Deleting the recovery partition is not the Reason you think you have solved your problem...It was create by Microsoft, not Dell. As it is about 1GB it does not explain why your image was larger than the apparent size of your C drive. The partition you deleted is useful but not essential.
Not quite normal. That recovery partition contained your only copy of WinRE.wim, an essential component that Macrium requires to be able to build its WinRE rescue media.
Macrium said:
Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)
Files for the Windows Recovery rescue environment are pre-existing and located on the local file system.
The folowinng folders, and sub-folders are searched for file WinRE.wim
The recovery partition can be deleted safely, but only after disabling the recovery environment with the command reagentc /disable. This would have moved WinRE.wim from the recovery partition into C:\Windows\System32\Recovery where Reflect would be able to find and use it next time you need to build the recovery media.
1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
Internet Speed
50 Mbps
Browser
Edge, Firefox
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.
My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Latitude E4310
CPU
Intel® Core™ i5-520M
Motherboard
0T6M8G
Memory
8GB
Graphics card(s)
(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
Browser
Firefox, Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
I agree but Macrium gives the option of using WinPE instead of WinRE to create the rescue media so I am happy with that. I have tested it and it loads okay.
Having said that, if a future Windows Feature Update re-creates the 'Recovery' partition and the WinRe.wim then I will leave it in place so, lesson learned. Thank you.
The photos show what I did but I don't know why deleting an empty 890 MB partition reduced image by 4.93 GB: -
Thanks for confirming. The reason I deleted it was because I use Macrium Reflect as my recovery strategy.
