[CJS23]

Hi

I am unable to view any configurable options in Disk Management for an 8GB EISA Partition.

1. Can I safely delete the Partition and if so how?

2. Can I move all the data on c:\ all the way to the left in Disk Management if you know what I mean

I enclose screenshots for clarification.

Additionally, I am puzzled by the line in System Information which mentions \Device\HarddiskVolume2 - does it say that because of the position of the partitions in Disk Management?

I understand that the EISA Partition is to due with Recovery Software?

Grateful for any help

[TheOutcaste]

On my Dell the EISA partition is only 55 MB. It contains just the diagnostics programs. My Recovery partition is Volume 3, 4.67 GB.
Your C: drive is Volume 2 because it's the 2nd partition, as is mine on this system.

Windows won't delete it because of the partition type byte, probably set to DE, which is identified as EISA, rather than the normal 0C/07 for FAT32/NTFS.
If you really want to delete it, you'll need to use something like TestDisk to change the partition type byte, 0C for FAT32 would work.

Once it's gone, You should then be able to extend the C: drive to the left.
I have no idea how that would affect Vista; the volume number might change, but Vista should go more by the disk ID rather than a number based on position. You may need to do a startup repair from the Vista DVD.

Always a good idea to have an image of the drive so you can recover if it doesn't work out.

HTH

Jerry

[Elvandil]

Any bootable partitioning tool can remove that partition. But have you made other arrangements for recovery?

Vista will require that you run startup repair after you make the change.

Partitioning Tools-->

Free:

Paragon Partition Manager 8.5-- PPM Special Edition serial and free registration
CloneZilla GParted LiveCD (Complete partitioning and drive imaging/restoration tools)
SystemRescueCD
Gparted LiveCD
Parted Magic
Vista Recovery Disk (Shrink, expand, create, delete partitions)
XP Recovery Console CD image (Create and delete partitions with diskpart.exe)


Commercial:

O&O Partition Manager 2 (Vista-compatible)
Paragon Partition Manager
Paragon Hard Disk Manager
Terabyte BootIt NG
Acronis Disk Director
V-Com (Avanquest) Partition Commander
EASEUS Partition Manager

[CJS23]

It's a relative's PC and knowing her she will have all the Software including OS that came with the machine.

I'm not too woried about leaving the partition there if it's not doing any harm.

Just that I've no way of accessing it so don't know what's in it.

This is important to me as the PC is riddled with Malware and I was wondering if they could somehow be lurking on that 8GB Partition.

Is it safe to ignore it?

[Elvandil]

If you can't access it, then malware can't, either. That partition usually contains the information needed for recovery. And the machine has a special MBR that only the manufacturer uses to allow access to that partition at boot (with the special keypress) in order to begin the recovery process. So any changes at all made to the partitions will replace the MBR with a standard one and access will be lost. You will also lose access to the OS, and without the Vista DVD, you can't run startup repair to fix it.

If you suspect malware, just scan the drives that the malware scanner can see, preferably offline, when Windows is not running, since then you have a better chance of finding rootkits that hide themselves after taking over the kernel at boot.

There are quite a few bootable anti-virus CD's out there, and UBCD4Win can be used, too, to run scanners from a floppy or even from the hard drive, even if they are not themselves installed in UBCD.

Besides, even if the EISA partition contained nothing but malware and dangerous viruses, they couldn't affect the machine. They are not alive. They need to be executed to do anything.

[CJS23]

Thanks very much indeed.

Think I will just sort the PC and leave the Partition well alone.

Kind regards

Chris

[Elvandil]

Good idea. Avira, INSERT, some Linux distros, Dr. Web, and UBCD are all possible, bootable cleaners that you can use. Offline scans are really the best since nothing can hide from them, but you do have to be more careful what you remove. Look through the results and don't just remove infected system files without making arrangements for replacing them.

Our Malware forum is very good, so take a look around there for more ideas.

Once you get cleaned up and everything running well, think about making a complete disk image. Then, you can play with the partitions all you want, and even if the hard drive fails, you can restore everything, even the EISA partition, to exactly the state it was in when you created the image.

Macrium Reflect
Paragon Drive Backup Express

[CJS23]

Will do.

I'm doing the Malware Removal University training at the moment.

I normally use ESET online Scanner and Malware Bytes in conjunction with AVG Free 8.5

[Elvandil]

It is really nice to have just a plain, old, vanilla MS edition of the OS. Then you can make normal partitions, use normal tools, and have the DVD for reinstallation. They try to make it easy for you and cheaper for them by installing that "recovery partition". But that means you can't change anything, and if the drive fails, all is lost, including the OS installation files, if there are no CD's. You also get no junk installed by the manufacturer.

Good luck at the University. I hear they are tough over there.

MalwareBytes is good, as are ESET, and AVG. But for malware, you may want to do periodic checks with one or two additional scanners. AV's are usually pretty complete as far as their databases of threats go, but anti-malware is so prevalent, that each scanner catches something that others don't. You should have only one "real-time" scanner running, though. PrevX is good since it uses heuristics to find infections and doesn't rely on a database. But it can be intrusive, so I use it just for scans from time to time. It has removed infections nothing else could touch.

Free anti-malware:

All-Seeing Eye (Monitors system)
Dr. Web Cure-It
MalwareBytes trial
A-Squared
PrevX CSI Free Version
Spybot S&D
RunScanner
Ad-Aware 2007
SuperAntiSpyware
Spyware Eliminator
Emco Malware Destroyer
Spyware Doctor
Arovax Anti-spyware
Trend-Micro Rootkit Buster
F-Secure Blacklight
Bootzilla (Bootable anti-malware CD with many other tools.)

List of freeware security software
Guide to Free Security Software (ScanComplete Site)

[CJS23]

Lol. I believe so but I like a challenge. I've had loads of help from Forums over the years so it's nice to be able to put something back.

I am also trying to start my own Business so it will have benefits for my customers too!

[Elvandil]

There is no substitute for knowing what you are doing when removing malware. Scanners are great, but they are a shot-gun approach to a problem that sometimes has a specific solution.

See you after "finals"

[CJS23]

You certainly will.

If I pull my finger out, how long would you say it should take me to pass it? I have loads of spare time.

[Elvandil]

Sorry. I'm not up on that. I'm just a man and a Vermonter, either of which thing alone would be enough to make me never ask for directions. So, I clean my own malware, and get rid of it eventually due to my knowledge of the shell and trial and error. That works fine for me, but what I can check in 30 seconds on the machine in front of me would take someone in forum a lot longer, leading to many dead-ends in the process. So an organized approach works better when helping someone else.

Good luck and enjoy. Cleaning malware is becoming more important than fixing hardware these days.

[CJS23]

Hello again.

What does "bump" mean in these Forums?

I have a thread at http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/8...herboards.html - do I place "bump" to move it up the queue as have had no replies?

Kind regards

Chris

[Elvandil]

That's basically what "bump" means and does. But it would be far more useful if people could try to think of some more useful information to add in order to move the thread up.