Solved When deleting drive partitions during Windows 11 installation, can I keep the recovery partition?

Megahertz · Sep 27, 2024

kelper said:
Why keep them? For a clean install, it's better to let setup.exe recreate them.

If you want to keep the tools partition you should also keep the EFI partition as it has an option to boot the tools OS.
The MSR is created when you initialize a partition as GPT. As the partition is already initialized, you should keep the MSR partition

kelper · Sep 27, 2024

SIW2 said:
If they want to retain the oem tools partition

Which most of us

agree is useless. There's no good reason to keep the EFI and MSR partitions which are tiny and take only seconds to recreate

Megahertz · Sep 27, 2024

kelper said:
Which most of us agree is useless. There's no good reason to keep the EFI and MSR partitions which are tiny and take only seconds to recreate

Tools partition isn't the same as Factory recover partition. It has diagnostic and recovery tools.

HPUser · Sep 27, 2024

Okay. After reading the replies, and watching this video, I think I can:

Delete all the partitions

Either 1:
Click on the remaining unallocated one
Click next
The system, MSR, and recovery partitions are automatically created
Click next
Wait for the installation to finish

Or 2:
Click on the remaining unallocated one
Click New
Click Apply to create the primary partition
The system, MSR, and recovery partitions are automatically created after creating the primary one
Click OK
Wait for the installation to finish

I think 2 is correct.

Does the recovery partition store the files for the Recovery Environment, BIOS settings page, and the boot menu? I think the last two would be built into the laptop since they're so important, but I'm not sure.

As for explorer.exe crashing, is this thread the proper place to ask about it, or should I make a separate post, assuming this third clean install does not fix that problem?

kelper · Sep 27, 2024

The recovery partition does not store any BIOS settings. Boot entries are in the EFI partition.

Yes, start a new thread for your Explorer issues and outline what steps you have already tried. Post screenshots where they might help.

HPUser · Sep 27, 2024

Okay. Thank you all!

Megahertz · Sep 27, 2024

HPUser said:
Delete all the partitions
Option 2:
Click on the remaining unallocated one
Click New
Click Apply to create the primary partition

It will create a MSR partition but if you don't specify the size of the primary partition it will create a Partition the size of the remaining drive.

HPUser said:
The system, MSR, and recovery partitions are automatically created after creating the primary one

No. Only the MSR is created (when the drive is initialized as GPT). There will be no available space to create the system, and recovery partitions.

HPUser said:
Click OK
Wait for the installation to finish

Windows won't install as there is no space to create the EFI (sytem) partition.

HPUser said:
I think 2 is correct.

Does the recovery partition store the files for the Recovery Environment, BIOS settings page, and the boot menu? I think the last two would be built into the laptop since they're so important, but I'm not sure.

The recovery partition only store a small OS (WinRE) to be able to fix problems

Megahertz · Sep 27, 2024

This is what I do to create a data partition at the end of the drive during installation.

Boot from the Win 11 USB installation drive as UEFI and at the Windows Setup screen, press Shift+F10 simultaneously to open a command line prompt and type:
diskpart
list disk (it will list all drives. Identify the main drive number)
select disk n (replace n by the main drive number obtained with list disk)
clean
convert gpt (will create a MSR partition)
sel part 1 (to select the MSR partition created)
del part override (to delete the MSR partition created)
create part primary size=80000
create part primary
sel part 2
format fs=ntfs quick
assign letter=D
Select part 1
del part override (to delete the 80G partition created)
exit (to exit diskpart)
exit (to exit CMD window)
Proceed the installation and select the 80G unallocated space to install Windows.
In this 80G unallocated it will be created a EFI, a MSR, a C: and a recovery partition, followed by a D: partition the size of the remaining drive.

HPUser · Sep 27, 2024

Is there another benefit of running the commands other than being faster? I'd prefer to use the setup window since I can see what I'm doing easier.

Confused about step 10 of the clean install tutorial:

Select a Primary or unallocated partition on a drive you want to install Windows 11, Delete the partition/volume if not already unallocated, click/tap on OK to confirm, and click/tap on Next.

So do I even have to manually add any partitions by pressing New? This and the screenshots provided make me think I delete all partitions, select the remaining unallocated one, and just click next or OK until the partitions are created automatically. But the screenshots seem to have a different and newer window. Mine is still the dark blue/purple/grape window.

antspants · Sep 27, 2024

Everything will be created for you.
Just make sure there are no existing partitions on the C Drive

Then when you get to this part of install, the “Unallocated” is the drive you pick.

All partitions will be created when you continue, just click NEXT not New

I think this has been made more complicated than it needs to be.

HPUser · Sep 27, 2024

Okay. Yes, there were a lot more replies than I expected. Thanks so much!

Winuser · Sep 27, 2024

HPUser said:
Are the commands the best way, or does deleting all partitions from the Windows Setup partition selection window do the same thing?

I can tell you from experience the answer is yes to letting the installer delete all of the partitions.

Winuser · Sep 27, 2024

garlin said:
For me, I prefer the diskpart method because it's faster.

I totally disagree. It works but it's not faster.

antspants · Sep 27, 2024

It doesn’t matter really, they both work. This person is confused already.

Winuser · Sep 27, 2024

SIW2 said:
As far as I know they no longer have a big 15gb ish "recovery partition" with the whopping great factory image sitting on it.

As I recall, the last time I setup a OEM computer I was given the option to make the factory restore image or not.

Winuser · Sep 27, 2024

antspants said:
It doesn’t matter really, they both work. This person is confused already.

A very good reason for them to do it the easy way. Now if they want to get even more confused, we can explain to them the ways to bypass setting up their MS account until after the OS is installed.

antspants · Sep 27, 2024

I’ll pass

Winuser · Sep 27, 2024

antspants said:
I’ll pass

Why? The explaining part is the easy part. It's the doing it part that is hard.

Seriously, I would only do it if they felt confident enough to try it.

SIW2 · Sep 28, 2024

Winuser said:
As I recall, the last time I setup a OEM computer I was given the option to make the factory restore image or not.

They dont usually come from the factory with a big "recovery" partition nowadays. They often have a smallish partition with oem tools in it.

There is often an oem program that can create a recovery image which prompts for a usb stick to store the recovery image on.

That is different from a few years ago when there was big partition on the disk with the recovery image inside it.

Megahertz · Sep 28, 2024

HPUser said:
Is there another benefit of running the commands other than being faster? I'd prefer to use the setup window since I can see what I'm doing easier.

Confused about step 10 of the clean install tutorial:

Select a Primary or unallocated partition on a drive you want to install Windows 11, Delete the partition/volume if not already unallocated, click/tap on OK to confirm, and click/tap on Next.

So do I even have to manually add any partitions by pressing New? This and the screenshots provided make me think I delete all partitions, select the remaining unallocated one, and just click next or OK until the partitions are created automatically. But the screenshots seem to have a different and newer window. Mine is still the dark blue/purple/grape window.

On a clean install you should delete the system partitions, normally EFI, MSR, C: and Recovery. There may be exceptions like the one I mentioned on post #18
If the drive has a data partition, you don't need to delete the partition.
You normally select to install on an unallocated space and it will create the EFI, MSR, C: and Recovery partitions. There is also an exception when you ask to install on C: (without deleting any partitions) and a Windows.old folder is created. Under it it you will find all files and folders from the previous installation.

Solved When deleting drive partitions during Windows 11 installation, can I keep the recovery partition?

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