Blowing Away the Recovery Partition...Advice?

I recently received a new Studio XPS 8100. I opted to keep the C: drive
pretty much as-is, and uninstalled most of the smell-ware that Dell adds.

I'd really like to delete the extra two partitions that contain Dell's
diagnostics and the factory image. My first inclination was to simply
use the Diskpart command, but now I'm not so sure.

My problem is: I don't really understand the boot process that well. I
believe Dell customizes the Master Boot Record to make it possible to
access those hidden partitions (with the right key combination.) If I
delete the extra partitions, do I risk making my computer unbootable?

Daddy

Nope, first thing I do on every Dell is run a free utility called CopyWipe.
It'll leave you with 1 partition.

Then you can reinstall Windows frem scratch.



"Daddy" wrote in message
...
I recently received a new Studio XPS 8100. I opted to keep the C: drive
pretty much as-is, and uninstalled most of the smell-ware that Dell adds.

I'd really like to delete the extra two partitions that contain Dell's
diagnostics and the factory image. My first inclination was to simply use
the Diskpart command, but now I'm not so sure.

My problem is: I don't really understand the boot process that well. I
believe Dell customizes the Master Boot Record to make it possible to
access those hidden partitions (with the right key combination.) If I
delete the extra partitions, do I risk making my computer unbootable?

Daddy

On Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:19:17 -0400, Daddy
wrote:

I recently received a new Studio XPS 8100. I opted to keep the C: drive
pretty much as-is, and uninstalled most of the smell-ware that Dell adds.

I'd really like to delete the extra two partitions that contain Dell's
diagnostics and the factory image. My first inclination was to simply
use the Diskpart command, but now I'm not so sure.

My problem is: I don't really understand the boot process that well. I
believe Dell customizes the Master Boot Record to make it possible to
access those hidden partitions (with the right key combination.) If I
delete the extra partitions, do I risk making my computer unbootable?

Daddy


Rather than answer directly, let me repeat what I read from another
poster in response to the same question once... why bother because
those partitions are usually fairly small in comparison to the hard
drive and even tho 99.9 % chance you won't use it, for the 1 time you
might need it, it will be there waiting for you. In other words, it
really not necessary to delete it because you won't gain much space in
comparison to your hard drive.

That said, I know Dell used to and may still use some special code to
hide the partition. I once got into it using their code and I think I
learned about it from Google. Anyway I usually use Acronis now to do
my partition work which is usually once a year or two (not often). I
think there's 2 others (software) that are as good or better but their
names escape me right now ... I think at least one of them is free.

A friend has an XPS 9000. That's what we did. Deleted his recovery and
diagnostic partitions. He creates his own backup images.

Before you start, check in Disk Management to see if the recovery partition
is the Active, System partition. It was in the 9000 so if you delete it,
Win7 won't boot. You need to copy the booting files from the recovery
partition to the Win7 partition before you delete the recovery partition. It
is a 2 minute job.

Let us know if the recovery partition is Active, System and I'll post a
procedure to copy the booting files.

Hi!

I'd really like to delete the extra two partitions that contain Dell's
diagnostics and the factory image. My first inclination was to
simply use the Diskpart command, but now I'm not so sure.

You may want to keep the diags partition, it's only about 3-12MB
depending upon the system. (In other words, you really won't miss it.)

I believe Dell customizes the Master Boot Record to make it
possible to access those hidden partitions (with the right key
combination.)

The diagnostics partition is set up for booting by the BIOS. You press
F12 to request the boot menu, the BIOS dutifully displays it and then
sets things up accordingly for a diagnostic boot.

This is actually an old trick borrowed from IBM (and later Compaq).
(Late model IBM PS/2 systems did this, and in some cases, they
actually loaded their working BIOS from this hidden area.) The
diagnostics partition has a customized header so it appears as a "non-
DOS" partition type.

It is the Dell custom MBR (this usually displays a blue line with
"www.dell.com" printed on it) that fires up the recovery process when
you press a key sequence.

If I delete the extra partitions, do I risk making my computer
unbootable?

It's always a possibility. Normally the Dell custom MBR just segues
right into a normal boot if no keys are pressed. I doubt that it
actually checks the state of the recovery partion unless it's
requested.

It's not likely that you will render the system unbootable by removing
partitions with diskpart. Make a backup anyway--it's cheap insurance.

William

Brian K wrote:
A friend has an XPS 9000. That's what we did. Deleted his recovery and
diagnostic partitions. He creates his own backup images.

Before you start, check in Disk Management to see if the recovery partition
is the Active, System partition. It was in the 9000 so if you delete it,
Win7 won't boot. You need to copy the booting files from the recovery
partition to the Win7 partition before you delete the recovery partition. It
is a 2 minute job.

Let us know if the recovery partition is Active, System and I'll post a
procedure to copy the booting files.


Thanks very much for your help, Brian.

As you are likely aware, my computer has three partitions:

The first partition - Dell's diagnostic partition - is identified only
as "OEM Partition".

The second partition is the Recovery partition. It's a primary
partition, and it's marked System, Active.

The third partition is the rest of my hard disc. It's also primary, of
course, and it's marked Boot, Page File, Crash Dump.

Backup (including making system images) is something with which I have a
great deal of experience, so I really have no need for Dell's Recovery
Partition. Besides which, after having spent most of a weekend setting
up this computer the way I like, installing and setting up my software
and uninstalling most of what Dell added, the last thing I want to do is
to revert to the factory image! ;-)

Daddy

Daddy, does your second partition have a drive letter? Probably not, but I
thought I'd ask before posting the removal fix.

