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What is the point of the restore partition?

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  What is the point of the restore partition? Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> - 2012-08-23 13:08 -0600
    Re: What is the point of the restore partition? Salvatore <sal@yojimbo.hack.invalid> - 2012-08-23 19:15 +0000
    Re: What is the point of the restore partition? "Wayne C. Morris" <wayne.morris@this.is.invalid> - 2012-08-23 15:14 -0500
    Re: What is the point of the restore partition? Howard S Shubs <howard@shubs.net> - 2012-08-23 14:31 -0600
      Re: What is the point of the restore partition? Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> - 2012-08-23 16:01 -0600
    Re: What is the point of the restore partition? Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> - 2012-08-23 22:09 +0000
      Re: What is the point of the restore partition? Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> - 2012-08-23 18:28 -0600

#29951 — What is the point of the restore partition?

If you've found a virus or root kit on your computer, the restore
partition shouldn't be trusted either.  If the hard disk failed, the
restore partition is probably gone too.  When else would you use one?

-- 
Jim Janney

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#29952

On 2012-08-23, Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> wrote:
> If you've found a virus or root kit on your computer, the restore
> partition shouldn't be trusted either.  If the hard disk failed, the
> restore partition is probably gone too.  When else would you use one?

It's a cost-saving measure. Usually there is a way to burn the restore
partition to a CD-R.

-- 
Blah blah bleh...

GCS/CM d(-)@>-- s+:- !a C++$ UBL++++$ L+$ W+++$ w M++ Y++ b++

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#29955

In article <ydnhartv330.fsf@shell.xmission.com>,
 Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> wrote:

> If you've found a virus or root kit on your computer, the restore
> partition shouldn't be trusted either.  If the hard disk failed, the
> restore partition is probably gone too.  When else would you use one?

When you want to wipe the disk of all your apps and personal data prior to 
selling the computer.

When you've messed up your system, perhaps by stupidly deleting some files you 
thought were unimportant, or by mistyping a command line.

When you've been sold/given a used computer which the former owner forgot to 
wipe clean.

When you want to want to wipe your hard drive and reinstall everything from 
scratch, as an extreme method of cleaning & reorganizing your hard disk.

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#29956

In article <ydnhartv330.fsf@shell.xmission.com>,
 Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> wrote:

> If you've found a virus or root kit on your computer, the restore
> partition shouldn't be trusted either.  If the hard disk failed, the
> restore partition is probably gone too.  When else would you use one?

There are other ways your boot partition can get fried.  When that 
happens, the restore partition can be useful.

-- 
May joy be yours all the days of your life! - Phina
We are but a moment's sunlight, fading in the grass. - The Youngbloods
Those who eat natural foods die of natural causes. - Kperspective

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#29964

Howard S Shubs <howard@shubs.net> writes:

> In article <ydnhartv330.fsf@shell.xmission.com>,
>  Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> wrote:
>
>> If you've found a virus or root kit on your computer, the restore
>> partition shouldn't be trusted either.  If the hard disk failed, the
>> restore partition is probably gone too.  When else would you use one?
>
> There are other ways your boot partition can get fried.  When that 
> happens, the restore partition can be useful.

That did happen to me once, on a computer at work: I ran an install
program one of our vendors had emailed to me, and it fried the system so
badly that the easiest thing was to reformat and reinstall everything.
But that was running Windows 95.

-- 
Jim Janney

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#29967

In message <ydnhartv330.fsf@shell.xmission.com> 
  Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> wrote:
> If you've found a virus or root kit on your computer, the restore
> partition shouldn't be trusted either.

The restore partition is not generally available when you are not booted
off it, so it should be clean. Also, I have no reason to think that the
restore partition would load anything but the things it knows to load,
and those things are likely sandboxed.

>If the hard disk failed, the restore partition is probably gone too.

Depends on exactly how/why he disk failed. Not all failures are physical.

-- 
Angie, Angie, when will those clouds all disappear?
Angie, Angie, where will it lead us from here?
With no lovin' in our soul and no money in our coats You can't say we're satisfied
But Angie, Angie--You can't say we never tried

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#29975

Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> writes:

> In message <ydnhartv330.fsf@shell.xmission.com> 
>   Jim Janney <jjanney@shell.xmission.com> wrote:
>> If you've found a virus or root kit on your computer, the restore
>> partition shouldn't be trusted either.
>
> The restore partition is not generally available when you are not booted
> off it, so it should be clean. Also, I have no reason to think that the
> restore partition would load anything but the things it knows to load,
> and those things are likely sandboxed.

It should be clean, unless it isn't.  Admittedly this is mostly
hypothetical for OS X, but the presence of malware means that someone
has found a way around the existing protections.  If I were writing a
root kit, the Recovery partition would be high on my list of targets.

>>If the hard disk failed, the restore partition is probably gone too.
>
> Depends on exactly how/why he disk failed. Not all failures are physical.

People keep telling me that, but I haven't seen any examples.  As long
as you're not running as admin you shouldn't be able to do anything too
bad.

-- 
Jim Janney

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