[ltp] [newbie] pre desktop area

[Joel Ebel]

The predesktop area contains six filesystems.  One contains the PC 
Doctor Diagnostics for DOS, which you can download, and probably a later 
version too.  The second contains the disk images to make a set of PC 
Doctor Diagnostic floppies.  Also downloadable.  For what it's worth, PC 
Doctor Diagnostics is crap.  I've had three problems requiring repair 
that PC Doctor didn't detect.  Anyway, the next filesystem contains the 
restore data for your computer.  Back to that in a second.  The fourth 
contains the restore program, which I don't really know why they kept 
separate.  The fifth is the rapid restore program.  If you ever want to 
use rapid restore in windows, this filesystem is necessary.  I don't 
know anyone who actually uses it though.  The last filesystem only has 2 
files in it.  I think it may be responsible for the interface when you 
first enter the predesktop area.

You don't really need the pre-desktop area on your hard drive unless you 
want to to an easy full restore, or if you use rapid restore PC and need 
to use the pre-desktop area's restore functionality with it.  The 
diagnostics can be downloaded.

If you get restore cd's, it will be capable of restoring this 
information almost identically.  You CAN run the restore process either 
from the restore cd's or from the predesktop area that they create. 
There could potentially be some differences between the restore data on 
the cd and in the pre-desktop area.  Several programs in my predesktop 
area were newer than what I got on the restore cd.  Thus, I wasn't 
satisfied with just the restore cd.  I wanted to back up the predesktop 
area as well.  There are instructions on how to back it up here:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/access_ibm_en/hpa_aibm.pdf
You can create your own cd's of a backup of the hidden protected area so 
if you ever want to restore it you can.  But, you can't restore the 
windows partition from anything but the official restore cd's, or a 
properly installed predesktop area.  If you really wanted to, you could 
just make a ghost image of a fresh install form the hpa and back up that 
too.

The restore program will only overwrite your first partition of the hard 
drive with Windows, so if you keep Linux on hda2 and higher it won't be 
touched.  But be prepared for the MBR to be overwritten.

Good luck,
Joel

mamo wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I just received from my company a new ibm T40, with a new hard disk
> (the ibm one was a 40G, and they bought a not IBM 80G).
> So right now I do not have the pre desktop area on the hard disk.
> What I am losing? Could I have everything I have on the HPA if I can
> receive the recovery-cd from IBM?
> 
> Should I work to recover it, or could I just modify bios setting to
> free-up that disk space?
> 
> Best Regards,
>                Mamo