Why do I have two recovery partitions?

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  1. Posts : 13
    windows 10 home
       #1

    Why do I have two recovery partitions?


    I check out my partitioning scheme and I see something odd:

    Code:
    DISKPART> list partition
    
      Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset
      -------------  ----------------  -------  -------
      Partition 1    Recovery           499 MB  1024 KB
      Partition 2    System             100 MB   500 MB
      Partition 3    Reserved            16 MB   600 MB
      Partition 4    Primary            230 GB   616 MB
      Partition 5    Recovery           573 MB   231 GB
      Partition 6    Unknown            478 MB   231 GB
      Partition 7    Unknown            223 GB   232 GB
      Partition 8    Primary              9 GB   456 GB
    Wait why do I have two recovery partitions?

    It's been a while since I last checked my partitioning scheme, but I don't recall ever seeing two recovery partitions... except for now.

    It seems even more weird that the second recovery partition is after and not before the C partition (the 230GB one).

    I dual boot Windows + Linux. If I can trust my memory, when I was installing Linux, I put Linux partitions right after the Windows C partition (there was not an intermediate second recovery partition).

    If I can trust my memory, the history of partitioning schemes on this laptop is more or less as follows:

    1. Laptop comes with Win10 preinstalled, partitioning scheme: Recovery, UEFI (shown by diskpart as System), Reserved (not sure about the order), then the C partition filling the rest of the disk.
    2. I install Linux, so I shorten the Windows C partition and put Linux stuff afterwards.
    3. The second recovery partition mysteriously appears between the Windows C partition and Linux stuff.

    Why did this partition appear? I don't really like if my computer does something I cannot explain. My best bet is that at some point for mysterious reasons Windows decided it needed more space for recovery so it shortened the C partition on its own (why did it take disk space away without asking me first...? as you can see the disk is not too large so I'm not really fond of seeing my partitions shortened for no apparent reasons) and put its recovery partition afterwards.

    Even more importantly: This recovery partition is annoying because it makes it difficult to reallocate disk space between windows and linux. Before this second partition had appeared, I would had just shortened / extended the Windows C partition as needed. Now I'm not sure what to do. Am I allowed to move this second recovery partition a few GBs in this or that direction? Am I allowed to just get rid of it, since its annoying?

    Why do I have two recovery partitions?-screenshot-2020-10-09-20-41-49.png

    (winver shows 2004)
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 42,638
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #2

    Hi, this is absolutely typical of a Windows installation that started as an older build and has then been upgraded.

    Until 2004, a clean install (rather stupidly) placed the Recovery partition at the start. Any upgrade that required a larger recovery partition then placed the new one after the others.

    From 2004 a clean install places the Recovery partition last.

    You can check and delete the old redundant one and extend C: into it using a 3rd party partition manager.

    This has been so from Windows 10's beginning.

    Microsoft appears to have fixed the Recovery Partition hell in Windows 10 - gHacks Tech News

    ( I searched for
    the recovery partition windows 10 is now the last partition not the first)
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 13
    windows 10 home
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thanks.

    But if so, then how can I reduce all space allocated for Windows stuff to create more space for non-Windows stuff?

    Again - am I allowed to move the recovery partition a few gigabytes in this or that direction?

    Or should the recovery partition be the last partition on the drive? I mean, should the partitioning scheme be something like this: Windows stuff - non-Windows stuff - recovery partition? (so that moving the border is easier)
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 42,638
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #4

    Again - am I allowed to move the recovery partition a few gigabytes in this or that direction?
    Or should the recovery partition be the last partition on the drive? I mean, should the partitioning scheme be something like this: Windows stuff - non-Windows stuff - recovery partition? (so that moving the border is easier)
    I said:
    You can check and delete the old redundant one and extend C: into it using a 3rd party partition manager.
    I believe that's answered. Anyway, 450Mb is only a lot of space for, say, some tablets.

    Space?
    Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10
    Turn On or Off Storage Sense Automatically Free Up Space in Windows 10
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 31,398
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #5

    kmph said:
    ...It seems even more weird that the second recovery partition is after and not before the C partition (the 230GB one).

    ...Why did this partition appear? I don't really like if my computer does something I cannot explain. My best bet is that at some point for mysterious reasons Windows decided it needed more space for recovery so it shortened the C partition...
    Actually, it's more weird to put the recovery partition as the first partition where, being followed by the EFI partition, it is impossible to extend it later if required. Starting with 2004 MS have change the order to put it after C: for a clean install, where it can be extended by shrinking C: a little.

    Yes, your second larger recovery partition is the one now in use. The first is now just taking up space. Unless you are really short on space (or suffer from OCD) then ignore it. The second recovery partition was almost certainly created when you got the update to W10 version 2004 (as mine was).

    More on this here in another recent thread on this question.

    Dual Recovery partitions
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 41,366
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       #6

    Older versions of Windows used a UEFI GPT partition structure where the recovery partition was on the left side of the C: or primary partition.

    If a Windows upgrade required a larger recovery partition Windows was not able to increase the size of the existing partition. The upgrade then created a new recovery partition on the right side of the C: or primary partition.

    This is the current partition structure as per the image in this Microsoft link:
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...ive-partitions

    This is another example of an extra recovery partition:

    Why do I have two recovery partitions?-disk-managemet-65-gb-flash-drive-10-09-2020.png


    With the extra partition consuming 500 MB it can be ignored unless free space is needed.

    This link can be used to increase free space:
    Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 13
    windows 10 home
    Thread Starter
       #7

    You can check and delete the old redundant one and extend C: into it using a 3rd party partition manager.
    I don't understand.

    I assume when you say 'old, redundant one' you mean the one that is first on the disk and has always been around? (as opposed to the one right after C: that only appeared recently?)

    Then I don't know how can I simply extend C: onto it, since it is not adjacent to C:. There is the EFI partition and the mysterious Reserved partition between C: and the old, redundant recovery partition, and I'm not sure if extending C: onto these ones is a good idea.

    Even if this is done this is what I'm going to end up with: C: - Recovery - non-Windows stuff. I still can't move the border between Windows stuff and non-Windows stuff without moving the Recovery partition.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #8

    Post a shot using Partition Wizard

    Normally, you could just delete the recovery partition on the left then just slide everything over to the left, but we have to see where the hidden partition is.

    Yes to the question above, every time you upgrade W10 it makes another recovery partition.

    Microsoft wants your hard drive full of recovery partitions and updates.
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 42,638
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #9

    kmph said:
    I don't understand.
    I assume when you say 'old, redundant one' you mean the one that is first on the disk and has always been around? (as opposed to the one right after C: that only appeared recently?)

    Then I don't know how can I simply extend C: onto it, since it is not adjacent to C:. There is the EFI partition and the mysterious Reserved partition between C: and the old, redundant recovery partition, and I'm not sure if extending C: onto these ones is a good idea.

    Even if this is done this is what I'm going to end up with: C: - Recovery - non-Windows stuff. I still can't move the border between Windows stuff and non-Windows stuff without moving the Recovery partition.
    Ok, so more exactly you'd move those partitions and extend C: into the unallocated space.

    Hardly worth it, really.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 13
    windows 10 home
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Normally, you could just delete the recovery partition on the left then just slide everything over to the left
    Ah so things are that simple? I can just delete the recovery partition (even if it is the current one in use)? Thanks!
      My Computer


 

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