[WIN7] UEFI? How does it work? Any HP people? Dynamic disks?

broccoli · 25th June 2012, 11:31 AM

Noob questions.

I just need to know enough so that I can restore things if I need to (yes, I've burned the recovery disks, and I've made an image, but I like to understand what's going on before I rely on anything I've done so that if it goes pear-shaped I have a clue what to do.)

I've got this new HP notebook (DM1-4108AU) and I'm trying to figure out how to nuke a partition so that I can have a separate data partition. It's got 4 partitions, a small partition labelled "system", a partition with the OS on it, a recovery partition and a FAT32 partition labelled "HP_TOOLS" which has some diagnostic tools on it and also the BIOS flash utility (you can just execute the BIOS update from windows and it'll do its thing, activate this partition somehow and flash the BIOS) and it's also got something to do with UEFI, about which I understand nothing.

I thought I'd delete the HP TOOLS partition after copying the files on it, but when I've tried to delete it, it says it is in use. Any idea what it could be doing? With my other computers (no UEFI), I can restore a partition image and the boot record and I'll be good to go. Is it still the same to restore to this computer, or is this extra partition necessary to make things work and, if so, how? I realize this could be some "HP" thing, rather than an UEFI/Windows thing.

Windows management will let me create the extra partition (I've shrunk the OS partition and I've got the unallocated space sitting there) but it says that it will convert the HDD to a dynamic disk and I won't be able to boot anything else. I don't understand dynamic disks either or how it will affect image restoration.

I don't know how the HP recovery or the UEFI thing works, whether I could copy them off, create an extended partition and put them back and they would still work, whether they need a certain position on the drive or what.....

What I want is a separate data partition, being able to restore my images, and understanding and being able to restore the factory image or use the diagnostics if I ever needed to.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Matt_NZ · 25th June 2012, 5:53 PM

This is what a drive will look like on an EFI enabled system:

The disk will also be in GPT format. You can tell if it is by right clicking the drive in Disk Management and under "Convert to Dynamic Disk" you'll see Convert to MBR greyed out which means it's a GPT disk - if it says Convert to GPT then you're running under a traditional BIOS setup.

If the BIOS is anything like the HP EliteBooks it has the option to run in either UEFI mode or emulate a traditional BIOS, with the latter being the factory default. In this case, the fact that it's a UEFI BIOS is of no concern as it's not actually presenting itself to Windows as this.

More than likely, you're safe to delete the HP_Tools partition as this is just an HP specific partition for restoring the OS to a factory install. If you want to delete it, you'll probably need to do so by booting into Windows PE or Recovery Mode.

Dynamic disks are somewhat safe to use as long as you're not planning on installing an OS older than Windows 2000.

Renza · 25th June 2012, 8:14 PM

my system doesn't have that 300mb recovery partition... just the 100mb efi system partition and my main partition

definitely using uefi to boot.

Matt_NZ · 25th June 2012, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renza

my system doesn't have that 300mb recovery partition... just the 100mb efi system partition and my main partition

image

definitely using uefi to boot.

I guess it's the EFI System Partition that's the deciding factor. The 300mb partition on mine is likely the usual partition Windows makes to store its boot info.

broccoli · 26th June 2012, 10:20 AM

Thanks for the replies. There is no reference to uefi or efi in my disk management, it just has the usual stuff, but when I searched before starting this thread, info I'd got was that the partition is to do with uefi. I can't understand why a normal partition would be "in use", which is what it tells me when I try to delete it. I'm not sure whether the recovery program (whatever that may be, I don't know what it uses) is on there. If it is, I might as well nuke both it and the recovery partition because the factory reset will stop working once I take it off if the recovery program is in there.

