Question: EISA partition

johnedlord

This thread is about the Samsung NC10, Black. Click here to see full specs

I have a new Samsung NC10 Netbook. This is used mainly for email and web browsing on my travels.

After first switching on, one is invited to register the machine and do a first back-up. The netbook has a 160gb SATAll drive and is pre-installed with Windows XP Home, by the way

At the start of the back-up routine, a bar with a pointer appears, in order to partition the drive. I elected for a second partition of 25gb, leaving the first partition for the C: drive. After the back-up was completed I opened My Computer and the drives listed were, C:118gb, D:25gb. I then opened Disk Management, and found that the drives were:- EISA configuration - Recovery (6gb), C;(118gb), D:25gb. This was the first time I had ever heard of EISA. Right clicking on the EISA partion, one receives only a "Help" notice. Right clicking on the C: and D: partitions, one receives the usual full Menu (i.e Change Drive Letter, Format, Acitivate, Format etc).

Did the EISA partition already exist, before I did the back-up or was it there before? The Samsung Recovery Program is installed on the C: drive. The D:drive now contains the Folders/Files for the first back-up. Does the Recovery Prog create the EISA partition?

I have Googled EISA, but it is all rather above my head. I am a retired accountant and a computer newbie. The main reason I ask these questiions is because I intend to replace the 160gb WD hdd with a Samsung SLC ssd of only 32gb. Now I am retired I travel a lot with the tiny NC10 and would like the robustness of a ssd. I am not bothered about having back-up files on the ssd and I do not want a EISA partition or recovery software.

With the present first back-up I have the option to return the netbook to its original state. If I can be sure that I can safely ignore EISA, without any BIOS problems, I will then clone the primary drive and install the ssd.

In any replies, please remember that I am a newbie You might care to also read the forum for SSD's- Installing Windows XP Home on SSD by me, just in case any of this is relevant.

petera

The EISA partition is a hidden partition with all the programs needed to bring your laptop back to the state you first bought it.
It's very common nowadays as it saves the manufacturer money by not supplying a recovery dvd (that, if your like me, will lose after a month or so).
My advise is leave it on the drive, but if your replacing it with a SSD then you don't have to copy that partition over as well.

johnedlord

Thank you for the advice. Since my first posting I have found out a bit more about EISA, and realised just how useful such a partition is. After a lot of trial and error I eventually managed to install my Samsung SLC ssd. After first cloning just the c: drive from the original installation on the NC10, then installing the ssd and finding it wouldn't boot up I read up on the EISA configuration. All I got after the C: clone was a message " HDD incorrectly configured. Please check partition/s".

After my read-up, I then partioned the ssd, first partion with no drive letter and just labelled "Recovery, (5gb), and allocated the rest of the capacity for what I hoped would be the new C: drive. I then cloned just the original EISA partition to the ssd and installed it in the netbook. After switching on, during boot-up, I pressed the F4 key. This I had found accessed the Recovery prog in the EISA partition from the BIOS. Immediately the partition did it's job. It stated to write what it termed Windows files onto the empty C: drive! After this was complete I got a screen option for "Complete Recovery" with the next option being "To Original State" or "Last Back Up". As I knew there were no back up files on the disk I opted of course for "Original State". After I very short time and an automatic restart by the machine, everything was installed back to the just out of the box condition. The only thing different was that I did not have to register the machine again. I then loaded various drivers for the Lan, Wi-Fi etc and various small progs, which came with the package on a separate DVD.

After running Windows automatic updates and installing progs like Microsoft Works, Photoshop 7 etc. I burned a Complete Back -up of the C: drive, on to a DVD.

I have discovered that OEM COA's for pre-installed OS work differently than the way retail installations work. Apparently on pre-installed OS systems, keys are only supposed to be used on original equipment. Presumably my EISA partition is unique to my machine and somewhere in it's hidden depths there must be a serial number of my machine embedded. I am open to correction as a newbie, but I suppose if I tried the same with my EISA partition and another identical NC10, it would be a no-go area!

Once again many thanks for your help. Now that I am retired I think I could quite get into reading up on computers.

Incidentally the NC10 with the new SLC ssd is very fast and perfect for web browsing. Its robustness on my overseas travels will also be great.

John

petera

Some recovery partitions (and even disks) are not microsoft install disks but essentially a disk image of the C: drive.

The good thing from their point of view is you hardly need to do anything as it just wipes the C: drive and copies this over.

The serial number can be changed within the disk image as they probabaly do with all their PC's.

johnedlord

Thank you once again. One thing that is still puzzling me is that, with my SLC ssd installed, I cannot back up the C: drive, even to a separate HDD mounted in an external caddy. There is not room of course to back up on the C: drive. If I launch the Samsung Recovery prog, and try to back up to the external drive, after the prog takes me through a restart, Windows simply appears, i.e.no Back-up is written. The same happens if if try to burn a DVD of the C; drive via the Recovery prog. The Recovery prog is present in full on the C; drive, and I suppose it lurks somewhere in the hidden EISA partition. If I un-installed the Samsung Recovery Prog and re-installed it from the supplied DVD of drivers and small progs, would this fix this problem? Most puzzling!!

John

petera

It could be a bad install, but as I only use either Nortons Ghost or DriveImage to back up my hard disc I'm not too sure.

If you have the software on a DVD then there won't be any harm in re-installing it.