Help! Does HD partitioning void Dell support?

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@hgunn wrote:
I'm stuck in the middle of an XP installation failure in my Dimension 8400, probably because of a failing hard drive. I'm trying to deal with it through Dell's email tech support. I've had better results with that service over the years because it cuts through the language difficulties I've experienced with Dell techs on the phone.

The computer was purchased last November and is well within warranty. I removed all its unwanted software and set up partitions in the 250 gig hard drive drive soon after I got it. I use one of its large partitions as a central repository for current files on my home network.

During the last four or five days, I've followed directions for tests and settings changes, then communicated their results to the different on-duty shifts of support techs. A message from one of them on Sunday said that my hard drive needs to be replaced and asked for shipping information.

The last message from a new shiftworker tech came on Monday morning. He misstated my problem, then said they 'can't support the system' because I've partitioned the hard drive. None of my messages have been answered since then, so I've apparently been deserted with a broken down computer.

I've had partitions in Dell computers for years and have discussed them with Dell techs. Does partitioning now affect technical support from Dell? Where can I go to get an explanation, and what's my recourse for getting this computer fixed?

If the hard drive fails diagnostics, it will be replaced under warranty.  If Dell determines that your messing with the hard drive made it non-functional (nothing you've stated indicates that), then they could refuse to support it and require you restore it to the original condition.  Diagnostics will identify hardware failures that your partitioning would have had no effect on.

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@hgunn wrote:
It's over..I finally did what I should have done several days ago.

I used phone support and learned how to test the drive without the diagnostic disk. It failed the test and will be replaced.

Used the pre-installed diagnostics by hitting F12?  Glad it worked out for you.

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katwomansz wrote:
I notice on my Hard Drive there is

Partition Partition Type Drive Start Offset Partition Length
#1 Dell Utility 0 MB 39 MB
#2 (Active) NTFS C: 39 MB 72661 MB
#3 Unknown (Code: $DB) 72700 MB 3584 MB


I believe this allows Dell Techs to work on your computer online by broadband if you let them.

Using the Advanced Forum Search on the bottom of this page, you can quite easily find the answer to this often asked question. 

Incorrect.  First partition is diagnostics, second is your C drive and third is the Symantec PC Restore partition.

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@katwomansz wrote:
Dell techs are trained to reformat because then everything works....see !
So they make it easy for themselves.
And I agree that most problems are probably caused by people changing what then don't know and then breaking something, so I can see Dell's bias in this area....

after searching all posts I could find many contradictory guesses but the only post by DELL-Stephen is
"There may be some space set aside on a Diagnostic or operating system backup partition, but the main volume of the drive will be configured as a single drive partition with Windows and your factory installed software configured on that partition."
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_harddrive&message.id=71783&query.id=190385#M71783

and this
"Dell tech do not seem to know about it! 4 phone calls to 4 different people at Dell Tech Supp, not one them new about the problem although it is on this Forum?"
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_harddrive&message.id=86730&query.id=190398#M86730


But I have never used a Symantec product on my computer unless Dell installs it in that Dell Utility partition????
I loved Norton from way back and used them on Win 98 machines but not on any WinXP machine....

Systems shipped after June 15, 2004 came with Symantec PC Restore. This utility restores the computer to an "as-shipped" condition. If you haven't reformatted, repartitioned, or otherwise modified the master boot record, it should work. Click here for instructions about Symantec PC Restore.

If the Symantec PC Restore utility won't work, but still resides on your computer, a Dell customer has figured out some ways to get it to work again. Note - If you removed this partition, it is not recoverable, cannot be downloaded from the internet, and cannot be shipped from Dell. Click here for ways to fix Symantec PC Restore. Users have also reported that the partition can be restored with Ghost 2003, and Ghost 9 using the '03 capabilities of it. If you boot to the Ghost 9 CD, select Advanced Recovery Taks, select Utilities, then Restore Legacy IMage it should work - but you want to verify the image before attempting the restore. It's in a folder called IMG.

Systems that shipped beginning in early 2005 may ship without Windows XP. There SHOULD be (but sometimes isn't) a utility on your computer to run and create the Windows XP CD. This is a RUN ONCE utility. Click here for instructions to create your Windows XP CD. Some users have reported needing to reboot a few times to get this utility to show up on the menu. You can also call Dell and request a CD and wait for it to ship.

Incorrect. First partition is diagnostics, second is your C drive and third is the Symantec PC Restore partition.

Message Edited by katwomansz on 07-05-2005 08:56 PM