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    Latitude D630 - Pre-Formatting info

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by karush, Jun 4, 2008.

  1. karush

    karush Newbie

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    Hi everyone,
    I've just received my new Dell Latitude D630.
    I'm thinking of formatting the hard disk and istalling debian linux (no XP), so before doing something unrepairable i need some answers:
    1) May I delete 102mb hiddeni partition (eila)? I've both driver and xp cd's.
    2) Can I run some tests in windows to check the status of screen, battery, etc... that i cannot run under linux?
    3) I'm planning to use Virtualbox on linux creating an image with the xp cd I received. Is it ok?

    Thank You in Advance
    Bye.

    (Forgive me for my bad english, I'm Italian!!)
     
    karush, Jun 4, 2008
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  2. ymer

    ymer Notebook Enthusiast

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    For question number one, you can delete it but it's not recommended, that partition has the Dell Diagnostics, if you ever encounter issues with the system it's a very good tool to diagnose the problem.
     
    ymer, Jun 5, 2008
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  3. Forte

    Forte NBR's Supreme Angel

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    1) You will want to back that part up probably. What that hidden partition is is a recovery partition along with Drive D which is the other part of the recovery partition. You can delete it, but you will not be able to restore to initial factory state unless you make recovery CDs.

    I personally would just keep it just so that say if you ever want to sell it, at least you can sell it in factory condition.

    2) Yes, there are diagnostics and stuff, but you should be able to check everything on linux.

    3) Yes, using Virtualbox on linux to create an image with the XP cd should be perfectly fine.

    No forgiveness needed for your "bad" english. Its rather good. :)
     
    Forte, Jun 5, 2008
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