Windows Recovery Option

[cookie_monster]

We have just bought some netbooks that have a built in recovery partition (Windows Recovery Environment ) which I can't seem to stop appearing as an option at boot time. The problem is that i've password protected the BIOS and Windows but a student can just start the recovery process at boot time a factory restore the netbook.

I can't see a way to stop this in Windows startup options.

 

Any idea how to stop this?

Edited October 2, 2009 by cookie_monster

[OutToLunch]

Have you had a look at Boot.ini or does it appear before/after the standard Windows loader choice screen?

[cookie_monster]

I can't see anything in boot.ini

 

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

[RabbieBurns]

use dd or something similar to backup the partition and make a recovery disk, and then just remove the recovery partition?

[cookie_monster]

use dd or something similar to backup the partition and make a recovery disk, and then just remove the recovery partition?

 

I removed the partition on one unit and it doesn't boot at all now, this wasn't the partition that boot.ini referenced as far as I can tell. I'll take a look in a bit I'm doing about seven jobs at the moment.

 

Thanks.

[cookie_monster]

It must have some sort of Win PE boot loader as I can see a C:\boot folder (these are XP Home units).

 

I bodged it in the end by altering the boot.ini file so it boots from partition 1 then deleting the recovery partition in disk management, when it reboots the Windows partition is 1 and it boots Windows. Now if they try to load the recovery environment it just fails.

 

I'll look for a better solution another time.