[Novalug] Plea for help -- partition table problem

jerry w jerrywone@gmail.com
Mon Aug 31 07:01:58 EDT 2015


Sounds like a personnel issue with the teenager.

He|She gets to buy you a new one, of comparable value|your choice.

Remember that car the kid trashed, first time partying with friends, etc,
same deal, without insurance.

On Mon, Aug 31, 2015, 06:47 Bryan J Smith via Novalug <
novalug@firemountain.net> wrote:

> Stuart Gathman via Novalug wrote:
> > As I understood the situation - he got blown away because a Windows
> > recovery partition was available on the disk and bootable.  That is dual
> > boot.  Dual boot was the cause of his disaster.  (The filesystem was
> > recovered - but had some corruption.  Don't throw away those backups!)
> > OEM diagnostics are OK (I used to always copy them many years ago - but
> > they've never actually been useful, so not worth the effort).
> > But NEVER have any flavor of Windows (or recovery partitions) on your
> > linux disk.  And often, OEM diagnostics *include* a "recover Windows"
> > options - so that type of OEM diagnostics is NOT ok.
>
> What about those of us who know how to _disable_ the recovery, while
> still allowing access to the other tools?  ;)
>
> Some of us go to LUG InstallFests and setup all sorts of things.  I've
> literally done _thousands_ of systems like this.
>
> I get it ... you have this rabid _dislike_ of Windows that you make it
> about "kicking the habit."  Some of us use Linux and don't have any
> "habit" of using Windows.
>
> I merely tried to help the OP, and provide additional, technical info
> for those who care.  My apologies ... I should have just have just
> done what you did.  ;)
>
> > There are probably other obscure OSes that have extremely unfriendly
> > (to foreign oses) "recovery/install" utilities - but Windows is the only
> one
> > someone is likely to recognize and select.
>
> Actually, many early recovery systems use Linux.  But Microsoft has
> pushed the Windows Pre-Installation Environment (WinPE) more and more,
> including better tools in latter NT6 releases.
>
> In any case ... NT6.2+ (Windows 8+) systems often come with native
> uEFI boot with GPT and don't have most of the OEM Tool boot problems.
>
> > Have PC OEM tools ever actually helped diagnose a hardware problem for
> > you?  (Never has for me - been in the business 30 years.)  OEM memory
> > tests are a joke (classic case of reinventing the wheel - poorly - use
> > memtest86).
>
> To get the OEM to send me a replacement, overnight (I usually pay for
> the on-site or next day part warranty), having that little utility
> there, so I can call and get them to send it to me without issue, does
> wonders!
>
> > I *do* look at OEM tools to see if they've improved.  Never
> > seen one with "burn" test (maximize CPU temp to check that cooling
> > system works).  Disk drives come with their own diagnostics tools in the
> > drive since 15 years ago.  If there was any hardware that actually
> > required a proprietary OEM diagnostic suite - you wouldn't want (or
> > couldn't use) that hardware on your linux system!
>
> There are _lots_ of Linux supported hardware that _lacks_ tools.
>
> Heck, one of the reasons I stopped using Intel software RAID just
> recently is because, even though the MultiDisk (MD) subsystem can
> rebuild the array, it cannot do a scan/check.  I'd have to boot
> Windows for that, so I just stopped using it altogether.
>
> But it did save my bacon to have a dual-booting Windows installation
> on the system so I could.  ;)
>
> Although I'm sorry if I didn't "kick my Windows habit" enough for you
> because I booted it.  ;)
>
> > BTW, I keep a spare laptop disk in a USB/Sata enclosure, and slip it
> > into my laptop bag for traveling.
>
> So ... you're saying I should carry my original OEM disk in that?
>
> I.e., as you were so keen to just focus on the "argument," I actually
> _agreed_ with you to _replace_ the original OEM's disk "as-is" and put
> in a new disk.
>
> We _only_ differed on whether to preserve the OEM's tools ... or not.
>
> >  If OEM diagnostics are useful for you, but they have nasty options like
> > "Windows system recovery", then
> > you could keep your OEM diagnostic partition on that disk - where it is
> > not as accessible to knob twisters.
>
> Or ... you can learn to disable the Windows system recovery, and leave
> only the OEM tools.  ;)
>
> Seriously ... just admit it.
>
> You didn't read the OP's issue ... and didn't care, or my follow-ups
> with various, technical meat.  You just had your point to make, and
> that's all that matters.
>
> I tend to be extremely skilled in setting these systems up, whether
> it's just the OEM Tools or a true multi-boot -- even with multiple
> Linux distros.
>
> I.e., on this very system, I have the PC OEM Tools, Fedora 22, Ubuntu
> LTS 14.04 and Windows 7 Professional -- all native uEFI+GPT Boot.
>
> I installed Windows 7 Pro into native uEFI+GPT, instead of using the
> OEM's -- but I did move over Dell OEM' tools, and disabled the
> recovery mode.
>
> In fact, it's rather cake to "do it right" with the newer, native uEFI+GPT.
>
> -- bjs
>
> --
> Bryan J Smith - http://www.linkedin.com/in/bjsmith
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