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    HP Recovery partition

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by jtg, Oct 29, 2008.

  1. jtg

    jtg Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm planning to install Ubuntu on my HP dv3510nr. This machine has a separate recovery partition that you can access by pressing F11 at boot. I'm going to leave the recovery partition alone, but I expect that when grub gets written to the MBR, it's going to break the F11 functionality -- even though the partition is still there.

    Does that sound right?
     
    jtg, Oct 29, 2008
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  2. thomasg_gpm

    thomasg_gpm Notebook Guru

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    The "F11-function" should be a BIOS feature, and therefore not touched by the bootloader (grub). So I wouldn't expect any problems.
     
    thomasg_gpm, Oct 29, 2008
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  3. jtg

    jtg Notebook Enthusiast

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    I had experience with a Dell where the recovery partition was very much dependent on a customized MBR, which got lost when I installed grub. I had to jump through hoops to restore an original MBR so the recovery partition would work again. (You can read more about how the Dell version works if you're curious.)

    I'm not sure whether the HP recovery partition works in a similar way. I would like to believe that it is dependent on the BIOS only, but I'm not sure.
     
    jtg, Oct 29, 2008
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  4. Bungalo Bill

    Bungalo Bill Notebook Deity

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    You have to make sure to get the GRUB installed right, but as long as the grub works the partition is accessible. It's listed as longhorn (loader) This does mean that you can't use F11 t access it, you must load it from grub.
     
    Bungalo Bill, Oct 29, 2008
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  5. radnor

    radnor Notebook Enthusiast

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    Do you have the blue soft buttons on your lappy? If you do, GRUB "might" mess with them! I have a HP DV9420US. When I let Ubuntu install Grub in the MBR, the soft keys DID NOT work. You can scan for my posts and see more detail. I reinstalled VIA recovery CD(s). Now I boot with a CD VS. grub in the MBR.
     
    radnor, Nov 13, 2008
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