GPT vs MBR

OldMike65 said:

Again, if I have messed up my C-drive, then I will go back to the way it was this morning, and then, see what else I can do to make it acceptable for me, AND you guys, WHICH I RESPECT YOUR opinions VERY MUCH!!!! Hell I just might do it, to keep you guys happy. and prove that I CAN go back of course. :)

If I get done setting up and straightening out machines of others in my family, then I may join you in playing with my own system - for now I'll stick with my GPT based 3 partitions + 16 MB MSR as they are and fiddle with and learn about Windows recovery/reset options - all but the OS are only taking up a tenth of a % of my total disk space.

OldMike65 said:

Yes we are a little....not much thou. but nobody is giving my good reasons to change my c-drive partitions??? THAT is what I want, using the "recovery is needed" line, is just not sitting right with me. Even if you ask a Microsoft tech, they will tell you that its NOT needed, but you should have one......that doesn't sit right with me either. But, I am worried about that 128 meg partition that is unallocated, because its the MSR partition, and should not be unallocated. So I just might have messed that one up!

Read more about MSR - BY DEFINITION it is intially unallocated, period.

Also, check for your MSR by looking at your disk in Windows Disk Management - it doesn't even show up - because Microsoft didn't care enough to catch Disk Management up entirely to displaying everything on a GPT disk. Yes, diskpart will list it but you can't really manipulate it - it is there to protect us consumers from our own stupidity (impression I get from MS).

OldMike65 said:

Also disk management reports that my 383 mb EFI system partition is 100% Free, think that means its empty. Not good. :)
If that's the case, then why the heck can I boot up?? Think I am getting confused.

You are, and that's how MS likes it! 100% free shown in Disk Management on that and any other non-OS partition is a lie - they didn't want you (or go the trouble for you) to have the ability in Windows to see the actual deal.

You should only believe what MiniTool reports on that. Can you browse images in Acronis also? I forget - it's been so long. I have an old Acronis Disk Director version also - it probably wouldn't work worth a flip nowadays.

OldMike65 said:

Ok guys I just did a shut down, just to see if I would have any problems booting from shut down. Took me 27 sec's to boot back up, and here I am. :)

I'm willing to bet it won't be the same if you delete the ESP partition (first partition on disk 1 in the MiniTool snapshot in post # 18).

OldMike65 said:

Think you mean my EFI partition, not esp......sometimes I wish I actually has ESP thou :)
OK looked at my MiniTool and it reports that my EFI partition of 368MB does have 58.09 being used!!! just like you said, windows says its empty, but minitool tells me the truth. :)

Well, ESP is and acronym for EFI System Partition - it has your "bootstrap" in there. Unless I'm misremembering, MiniTool reports is as ESP.

I checked - ESP must have been an acronym I saw somewhere else, but if you stretch the Type column out in MinTool I think it calls it EFI System Partition.