Protected partition?

WinXP Home, SP2

Not sure what forum this should go in, feel free to relocated as required.

I have a protected partition (D) on my system. It contains a recovery of my
system. Problem is, most of it is useless now since i've made upgrades to my
system. And i have all the executables needed to recreate my system.

When i click on drive "D" i get a window (see attached jpg). There are 3
options when i click on the info bar:
Allow blocked content
whats the risk
Information bar help

The information bar help talks about web pages and activeX. I dont
understand a lot of it.

I want to delete all the data there (keeping the partition).
Only i dont know what would happen if i clicked on the Allow blocked content.
Would some script or activex start running and attempt to restore my system
automatically?

Thats enough for today, break time!
thanks,
savagcl

 

TonyT,

Thats true. What you said.
If this pc ever gets to that point I will install winXP from the boxed version
(SP2) that i have.

I will not be using the OEM version that is resident on drive "D" at all. So for me
its wasted HD space. Granted its only 4 gig and i'm not hurting for space at
this time but i could use that partition for downloads, utils and testing of new
stuff while keeping my permanant stuff on stand-alone partitions.

So, the question remains.

thanks for your input,
savagcl

 

i wonder if you could put that partition on a dvd and then format it? probably with partition magic you could easily format it.

 

Nope, i tried making a dvd of it, but its to big. When i tried to split it across
several dvd's, I get the protection msg.

It was worth a shot tho.

thanks,
savagcl

 

TonyT,

I'll keep that it mind but for now, i think i'll just make sure i have all the cabs
and drivers needed and put then on a cd for future use.

Thanks, TonyT,
savagcl

 

savagcl

Dont be in a hurry to format d: !!!

When you reinstall XP, you will need drivers for your mobo and any onboard accessories such as audio and video, usb ports, etc. and these drivers would likely be on d: too. If d: is fat32 or similar, you can use a DOS bootable floppy to examine it (it likely is fat from those I've seen). If there are folders on it, esp. a \i386 folder, you can put the folders on a cd, but...

This would be an ideal use for Ghost2003 which will compress the partition and put the *.gho file(s) on c: (ntfs or not) so you can place it/them on a dvd from there.

The beauty of that is that you can look at the files ghost makes with the 'ghost explorer' and treat them as backups, e.g. extract individual files or folders you may need without using them as a restore image wiping everything else out. (You can also do that, too)

It's also possible to disable the program that is preventing you from examining d: but you'll have to google the various startup progs to find it. May be pcangel . See http://www.softthinks.com/us/pcangel.php

 

More info:

may indicate that you have an image on d: rather than the setup program and .cab files. You'll have to look.

 

sparrow,

I've turned off the on-board audio (useing creative instead).
I've turned off the on-board video (using my card 6600GTOC instead).
Shortly i'll turn off the on-board internet and use my card.
I have the bios, chipset, marvell and media card drivers (from gateway) in the
cabs folder and all those have been put on a cd.

Yes, that partition is fat32. I'll try to look at it on safe mode just to be sure i
havent missed anything. There is a i386 folder present that i know of.
I'm pretty sure its an image also.

The "info" link in your message took me to a US Patent page, is that what it
was supposed to do?

thanks,
savagcl

 

Unless sparrow has by chance gotten in and fixed it, it is OK for me.

Even from here. ( the reply page )

BillyBob

 

Yes, the page is correct. Do a search for 'ghost' in the page and you'll find my quote. Couldn't tell from pcangel page what its mechanism is.

If you have the i386 folder, it should fit on a CD easily (it's the guts of a windows CD). Doubt that it's an image then; you can't see what's in an image without a special program. The mobo drivers (which you DO need) should be in other folders, along with drivers for other models of you brand. You may have to run Everest to see your mobo number so you can pick the correct folders for your hardware. To find Everest, just type it into google.

If you can access d: suggest you copy the appropriate folders to c: and then it's easy to burn them in normal mode.

You'll then have the equivalent of an XP CD, customized for your machine.

Another thought: Suggest you try ghosting the partition too. That way you'll have all the possibilities covered, e.g., if your new video fails you can revert to the mobo video while waiting for the card to be fixed or replaced.

And, IMO, you should have one more good sized partition on that HDD: C, D (enlarge it once you're sure your backup works), and E, and keep C to no more than 7-9GB (for easy imaging) and keep programs on another partition. On my 80G, I have 8G for C, 9G for D, and 30G for data, all FAT32, and the rest for an ntfs disk to play with. Now's the time to do this, 'cause you'll want to test your backup process anyway.

 

Well, the only way i can see the files, folders (but i cant open the folders) there
is through cd-writer software. It will show the files/folders but it will not write
them. I tried this on both ez cd writer and Nero.

I have the recovery CD (a picture of what is on drive "D "), and have tried to
get a look at it but its a nogo also. I turned off the autoplay but it still just
opens up the recovery program.

However, since i have the CD and have used it once, to restore nero, proving
that it does work, i may just go ahead and delete partition D, then assign that
space to another partition (using Acronis Disk Director).

thanks for all the good input,
savagcl

 

The recovery CD contains a recovery program. It may or may not (safest to assume it doesn't) contain all the data you need to do a recovery and probably accesses d: for that data. If you destroy that data (by formatting or partitioning d: ) you may find you can't do the recovery. There's no way to predict this but to just try it, or ask the vendor (but if you just ask a salesman, good luck). It may also be possible to purchase recovery CDs from the vendor, but would check this before proceeding.

If you make an image of d: (e.g., with ghost) and store the image on a DVD, you can restore the data if necessary. Suggest you don't do anything to d: unless you have a verified satisfactory image or the equivalent.

 

Good advice, sparrow, I'll go on hold for a while.

thanks,
savagcl

 

You don't say what kind of computer you have. Most computer manufacturers allow one copy of those recovery files to be made. This is in case the hard drive goes south and recovery has to be made from CD.

The recovery program of the manufacturer would allow this, instead of using a third party buring programs.

 

RayH,

I have the gateway 9310s system ( and finally got everything working). Last
time i buy a system from gateway.

For the initial bootup (very first time), a program runs even before windows (I
think) that will create a recovery CD. Problem is, i dont know if this CD has
the actual drivers, programs, etc on it or if it just points to the protected
partition. Oh, and its a read-only CD.

Attempts to see whats on the cd have met with no luck at all. Any/all
attempts results in a program running asking what do i want to recover. I
tried everything i know (granted, limited) but no luck.

I told the program to restore something minor and it was completed in just a
few seconds (less than 5 seconds) which leads me to believe that the
program went to the partiton to find and restore it. Simply because no CD
is that fast.

savagcl

 

Finally found a way to see (kinda what is on the partition. Had to use PSP in
capture mode and open "D" in NERO. Wouldnt let me see inside the folders but
at least i can see the folders\files in the partition.

curious about the "copy of i386" tho.

Try to attach a jpg.

savagcl