Do I need 2 Recovery Drives in MBR - can't add 5 partition


  1. Floridagal
    Posts : 52
    Windows 10
       New #1

    Do I need 2 Recovery Drives in MBR - can't add 5 partition


    Do I need 2 Recovery Drives in MBR - can't add 5 partition-disk-space.jpg

    I have an HP computer with an MBR setup running Windows 10 Version 20H2. I want to dual boot my machine with Linux, which would usually be an easy thing to do except for 2 Recovery Drives taking up 2 of the only 4 partitions allowed in MBR. Instead of getting a menu to be able to remove one of them, I get a Help option which is basically useless. The main C: drive gives me a warning about changing to a dynamic drive if I try to work with that one. So I am stuck with a huge amount of wasted space in my C: drive that I will never use.
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  3. cereberus
    Posts : 15,499
    Windows10
       New #2

    Floridagal said:
    Do I need 2 Recovery Drives in MBR - can't add 5 partition-disk-space.jpg

    I have an HP computer with an MBR setup running Windows 10 Version 20H2. I want to dual boot my machine with Linux, which would usually be an easy thing to do except for 2 Recovery Drives taking up 2 of the only 4 partitions allowed in MBR. Instead of getting a menu to be able to remove one of them, I get a Help option which is basically useless. The main C: drive gives me a warning about changing to a dynamic drive if I try to work with that one. So I am stuck with a huge amount of wasted space in my C: drive that I will never use.
    Convert the drive to uefi gpt using mbr2gpt ?
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  4. Floridagal
    Posts : 52
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    cereberus said:
    Convert the drive to uefi gpt using mbr2gpt ?
    Once again in English please! I'm no techie.
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  6. cereberus
    Posts : 15,499
    Windows10
       New #4

    If your pc supports uefi, convert it to gpt which has no limits on number of primary partitions.
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  7. Berton
    Posts : 14,025
    Win10 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home, Win7, Linux Mint
       New #5

    Ditto @cerebus. MBR has a limit of 4 primary partitions and if wanting more the 4th has to be a Logical Drive in which a number of Extended partitions can be created.
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  8. Samuria
    Posts : 8,114
    windows 10
       New #6

    A lot of Linux can be installed on windows drive and sets up duel boot or you could run as virtual PC
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  9. sdowney717
    Posts : 1,257
    win10 PRO on 5 PC's and Linux mint
       New #7

    Do you really need these recovery partitions? Why not just backup what you dont want to loose. You can always reinstall windows again. Linux installer can erase your recovery partition and put linux on it.

    You can also delete recovery partition using windows tools
    How to Erase a Recovery Partition in Windows | Laptop Mag

    Been using windows for decades and never used a recovery partition, I tend to get rid of them, to me they are like your saying, a waste of space.

    When my windows drives in the past died, and some did, the recovery partition was also dead and worthless. I think it is an OEM trick gadget to get the OS back up and running when some user screws windows so bad it is foobared..

    I also dont like seeing your drive layout, with a recovery partition in front and behind windows.
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  10. cereberus
    Posts : 15,499
    Windows10
       New #8

    Samuria said:
    A lot of Linux can be installed on windows drive and sets up duel boot or you could run as virtual PC
    Presumably with duel boot, fastest with gun wins?
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  12. siepo
    Posts : 34
    Linux
       New #9

    cereberus said:
    Convert the drive to uefi gpt using mbr2gpt ?
    Maybe not. Since the system is MBR-partitioned, it may not support UEFI booting or, if it does, there may be problems such as a non-configurable default boot, which would force you to boot Linux via the F9 boot option.
    It may be better to remove all partitions, e.g. from windows setup, then reinstall windows and then install linux.
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  13. Floridagal
    Posts : 52
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #10

    siepo said:
    Maybe not. Since the system is MBR-partitioned, it may not support UEFI booting or, if it does, there may be problems such as a non-configurable default boot, which would force you to boot Linux via the F9 boot option.
    It may be better to remove all partitions, e.g. from windows setup, then reinstall windows and then install linux.
    Was afraid of that. No UEFI on this computer. It's been around since Windows 7. Thanks.
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