Are my Lenovo partition useful at all?

Partitions*

One works as recovery, I think - the other one I have no idea about; some random software (bloatware) and a Showroom folder, whatever that is.

I'm going to install Windows 7, so I don't want anything that has an XP preload like the one that shipped with my laptop, but I still want to retain Lenovo's recovery features without limiting my options. I don't want any bloatware partitions, though. I'm not exactly clear on exactly what they do.

Are any of them worth keeping?

 

i think the other one is for the drivers, but let other members confirm it.

 

Not a whole lot; I recall trying to get ethernet drivers from it without any luck, but maybe they're XP-only.

 

Do you just suggest deleting them right away and create some rescue discs by yourself later on? The preload OS is a useless XP 32-bit, so it's not exactly useful.

 

Sod it; I'll just leave them alone for the time being. I have enough disk space at the moment.

 

i just wiped out everything and replaced it with windows 7. if there're any problems, that's what your warranty's for.

 

The warranty isn't for your software issues with screwing up your OS...

Anyways burn your media. You should keep the recovery partitions if you want to be able to restore back to factory.

If you have your media and can reinstall your OS and drivers on your own then go ahead and wipe it all. I put Vistal Ultimate 64 on my laptop and nuked the recovery because I don't need it.

 

Agreed. Standard Lenovo (and IBM before them) policy has been to CHARGE $$$ (I believe the going rate is $45) for recovery DVDs if you wipe them carelessly and then want to revert. You usually only get free DVDs if your HDD fails or you get an extremely nice rep on the phone.

There was also a fair amount of misinformation/speculation earlier in this thread.

The "Service Partiton" (S: in my case, apparently D: on yours) holds the Lenovo preDesktop environment (ThinkVantage button before Windows loads). This takes care of things such as fixing your MBR, allowing you to recover individual files (and backing up to USB or a network share) if Windows is unable to boot, and restoring to a factory or self created state using either the recovery media or a network image. I generally recommend keeping it because it can be useful and it's relativley small.

The "Lenovo Partition" (Q: in my case, apparently E: on yours) holds a compressed image of the Lenovo preload of your OS. It is accessed by the Service Partition and used to restore your machine to a factory state. This is relatively large (I believe mine was >6GB) and can be deleted AFTER making recovery media (either 2 DVDs or 7-12 CDs) if you are limited on space. However, if you have a single spindle machine (e.g. x200) and a relatively large hard drive, I would keep it as this is a faster way to return to factory.

Moral of the story BURN YOUR DVDs FIRST. Only then should you delete the partitions (ideally using the wizard at the end of the tool for burning recovery media).

 

Good points on the service partition. I wouldn't touch that unless you're comfortable with doing all your recovery/repair/fixing of OS/partitions/boot records, etc.