Daddy,

I'll assume the recovery partition doesn't have a drive letter.

I'm with you, I make my own backup images and I assume you have already
backed up at least the Win7 partition. I'm also with William. I'd keep the
diagnostic partition. It is small and it is useful.

Before commencing the Win7 procedure you should make a BootIt NG (BING) CD.
There is a one month trial so download from...

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/boo...generation.htm

unzip the file
double click makedisk.exe, next
dot in I accept the agreement, next
no tick for Registration, next
dot in Mouse Support Enabled, next
dot in VESA Video, next
dot in Partition Work (Don't put a dot in Normal), next
don't choose any Default Device Options (if necessary, these can be chosen
in BING), next
leave Registration strings blank, next
select your CD burner drive letter (you can use a CD-RW or a CD-R disc)
Finish




In Win7, you have to unhide the Recovery Partition.

In Disk Management, right click the Recovery Partition, click Change Drive
Letter and Paths..., click Add, dot in Assign the following drive letter,
click the drop down arrow and select P , click OK.

Start an Administrator mode Command Prompt. To do this, click on the Start
button, then All Programs, then Accessories. Right-click on the Command
Prompt item and select Run as administrator from the pop-up menu. If a UAC
prompt is displayed, click the Yes button.

Unload the BCD registry hive by running the following command:
reg unload HKLM\BCD00000000

Copy the bootmgr file from the Recovery Partition to the Windows 7
partition. Run the following command:
robocopy p:\ c:\ bootmgr

Copy the Boot folder from the Recovery Partition to the Windows 7 partition.
Run the following command:
robocopy p:\Boot C:\Boot /s

The booting files have now been copied. If you wish to verify that they were
copied correctly, run the following command:
dir c:\ /ah

If the bootmgr file and the Boot folder show up in the list, the procedure
was successful.

In Disk Management, right click the Recovery Partition, click Change Drive
Letter and Paths..., click Remove, Yes. This hides the Recovery Partition
again.
In Disk Management, right click the C: drive, click Mark Partition as
Active, Yes.

Restart the computer with a BING CD in the drive.
In BING, do a BCD Edit on Win7.
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=318
In BING, delete the Recovery Partition.

click Close on Work with Partitions
click Reboot and remove the CD

Win7 should boot.

Brian K wrote:
Daddy,

I'll assume the recovery partition doesn't have a drive letter.

I'm with you, I make my own backup images and I assume you have already
backed up at least the Win7 partition. I'm also with William. I'd keep the
diagnostic partition. It is small and it is useful.

Before commencing the Win7 procedure you should make a BootIt NG (BING) CD.
There is a one month trial so download from...

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/boo...generation.htm

unzip the file
double click makedisk.exe, next
dot in I accept the agreement, next
no tick for Registration, next
dot in Mouse Support Enabled, next
dot in VESA Video, next
dot in Partition Work (Don't put a dot in Normal), next
don't choose any Default Device Options (if necessary, these can be chosen
in BING), next
leave Registration strings blank, next
select your CD burner drive letter (you can use a CD-RW or a CD-R disc)
Finish




In Win7, you have to unhide the Recovery Partition.

In Disk Management, right click the Recovery Partition, click Change Drive
Letter and Paths..., click Add, dot in Assign the following drive letter,
click the drop down arrow and select P , click OK.

Start an Administrator mode Command Prompt. To do this, click on the Start
button, then All Programs, then Accessories. Right-click on the Command
Prompt item and select Run as administrator from the pop-up menu. If a UAC
prompt is displayed, click the Yes button.

Unload the BCD registry hive by running the following command:
reg unload HKLM\BCD00000000

Copy the bootmgr file from the Recovery Partition to the Windows 7
partition. Run the following command:
robocopy p:\ c:\ bootmgr

Copy the Boot folder from the Recovery Partition to the Windows 7 partition.
Run the following command:
robocopy p:\Boot C:\Boot /s

The booting files have now been copied. If you wish to verify that they were
copied correctly, run the following command:
dir c:\ /ah

If the bootmgr file and the Boot folder show up in the list, the procedure
was successful.

In Disk Management, right click the Recovery Partition, click Change Drive
Letter and Paths..., click Remove, Yes. This hides the Recovery Partition
again.
In Disk Management, right click the C: drive, click Mark Partition as
Active, Yes.

Restart the computer with a BING CD in the drive.
In BING, do a BCD Edit on Win7.
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=318
In BING, delete the Recovery Partition.

click Close on Work with Partitions
click Reboot and remove the CD

Win7 should boot.




Many thanks for the detailed instructions, Brian. They are actually very
similar to what I have read elsewhere, which is encouraging. I'll do the
deed in a little while, as there are a few things on my to-do list that
I would like to get to first.

You are correct in saying that the Recovery partition has no drive
letter. And oh yes, I have been backing up regularly. It's my practice
to split the C: drive in two, with one partition for software and the
other for data. (I acknowledge that there are other valid approaches.)
The system partition is regularly imaged and the data partition is
backed up.

Daddy

"Daddy" wrote in message
...
. It's my practice to split the C: drive in two, with one partition for
software and the other for data. (I acknowledge that there are other valid
approaches.) The system partition is regularly imaged and the data
partition is backed up.



Exactly what I do!

I have one computer devoted to testing. I've used the above procedure over
10 times. I tried several other procedures before I found this one but this
one is the easiest.

You don't have to delete the Recovery Partition at the end of the procedure
if you don't want to. A delete tomorrow or next week is fine. It will sit
there but won't contribute to Win7 booting.