2 Dell OptiPlex 330s running Win XP Pro.  Both machines have a boot/diagnostics partition on the boot HD that identifies itself as * (Windows is on the C partition) and has a volume label "DELL."  On my machine, running SP Desktop 3.2, the * partition is not offered as a backup option, it doesn't appear anywhere in the window that lists disk partitions that can be backed up.  On my wife's machine, running SP Desktop 3.1, the * partition is a backup option, but SPD won't back it up (the failure message states that the partition could not be read).  Why won't SPD back up this partition properly?  If it's not backed up, I don't see how I can restore the boot HD properly....

David

David,

I don't have a solution (hopefully someone from SP can offer some tips), but I also have a "Dell" partition and in my case, it IS offered as a choice and SP 3.2 DOES create a backup successfully. The previous version (3.1) also created a backup of this partition. BTW, the "Dell" partition contains Dell diagnostic tools.

 Any chance the service partition is protected by the "BIOS" ?

I think some manufacturers have their partitions protected, ie partition can be visible but not read or written to within the OS. I know on my thinkpad there were a few options in regards to it... you know before I blew it out.. lol.

Thanks John, that's just what I figured re the partition.  Here's what happened:

My OptiPlex 330 is a warranty replacement for a GX620 that was very buggy.  But I swapped the hard disks into the replacement in order to avoid the chore of restoring :(  Two weeks ago, disk 1 (the boot disk) failed.  Dell sent out a new one of the same kind: WD Raptor 80G.  I had SPD 3.1 backups that included the * partition, so I restored the disk.  When it tried to boot, I got an error message that the computer wasn't recognized as a Dell.  During the restore process I noticed that the file size of the SPD backup of * was 63MB, whereas everywhere else the * partition shows up as 7.8MB.

2d try: I used the Dell OS CD that came with the replacement 330 to wipe out all partitions from the 1st try and reformatted the entire disk.  Then I installed Win XP Pro from the Dell CD...which also installed the * partition.  After Windows was installed, I rebooted to the SPD recovery CD and used the environment to reformat the C partition, then I restored C (and also D, which had some program files); all seemed to go fine.  When I rebooted to the hard disk, I got a boot menu offering a choice of "Windows XP" or "Windows XP Professional"...which seemed odd, since my reformat/restore should have obliterated all traces of the Win version from the Dell CD.  When I guessed right as to which one corresponded to my restoration, the machine did boot like before the problem.  But I didn't like having a phantom Windows and a boot menu.

In the end I would up back with a reinstall of Win from the Dell CD, after which I reinstalled my programs manually.  (I wanted to reconfigure aspects of my system and I had the time available, so this wasn't so bad.)  My problem is that if the HD fails again, I want to be able to restore it just by firing up the SPD recovery CD, without all the hassle I described.  I figure there must be a right way.

On my 330, SPD 3.2 doesn't even know my * partition exists.  On my wife's, SPD 3.1 does see the * partition and offers it as a choice for backup and restore, but the backup fails with an error message that the partition couldn't be read.  (The * partition is formatted FAT32, but I can't imagine that could cause the problem.)  Am I missing something here?  I don't think I have all the backups I need for either machine....

David

I just don't know...but it sure sounds possible.  In a previous post I told what happened that led me to ask about this.  I can live with the idea of beginning a restore from the Dell OS CD to replace the * partition and then continuing with the SPD CD, as long as I know that this is a reliable approach.

David

 David,

 Some backup software can image and restore this partition and others can't.

It's nice to have, but the partition isn't essential. I used to delete it but I don't anymore as I always had trouble finding my Dell Diagnostic CD.
 

I have a Dell diagnostics CD somewhere, but the version that came with my OptiPlex 330 is newer and AFAIK may have different tests specific to this machine.  So I'd rather keep the utility partition.  Even though it isn't an optimal solution, I think I can live with either having any future replacement HD shipped with an image file that restores the partition, or restoring it from the Dell CD and then using SP to restore the OS and programs.  It was really my error that I didn't even try to take advantage of the image file that came on my replacement HD.

David

David,

You can also download the latest diagnostics for your machine here. You can then use the downloaded file to create a bootable CD. When you create the CD, you can then boot from that CD and perform all of the diagnostics from there. You won't require the diagnostic partition on your hard drive and you won't have to worry whether or not SP can image the diagnostic partition.

Thanks John.  I downloaded the diagnostics from the link you provided.  Do I just burn it onto a CD? run it?  How do I make the CD bootable?

Read the "Additional Information" on this page.

Got it, thanks.