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Thread: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

  1. #1
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    Question 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    Hello there fellow geeks,
    I've been really glad to have my girlfriend willing to try Ubuntu. The problem is that on her HP Pavilion d6something, there are 4 partitions by default, that is:

    -100meg SYSTEM (bootloader)
    -470gig (now 370gig) /C:
    -about 22gig RECOVERY
    -about 100meg HP_TOOLS


    I wasn't there when the Windows was installed, I believe it all is a factory default setting. I have shrunk the /C: from 470 to 370gig using gparted from a live CD of Natty so as to make some space.

    My question is this, is it safe for us to delete the third or fourth partition ? She has never created recovery DVDs, but I have some Windows at hand just in case anything goes horribly wrong later on.

    The HP_TOOLS has some folders with titles centered around BIOS, but I believe it is just some loading screens with HP logos.

    Were it my computer, I wouldn't probably ask at all, but I don't want her to lose any data at all. I was dying a little inside while shrinking the /C: to be honest.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

  2. #2
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    Did you try rebooting her PC into Win7 to see if it still works? If it does, you are very lucky -- shrinking a Win7 OS partition with GParted often results in filesystem corruption.

    The NEXT thing you should do is boot into Win7 on her PC and use the Backup feature to create and burn a Win7 Repair CD. That will come in handy later, should you need to repair the Win7 boot loader.

    If the PC has an option to create Restore CDs (probably a DVD nowadays), then do that BEFORE you attempt an Ubuntu install. Once you do that, you should be able to remove the Recovery partition and use that space for installing Ubuntu.
    Ubuntu 20.04, Mint 19.10; MS Win10 Pro.
    Will not respond to PM requests for support -- use the forums.

  3. #3
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    Yes, I booted just fine right before I left and it worked ok in the evening too. But I know, we were very lucky . It also worked this morning, and the initial disk check went fine

    I also ran chkdsk afterwards just in case.
    Last edited by Veren; July 13th, 2011 at 02:51 PM. Reason: grammar and additional information

  4. #4
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    The problem is not that we don't have enough space, it is that we don't have enough primary partitions In fact, say we wouldn't do the backuping - wouldn't we need that only in a case, where it would end up with formating the laptop anyways ? I mean, I have a Windows CD at hand, were it needed to reinstall. I just don't know, whether I can afford to delete the partition.

  5. #5
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    What if I copied the stuff from HP_TOOLS to /C:, then deleted it and recreated it as an extended partition ?

  6. #6
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    Other people in your position have deleted the HP TOOLS partition then created an extended partition in the free space created by shrinking the C: drive.
    The HP TOOLS partition contains some diagnostic tools, which I believe are downloadable from the HP site, if you ever need them (probably not).
    MacBook Pro 10,1 retina

  7. #7
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    A few links in support of above comments:

    The vendor recovery DVDs are just an image of your drive as purchased. If you have housecleaned a lot of cruft normally included, run many updates with many reboots, and added software you may want a full back up.

    Backup windows before install - post by Mark Phelps
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1626990
    http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
    Another suggestion by srs5694
    http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

    Good advice on how to handle all four primary partitions used. - srs5694
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1686440
    Besure to create recovery DVD(s) first.
    HP tools partition discussion:
    http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Noteboo...on/td-p/228360

    Make your own Windows recoveryCD/repair:
    http://forums.techarena.in/guides-tutorials/1114725.htm

    Windows 7 repair USB
    http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-re...tion-dvd-disc/
    UEFI boot install & repair info - Regularly Updated :
    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
    Please use Thread Tools above first post to change to [Solved] when/if answered completely.

  8. #8
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    Thank you, I have done some research earlier, I just wanted to know some personal experiences. I am going to delete the RECOVERY and HP_TOOLS tomorrow and install Ubuntu, so wish me luck (:

  9. #9
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    Don't forget to make a couple of copies of the recovery dvd's!
    MacBook Pro 10,1 retina

  10. #10
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    Re: 4 primary partitions on an HP laptop.

    My HP laptop had the same setup. I used Clonezilla to make backups then deleted the lot!
    Windows now lives in VirtualBox where it belongs, in a box!

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