I see 5 partitions on a Dell is this normal?

As a guess, the smallest recovery partition is redundant. However, Dell may make special use of these, so caution advised.
You can examine its content using e.g. Minitool Partition Wizard, rt click explore, and compare its structure and creation date with the last one.

I would expect you will find the creation date of files in the last one to be more recent.

From a command prompt:
reagentc /info
should tell you the partition number of the current Recovery partition.

You can compare that with the results from using DISKPART (not with Disk Management where a small - probably 16Mb or so- partition- is not shown by design.

You can safely delete a redundant Recovery partition.

I would expect - but can't say definitively- the upgrade to Win 11 will proceed in a similar way to any upgrade. Underneath, it's the same basic Windows.

Recovery partitions are pretty much redundant
- proprietary recovery partitions are severely dated, and often contain the bloatware that comes with brand-name devices, that just gets re-install if used
- Windows created recovery partition is also somewhat dated, and it's simpler just to do a clean install.

I'm always wary that if a system fails, I'm not all that sure I would want just to patch it up with a built-in left-over partition from a previous install that was done goodness knows how long ago.

Done the following with several devices ...
- create an image of the current system, as is, partitions and all (and in a couple of cases, in tin-foil hot mode, created a "backup" image on another separate device, just in case)
- deleted one recovery partition, re-booted
... all good
- deleted another partition, rebooted
... all good
(and in your case, I'd try that with the 3rd recovery partition - I think you'll get the same result.

If it doesn't work out, restore the (old) image. (or do a non-proprietary re-install so your not lumbered with all the bloatware)

I understood that with the Recovery partition placed immediately after C: that should a larger Recovery partition be needed when upgrading, C: would then be shrunk.

This doesn't mention exactly that, but I recall reading that should be so.
Microsoft appears to have fixed the Recovery Partition hell in Windows 10 - gHacks Tech News


Note that without a Recovery partition, the user needs to be aware of how, for example, to then get to Safe Mode or a command prompt outside Windows.

DrSysop said:

I noticed on Windows 10 I see 5 partitions on one of my Dell Inspiron PC is this normal behavior? Its using 10 Pro 21H1 Build 19043.1237
I know one of the recovery partitions is the factory Dell & no longer need it as it old Windows 10 version 1607. I see 2 other recovery partitions I want to delete them all if it wont hurt & keep of course the main partition. I am not sure about the pother partitions like EFI.
Other question is If I leave it way it is & when Windows 11 is released & when I upgrade will all partitions be deleted except factory one?

@DrSysop,

Referring to your Windows Disk Management screenshot,

The 604 MB partition next to C: is the WINRETOOLS where winre.wim resides. When you run reagentc /info command on an elevated command prompt, it will point to this location.

The large 11.35GB partition is the factory image with which your system was built.

The 1.07GB Partition is the DELLSUPPORT partition.It is required to run Dell Support Assistant.. ( I routinely run DellSupport Assistant to check and install bios and driver updates. Periodically it automatically checks your system even before the actual BIOS runs,)

As dalchina said you can view and explore these partitions with MiniTool Parttion Wizard.

For comparison my DELL Inspiron 3280 Screenshot showing the partition names and contents of WINRETOOLS:



(Rightclick on the 604MB WINRETOOLS partition > explore and see the contents as shown in the above screenshot.)

Member Fireberd who is/has been dealing with DELL machines has this to say "One caution, Dell installs factory recovery on one partition, hardware diagnostics on another. Moving or deleting some partitions could affect these. May even affect the POST (Power On Self Test) as the Dell Support Assist is part of the POST. Not having these partitions could affect Dell support if ever needed,And, as previously noted, make a full disc image (all partitions) to a separate drive before doing anything with the drive."
Advice on resizing new Dell Laptop NVMe drive partitions

If you haven't created a Recovery drive yet, do create a recovery drive now on a 32GB empty flash drive. With that you can restore the machine to the factory condition should you ever require it.

You need the EFI partition, leave it alone.

No.

DrSysop said:

I know one of the recovery partitions is the factory Dell & no longer need it as it old Windows 10 version 1607. I see 2 other recovery partitions I want to delete them all if it wont hurt & keep of course the main partition. I am not sure about the other partitions like EFI.

The EFI partition is absolutely essential. It is what a UEFI machine boots from!

For the three recovery partitions,

1. 604MB - this is the typical size for Windows 10's own recovery partition. Reagent /info will tell you if it is in use.
2. 11.35GB - this would be Dell's 'factory reset' image.
3. 1.07 GB - almost certainly the Dell Utility partition, containing Dell-specific diagnostics utilities.

Booting the Dell Utility partition requires a Dell bios recent enough to include that option on its bios boot menu.

Inside the Dell Utility Partition

Just a note, my Dell Inspiron 15R that came with Windows 8, later Upgraded to Windows 10:


I have a couple other Notebooks Upgraded to Windows 10 with only 3 partitions on the drive.