Hosed Grub with the push of a button

[Jim Cornette]

Robert Nichols wrote:
> Jim Cornette wrote:
>> My guess would be that the motherboard has a chip inside that has a 
>> compressed image of what was originally installed on the computer, 
>> like what a install CD would have. hitting that button probably 
>> launches the flash image which expands it from the end of the disk on 
>> forward. That would explain why it took over the tail end of the LVM 
>> partitioned off space. There are probably no safeguards for the 
>> routine to check first what is setup before going to town and doing 
>> its thing.
> 
> That's almost certainly what happened.  There was undoubtedly a hidden
> partition at the end of the disk, and that partition got wiped out when
> the Linux installer was told to use the whole disk.  Pressing the magic
> button restored that hidden partition, overwriting the end of the LVM
> in the process.
> 
> Simplest preventive measure is to leave that partition in place when
> creating the LVM.
> 

I can see a value for the button if one has a disk failure so the disk 
information can be restored to original condition. Since the button will 
overwrite whatever is contained on your hard disk, leaving it intact 
does make sense. If I ever purchase a computer with the "easy button" I 
would leave the partition intact since now reading how other's lost 
working systems because of that feature.

I guess his best option would be to wipe out the partition table and 
then press the "easy button". Afterward he could setup his alternative 
installation. (Or cover up the button.)

Jim

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