Dell partition purpose

I was installing Linux for a friend the other day but we stopped half way because she needed to go somewhere for this week. What I did get to see was the partition layout of the system and it was kind of confusing. I want to know if there is anything I shouldn't delete if I want both Windows and Linux to work fine. She has a Dell Inspiron B130. There was a:

• FAT16 Partition
• Windows XP Partition
• Backup partition - Extended
• FAT32 Partition - Extended

I'm thinking they're all safe to delete besides the XP Partition, right? None of them are dell tools?

 

dell has a diagnostics partition thatn u can download if u deleted urs....... wat are the sizes of those partitions(and free space?)..... i deleted all my partitions during Vista installation(64bit), but the diagnositc partition is still there(u can verfiy by going to disk management and u 'll see a partition)

 

Typically the partition layout is:

1) Recovery Partition
2) C:
3) D:
4) Mediadirect

Though I am not sure about the Inspiron B130. Im pretty sure it follows a similar format.

Where exactly do you download the diagnostics partition paper_wastage?

 

(If I remember correctly) The FAT16 Partition is only about 17MB, the Windows XP partition is 30GB, the Recovery partition is about 10GB and the FAT32 partition is about 32MB and then there's about 11MB of free space. I want to delete everything besides the WinXP partition, so from what you're saying that's fine to do?

 

Yes, they are not really important since most likely he has the recovery CDs to restore his computer to factory condition. Feel free to delete them. Make sure you back up everything first!

 

backup what she needs ( mp3 etc) wipe it clean, install XP again ( get it from somewhere- as long as you have a serial ( should be one under the laptop) and install it like that.

And I have to say this- as long as you have the right ( a serial you have paid for) I see no reason what so ever not to install it again, as it's not our problem that Dell, HP etc etc or MS does not provide a good backup solution ( CD without crapware) to install if something goes wrong.

My little rant

 

No, she doesn't have a recovery CD. She bought the laptop off eBay. She's also taking a university course that may or may not require Windows so I need to be careful.

No can do, I'll port all her files to Ubuntu but Windows needs to stay. The serial on the bottom is faded and even though I could get it with a software specified to grab serial numbers I don't have an XP CD and grabbing an XP ISO off of the internet is too risky and no matter what you say it is illegal in the USA.

 

Don't remember what XP was like since I never had to reinstall it, but for Vista, whenever you reinstall it, or reformat then install, there is no need to enter your product key since the Bios knows that your laptop is a Dell and what your key is. You might want to look into it so there is no need for a serial grabber and any possible illegal actions.

You should look for software that can make a backup image of your hard drive or make your own recovery CDs using Dell's recovery Cd/dvd tools just to be safe so not having a recovery partition won't really matter as much since you will at least be able to restore it to the state it is in now.

Recovery to factory condition probably isn't too important right?

 

Ah, I screwed up and I screwed up bad. Read more here. Any help is appreciated.