Why do I have so many Recovery Partitions?

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woodson

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#166179 5-Mar-2015 08:41

I'm running Windows 8.1 on my newish laptop and have never done any disk partitioning with it - there's just the C drive. I just noticed in my disk management that for some reason I have 4 Healthy Recovery Partitions (3 are around the 400Mb size, and 1 is almost 16Gb). I also have 1 Healthy (EFI system Partition) which is 300Mb. Could anyone explain what these are all there for, and how they got there?

I'm guessing the 16Gb recovery partition is the one that came 'built in' to the laptop (as OEMs don't include rescue disks anymore), but have no idea about the others.

Thanks for any tips.

semigeek

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#1251512 5-Mar-2015 09:01

No idea, but if they are taking up valuable space, then you could just delete them, and if you ever need to reinstall, you could download the installation media here
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media You will need a product key though, which you should have stuck to the laptop somewhere.

In saying all that, they could also be system restore points. Go into Control Panel, Recovery and Configure System Restore to see how much space is being used.

lNomNoml

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#1251515 5-Mar-2015 09:08

semigeek: No idea, but if they are taking up valuable space, then you could just delete them, and if you ever need to reinstall, you could download the installation media here
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media You will need a product key though, which you should have stuck to the laptop somewhere.

In saying all that, they could also be system restore points. Go into Control Panel, Recovery and Configure System Restore to see how much space is being used.

Um if you delete them you will need to reinstall, OP just leave them it's how Windows 8/8.1 is partitioned on the hard drive. System restore points are stored on the main partition. The 16GB is the recovery.

woodson

234 posts

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#1251523 5-Mar-2015 09:24

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'l leave stuff as it is! :)

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#1251525 5-Mar-2015 09:26

NO the 16 GB partition is for fast startup. disable fast startup and you can reclaim your land

semigeek

1606 posts

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#1251535 5-Mar-2015 09:34

lNomNoml:
semigeek: No idea, but if they are taking up valuable space, then you could just delete them, and if you ever need to reinstall, you could download the installation media here
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media You will need a product key though, which you should have stuck to the laptop somewhere.

In saying all that, they could also be system restore points. Go into Control Panel, Recovery and Configure System Restore to see how much space is being used.

Um if you delete them you will need to reinstall, OP just leave them it's how Windows 8/8.1 is partitioned on the hard drive. System restore points are stored on the main partition. The 16GB is the recovery.

I've always deleted recovery partitions, never had to reinstall.. but if I ever did, I just got media that didn't have all the junk included.

SumnerBoy

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#1251538 5-Mar-2015 09:38

My latest Windows v8.1 HP laptop doesn't have a product key on the bottom. I questioned the sales guys from JustLaptops where I bought it and they said that if I ever had to rebuild it I would have to reinstall the original ver of Windows (v8) and it would automatically activate (via some hardware key?) and then I would have to upgrade to v8.1/v10 etc.

Therefore I have decided to keep the recovery partition so I can start from scratch if/when required. I would much prefer to reinstall Windows only (not bloatware) but I am just not sure how much of a headache that will be with this new activation process.

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

lNomNoml

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#1251542 5-Mar-2015 09:41

semigeek:
lNomNoml:
semigeek: No idea, but if they are taking up valuable space, then you could just delete them, and if you ever need to reinstall, you could download the installation media here
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media You will need a product key though, which you should have stuck to the laptop somewhere.

In saying all that, they could also be system restore points. Go into Control Panel, Recovery and Configure System Restore to see how much space is being used.

Um if you delete them you will need to reinstall, OP just leave them it's how Windows 8/8.1 is partitioned on the hard drive. System restore points are stored on the main partition. The 16GB is the recovery.

I've always deleted recovery partitions, never had to reinstall.. but if I ever did, I just got media that didn't have all the junk included.

That's your personal preference, I for one have to always secure the recovery for clients as most of the time it is their only claim to having a legitimate copy of Windows, especially now on the Windows 8 / 8.1 laptops where there is no license on the bottom of the laptop, only in the BIOS.

DravidDavid

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#1251575 5-Mar-2015 11:16

I love recovery partitions. When a customer says "I just want it back to how I bought it", all I have to do is go through the recovery process and everything is there for me. Beats having to dig through the internet for drivers!