Windows can see it and I can boot it via grub4dos and bootmgr but I can't back it up with DriveImage XML or CloneDisk. But I want to, so how do I back up the PQSERVICE partition?

"Windows" DOES NOT see it.
"Windows Disk Management" does.
The Partition is using an "UNKNOWN" (to Windows) Partition ID:
http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/partitions/partition_types-1.html
(thus it doesn't get a drive letter) but on the PTEDIT32 screenshot I can see as first entry in the MBR a partition type 27 and you have the Windows 7 "system" partition visible .
(or have you messed again with that poor MBR partition table?)
It makes no sense that the PQSERVICE partition has Windows Vista /7 non cylinder aligned offset. AND that the System has the 100 Mb partition.
Which machine is it?
Did it came as it is now or is it the result of some cloning/imaging/restoring?

Your choice, you can either unhide it or you read here on how to use some specific tool to have it temporarily have a drive letter assigned to it:
http://reboot.pro/10169/

Once it will have a drive letter assigned you should have no problem whatsoever to image the drive.
Or you could get the offset/length from the MBR partition table and use a dd-like tool on the \\.\Physicaldrive with the "right data" (if you want a dd-like copy of it).


jaclaz

Do note that the 1st word of what sees it is "Windows". Maybe not all of Windows but certainly a part of it.


The title at the top of that "PTEDIT32" window is "Clonedisk". And the type 27 partition I believe is the SYSTEM RESERVED partition, which normal Windows doesn't see either.


The PQSERVICE partition contains a bootmgr and is what was the surprise grub4dos boot. It brings up the Acer System Recovery system for restoring the system back to it's initial state.


It is a new Acer 0722 netbook. An early Christmas present from my wife. (Who's tired of hearing me complain about my Dell notebook hanging every day.) The only thing I have done to the hdd is shrink the Acer partition and add the DATA and BKUPS partitions.


I know that would allow DriveImage XML to back it up but I was surprised that CloneDisk couldn't do it as is.

NO.

The partition with ID 27 is the PQSERVICE partition allright, as it is made of 27,262,976 sectors, that multiplied by 512 makes 13,958,643,712, i.e. roughly the 13 Gb you see in disk management.

Additionally 27 is - as seen in the given link - the TYPICAL partition ID for PQSERVICE partition:


On the other hand (if needed) it is the FIRST partition (in addresses) in the MBR partition table and THUS it is the first partition in disk management view.

So NO doubts whatsoever.

The "abnormal" thing is that the small 100 Mb partition gets a drive letter (and particularly that i gets C:\) as normally these notebooks have only:

• the "recovery" partition
• the "main" C:\ partition spanning over all the rest of the disk

I have seen some (example here):
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/150419-sol...primary-drives/
that do have:

• the "recovery" partition
• the small 100 (or 200) Mb "system" partition BUT with NO drive letter assigned to it
• the "main" C:\ partition spanning over all the rest of the disk

But the fact that you have your "main" partition with letter F:\ is - I suspect - the result of one of your changes.

There are only two "ways" to connect:
\\.\PhysicalDrive
\\.\LogicalDrive

Several factors may affect whether a volume can be "seen/accessed" as \\.\LogicalDrive even if NO drive letter is assigned to it, no way to know if you could connect to the \\.\LogicalDrive without assigning a drive letter (or mountpoint) to it.

Try running Tiny Hexer and go File->Disk->Open Drive/Partition.
Can you see the PQSERVICE partition? (I doubt so).


Wonko

The Clonedisk window shows 4 partitions, the Windows (Drive Manager) window shows 5 partitions on the hdd, so which partition is Clonedisk's partition table not showing???

I gotta go, I'll post more later.

-more-

Ok, I'm back.


OK, I accept.


It's equally annoying that it is a Primary partition thus making my BKUP partition a Logical which means booting it will be my next challenge. (Once I figure out how to get to it's bootmgr)


It's C: when Win 7 boots.


What I see is attached, you tell me.

