When you try to delete an EISA Hidden Recovery or Diagnostic partion, some options fail:
- DiskMgmt.msc does not show the “delete” option
(the link is for Windows XP, but the – usually very useful – tool has been almost the same for ages) - DiskPart.exe fails with “Cannot delete a protected partition without the force protected parameter set“
- The free partition managers I tried (Partition Assistant 2.0 Home Edition and EASEUS Partition Master) refuse to install on the x64 editions of Windows (x64 is used more and more at home these days)
Luckily, this thread discusses both problems, and points to this page for a solution with DiskPart.
The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff 