Solved Macrium Reflect: Restoring 'Hidden' Partitions

With reference to the following images -








A = WINRE Tools
B = DELLSUPPORT

Each partition is either 'reserved or blank, or contains tools to be used by WINRE / DELLSUPPORT'.

I've managed to successfully to backup these partitions; my question can I use these backups as part of 'clean' installing Windows 12?

IanMosley said:

can I use these backups as part of 'clean' installing Windows 12?

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Windows 12??? Is that a typo or are you just looking ahead.? With any clean install (of any OS) all partitions are deleted. The installation process will build Windows own recovery partition. If you are indeed referring to Windows 12, the Dell partition would no longer be of any value to you since it contains the OS as it came from the factory, not as it is today.
Before any clean install, you can and should backup the entire drive which would give you a means of going back to the previous installation if you wish. In that case those partitions would be recovered when the image was restored.
Nice setup you have there.

glasskuter said:

Windows 12???

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Oops!! It should of course be Windows 11.

You can do a custom install to keep those partitions. May I ask why you want to keep them? It sounds as though you regularly make images so I'm trying to understand the why of it. Custom Install Windows 11 Tutorial

glasskuter said:

You can do a custom install to keep those partitions.

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I now realise that they only contain information needed to do the initial Windows 11 install; and, I'm (very) familiar with clean installing Windows.

So if they are not required for the future, I presume I can get rid of them at the next clean install - with the proviso of making a full backup (using Reflect) of all the partitions before attempting it!