Somewhere on teh intarwebs Barry Watzman wrote:
> That is very interesting. [Hold down the zero key while booting; or
> press F8]
>
> I am still inclined to think that the answer is wrong, only because I
> still believe that a 1.46GB partition is too small to be a factory
> restore partition for Vista, but I will give it a try.

I am inclined to agree with you Barry. The "ServiceV001" FAT32 (EISA
Configuration) hidden partition in this ThinkPad T60 is 4.54GB. It is an XP
Pro preload (with a bunch of licenced time-limited stuff Lenovo are probably
paid to include) *and* diagnostics partition.

I think that, going by the size of your partition and considering that you
have Vista on your machine, it's likely that your EISA partition is a
diagnostics-only partition where you can boot into a propriatary OS and run
tests on your hardware etc.

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll
be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchet, 'Jingo'.

> - Bobb - wrote:
>> If you didn't post this question at
>> http://laptopforums.toshiba.com/t5/S...tion/m-p/26285
>> you might try this:
>>
>> " Q. Toshiba doesn't provide a recovery disk with this laptop and
>> I'm sure not spending $20 to have a "free" one sent to me. I did
>> notice that there's a 1.5 gig hidden type partition on the hard
>> drive. Would this contain the recovery information by chance? If
>> so, how do I access it so I can reload my laptop?
>>
>> A. To load the recovery partition, hold down zero when you turn it
>> on. You can also go to the recovery environment by tapping F8 when
>> you turn it on and going to Repair Your Computer. There will be
>> recovery options there and one is Toshiba Recovery Wizard.
>>
>> If you still need assistance, please feel free to post a new message
>> or contact the Toshiba Customer Support Center at 1-800-457-7777. "
>>
>> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
>> news:h1k7or$6a6$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>>> Ok, Toshiba A135-s4457.
>>>
>>> Factory setup.
>>>
>>> It has a 1.46GB "Eisa Partition" on the hard drive (no drive letter,
>>> invisible).
>>>
>>> What is it?
>>>
>>> Google search turns up LOTS of people asking this question, lots of
>>> speculation (most of it I believe wrong). Does anyone know?
>>>
>>> It is NOT a "restore partition"; it's too small. The system has a
>>> 120GB drive and with NO additional software installed, it's using
>>> 34GB. Ok, there is a lot of "crapware", but even using compressed
>>> files, it takes about 3GB to 5GB to setup a restore configuration
>>> for Vista Home Premium, this is WAY too small to be a restore
>>> partition. So, to repeat the question: Anyone know what it is?
>>> Apparently,
>>> whatever it is, it is quite common (on other Toshiba models as well
>>> as on other brands of laptops).