And is the DevIO device that CloneDisk is showing the PQSERVICE partition?

I want to backup the Acer Recovery/PQSERVICE partition in case I ever need to replace the hdd. When the hdd failed on the Dell NB years ago and I replaced it I was able to buy replacement OEM XP and Dell Utilities CDs for it but not it's Service partition. It wasn't until I serviced another Dell machine that I was able to copy it's partition to the NB's hdd. So, with this machine I want to be better prepared.

So you posted (without telling) a BartPE screen initially.



Heck, NO!
It is the the second line in your third screen:

Try converting 0x01A00000 into decimal


And you have ALREADY been told TWO (actually THREE) different methods to back it up.


Wonko

All screens posted are from BartPE. Sorry I thought it was kinda obvious.


The third screen is from Tiny Hexer not CloneDisk, the backup app.


Are you referring to changing the partition type so it isn't hidden?? Or using the tools in the http://reboot.pro/10169/ link to hack the MBR? I really don't want to touch the hdd other than backup the partition. I was hoping there was a parameter for CloneDisk to access it.

Ooo I may have found a solution!! Will let you know later, after I try it.

Look, I originally suggested you Clonedisk, because it is a very nice app, but this doesn't obviously mean that it can do *everything*.

You are falling in the usual trap , asking how to do something through a specific method/tool as opposed to SIMPLY asking HOW to do it.

You were given THREE available options:

1. change the partition ID in the MBR (I presume from 27 to 07) so that the mount manager will assign a drive letter to the volume THEN use Clonedisk (or another tool)
2. use either MountstorePE or showdrive.exe to have the volume assigned a drive letter THEN use Clonedisk (or another tool)
3. forget about drive letters and use direct disk access to backup that chunk of the disk

#1 is easy doable with Tiny Hexer (or other disk editor) and you need not any "other" tool
#2 is even easier and you can do it by simply getting one of the mentioned tools
#3 is the SAFEST (as the recovery partition won't be "online", not even for a split nanosecond, so you have NO risks whatsoever that the running PE or Windows makes any modifications to it), BUT requires you to give to a suitable program, like, as an example, Datarescue DD:
http://reboot.pro/7783/
the correct addresses (which you can get allright from the MBR view in Tiny Hexer or Clonedisk)

Now, all the above is essentially "partial" as they ALL miss an important piece, which is your current MBR.

So, all in all you could also use dsfo imaging from first sector up to the end of the partition (you would image an exceeding/unneeded 2047 sectors, but since the thingy is a huge 13 Gb already, roughly 1 Mb difference won't be that much a problem.

Quiz of the day:

Given that the volume starts at LBA 2,048 and is 27,262,976 sectors in size, which number would you use instead of xxxxxxxxxx in a command line like:



Decisions, decisions, always decisions .....


jaclaz

True, but in that it seems to be open to improvements, and very fast, I was hoping if it couldn't it could be made to.


It's not a trap, it's knowing what I want to do. I don't want to have a dozen backup utilities and 5 yrs from now when I have to do a restore have to figure out which app backed up which drive.


Interesting, Tiny Hexer does do a lot but I don't feel comfortable using it. And I don't think it was designed to be a backup tool for partitions. And Datarescue DD it falls into the previous comment's point.

And as for MountStorPE when I scan this thread I don't see any mention of MountStorPE prior to your last posting. It was however mentioned in your Reboot link and on many Google hits for PQSERVICE and has a BartPE plugin even which is what I tried and it works perfectly.

I present to you PQSERVICE
Which I can now backup with... CloneDisk.


I do backup my MBRs, since few backup apps do, with MBRfix.exe.

So, after all you went for the second option that was ALREADY presented you in post #2:



jaclaz

The plugin is mentioned in that link, along with several other approaches, so I didn't pick up on it initially. I thought your use of the word "temporarily" was referring to something that I would manually do to make the partition accessible and then manually do to change it back, while hoping that I changed it back correctly. The MountStorPE plugin makes the process fool proof.

And thank you for your help with this.