25th June 2012, 11:31 AM	#1
broccoli (Taking a Break) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6,312	UEFI? How does it work? Any HP people? Dynamic disks? Noob questions. I just need to know enough so that I can restore things if I need to (yes, I've burned the recovery disks, and I've made an image, but I like to understand what's going on before I rely on anything I've done so that if it goes pear-shaped I have a clue what to do.) I've got this new HP notebook (DM1-4108AU) and I'm trying to figure out how to nuke a partition so that I can have a separate data partition. It's got 4 partitions, a small partition labelled "system", a partition with the OS on it, a recovery partition and a FAT32 partition labelled "HP_TOOLS" which has some diagnostic tools on it and also the BIOS flash utility (you can just execute the BIOS update from windows and it'll do its thing, activate this partition somehow and flash the BIOS) and it's also got something to do with UEFI, about which I understand nothing. I thought I'd delete the HP TOOLS partition after copying the files on it, but when I've tried to delete it, it says it is in use. Any idea what it could be doing? With my other computers (no UEFI), I can restore a partition image and the boot record and I'll be good to go. Is it still the same to restore to this computer, or is this extra partition necessary to make things work and, if so, how? I realize this could be some "HP" thing, rather than an UEFI/Windows thing. Windows management will let me create the extra partition (I've shrunk the OS partition and I've got the unallocated space sitting there) but it says that it will convert the HDD to a dynamic disk and I won't be able to boot anything else. I don't understand dynamic disks either or how it will affect image restoration. I don't know how the HP recovery or the UEFI thing works, whether I could copy them off, create an extended partition and put them back and they would still work, whether they need a certain position on the drive or what..... What I want is a separate data partition, being able to restore my images, and understanding and being able to restore the factory image or use the diagnostics if I ever needed to. Thanks in advance for any help.

25th June 2012, 5:53 PM	#2
Matt_NZ Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 3,264	This is what a drive will look like on an EFI enabled system: The disk will also be in GPT format. You can tell if it is by right clicking the drive in Disk Management and under "Convert to Dynamic Disk" you'll see Convert to MBR greyed out which means it's a GPT disk - if it says Convert to GPT then you're running under a traditional BIOS setup. If the BIOS is anything like the HP EliteBooks it has the option to run in either UEFI mode or emulate a traditional BIOS, with the latter being the factory default. In this case, the fact that it's a UEFI BIOS is of no concern as it's not actually presenting itself to Windows as this. More than likely, you're safe to delete the HP_Tools partition as this is just an HP specific partition for restoring the OS to a factory install. If you want to delete it, you'll probably need to do so by booting into Windows PE or Recovery Mode. Dynamic disks are somewhat safe to use as long as you're not planning on installing an OS older than Windows 2000. __________________ ASUS P6T SE ~ Intel i7 930 ~ Gigabyte 9800GTS ~ 6gb DDR3 RAM ~ 500gb SATA Seagate HDD ~ LiteScribe ASUS DVD-RW ~ Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Currently addicted to: Star Wars Galaxies (Obraik on Chilastra)

25th June 2012, 8:14 PM	#3
Renza Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Adelaide, 5051 Posts: 2,981	my system doesn't have that 300mb recovery partition... just the 100mb efi system partition and my main partition definitely using uefi to boot. __________________ i7 3770K @ 4.5ghz \| AsRock Z77 Professional \| 16gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz \| Gigabyte GTX580 \| Seasonic X750 \| Silverstone TJ07 \| Crucial M4 256GB \| 2x Dell 2407WFP Canon 5D Mark II \| Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L \| Canon EF 17-40 f/4L \| Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS \| Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 \| Canon EX-580II \| Manfrotto 190 Pro B Traded over $22,000 on OCAU! - PM for recent traders

26th June 2012, 10:20 AM	#5
broccoli (Taking a Break) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Perth Posts: 6,312	Thanks for the replies. There is no reference to uefi or efi in my disk management, it just has the usual stuff, but when I searched before starting this thread, info I'd got was that the partition is to do with uefi. I can't understand why a normal partition would be "in use", which is what it tells me when I try to delete it. I'm not sure whether the recovery program (whatever that may be, I don't know what it uses) is on there. If it is, I might as well nuke both it and the recovery partition because the factory reset will stop working once I take it off if the recovery program is in there.