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Hello everyone!

I have the ASUS netbook with 160GB HDD and factory installed Windows XP. This HDD containing the boot partition, data partition, MBR, hidden system recovery partition and a crypted UFC partition. Now I need to replace this HDD with 250GB, with copying data from source disk to destination. I used the old Acronis True Image Home 2009 to clone the old disk to new. All partitions, including factory revovery partition and encrypted UFC partition, was succesfully copied to the new disk. But when I tried to create the new partition on the unused new disk's space, using DISKPART utility of Windows Recovery Console, the disk's partition table was lost. Now I repeat the clone procedure to recover the disk.

So, the first question is: Is it possible to use the disk's unused space without deleting of hidden factory partitions? And if it is possible, can it be done outside the ASUS service center, and which programs can be used to do it?

And the second question: How do you think, is it could be better to delete the factory recovery partition and crypted partition, then increase the data partition's size and make my own backup of my system partition using Acronis product?

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Sergey,

First, run chkdsk /r on your drive just to make sure everything is OK after cloning.

Second, are you selecting proportional cloning or as is?

If you are cloning as is, then either Microsoft disk manager or Acronis Disk Director should be able to make a new partition and format it for you.

Note you can only have 4 primary partitions on a MBR type disk, more than four and they have to be implimented as logical ones.

The encrypted partition maybe the one causing the problem, I would suggest unencrypting it before altering disk partitions.

If you want to remove the ASUS recovery partition, i suggest making a complete disk image of the drive as it is now, so that you can always put it back if for example you want to sell the netbook.

Colin, thank you.

If you are cloning as is, then either Microsoft disk manager or Acronis Disk Director should be able to make a new partition and format it for you.

When I try to create partition from Windows using Microsoft Disk Manager, the Create Partition menu item is unavailable to click, although unused disk space is presented and visible in disk's partition structure window.

The encrypted partition maybe the one causing the problem, I would suggest unencrypting it before altering disk partitions.

I think so too. Can you suggest any program than can unencrypt such partitions and crypt it back?

If you want to remove the ASUS recovery partition, i suggest making a complete disk image of the drive as it is now, so that you can always put it back if for example you want to sell the netbook.

Thank you for this recomendation.

Sergey,

I'm not sure what program has been used to encrypt your drive, but that'll be the one to also unencrypt it.

Could you post a screen shot of what DiskManager shows of your drive?

I'm sorry, this screenshot is in russian.

The 'Раздел' word means 'partition',
'Основной' means 'Main' (I'm not sure, but this word can also have the 'Primary' meaning),
'Состояние' means 'Status',
'Емкость' means 'Capacity',
'Свободно' means 'Free space'
'Исправен' means 'Correct',
'Шифрованный (EFI) системный раздел' means 'Crypted (EFI) system partition',
'Система' means 'System',
'Неизвестный раздел' means 'Unknown partition',
МБ is Megabytes, ГБ is Gigabytes,
'Подключен' means 'Connected',
'Не распределен' means 'Unallocated'.

I forgot to say, when system recovery performing, I see the Symantec Ghost window. I think, this program was used to prepare a crypted partition.

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Sergey,

I'm still thinking!