I received a new Lenovo T420 laptop with Windows 7.

The disk now contains:

* a hidden `SYSTEM_DRV` boot partition (1.17GB, 400MB used). I'm guessing this is the UEFI partition; the laptop comes with UEFI instead of a legacy BIOS. This partition is NTFS formatted, and I suppose contains the Windows Boot Manager and other useful boot things (but I'm not certain, so if anyone knows if this can/should be deleted say so)
* the Windows 7 partition
* a rescue partition

As I've come to understand, the BIOS is UEFI but MBR is used, not GPT.

This is a follow-up on my [previous question](https://superuser.com/questions/315046/windows-7-ubuntu-dual-boot-conversion-to-gpt) about doing the same thing using GPT partitioning - I decided not to go on with that because it's overly complicated at the moment and there are a couple of serious bugs in Ubuntu running around.

How can I install Ubuntu on this machine (using the usual MBR partitioning), and how will that installation affect the Windows installation, taking into consideration the UEFI partition and the boot manager it contains?

If anyone has looked into such issues (related to UEFI) please advise - maybe there's something I don't understand.

**UPDATE 1**: My guess that this SYSTEM\_DRV partition is the UEFI partition may be completely wrong of course, looking into that.. It may be something else, something lenovo-related like the recovery partition.

**UPDATE 2**: I opened the SYSTEM\_DRV partition using a Linux boot cd, and there are several files inside. On the root of the drive there's a file 'sdrive' which has this as content:

```
"Lenovo Service Partition Version 1.0.0.2009"

```

There are also boot folders, with a Windows Boot Manager. What's going on?

I'm starting to thing this is a separate Windows installation that boots when you press the ThinkVantage button to do some rescue and recovery operations. I still don't know how this is related to the "Lenovo Recovery" partition (if it is).