \| Dell E248WFP 24" Widescreen \| Blog : Dashken's I-Blog Gallery : Dashken's I-Paintings

17th Aug 2006, 12:24 PM	#9 (permalink)
1031982 Super Active Join Date: 25 Feb 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,580 Reputation: 285 Rep Power: 9	Naw, usually something like Partition Magic will allow access to it. __________________ Running : Gigabyte EP45-DS3R, Intel E7200 C2D, 2GB DDR2 Dual Channel, WD Raptor 74GB, WD 500 GB HDD, ASUS 16X DVD-ROM, LiteOn 16X DVD+/-RW, 1.44 MB Floppy, ATI Radeon HD 3450, Dell 2005FPW, and a SB Audigy2 ZS PRO with Logitech Z5300e speakers.

17th Aug 2006, 01:58 PM	#10 (permalink)
Falcone Official Mascot Creator Join Date: 18 Dec 2002 Location: Kay El, Em Wai Posts: 3,187 Reputation: 1705 Rep Power: 26	Back in the days when I had my IBM which comes with hdisk recovery partition, I sent a request to IBM (giving them excuses that the recovery on my HD failed) and they sent me the installation disk free..... __________________ I'm a noob, my photos sucks, but if you can live with that... http://www.pumpkinproject.com/ Flickr

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Partition strategies	1031982	General Hardware	5	7th Nov 2005 05:39 PM