Solved Too Many Recovery Partitions?

lafargeotte · Nov 17, 2021

Hi,

Can you help please?

My main SSD which has basically only Windows 11 on it has a number of 'Recovery Partitions', see attachment..

This drive has upgraded a couple of times Windows 10, and most recently upgraded to Windows 11.

So my question, can some of those Recovery Partitions be removed, and if so, how do I know which ones to remove, and which is the current Windows 11 recovery partition?

TIA.

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

Hi,
Yes gpt can be very sloppy/ cluttered looking lol
Add a column and date created or modified and see when they were added.

The-Hive · Nov 17, 2021

I wouldn't worry too much about it, it looks pretty normal, I had 4 on mine. I turned off support assist and that got rid of one leaving three. Do you have any programs or backups scheds running ?

Bree · Nov 17, 2021

lafargeotte said:
..my question, can some of those Recovery Partitions be removed, and if so, how do I know which ones to remove, and which is the current Windows 11 recovery partition?

reagentc /info can tell you that. But I would use reagentc /disable then none of them would be and you could delete them all. Then expand C: to fill the space created.

Since W10 2004 Windows a clean install now creates the recovery partition immediately after C:. This is so that if a subsequent upgrade needs a larger recovery partition it can shrink C: to allow the existing recovery partition to be enlarged (instead of creating a completely new one as was done previously). When you've tidied up you can use reagentc /enable to create a new recovery partition.

Enable or Disable Windows Recovery Environment in Windows 10

How to Enable or Disable Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) in Windows 10

www.tenforums.com

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

Hi,
Think it has something to do with restore points and how large of space is allowed to be used

These partitions are supposed to be reused not multiply.

The-Hive · Nov 17, 2021

Every website I checked say they are best left alone, especially if you are not experienced and do not need the space

Bree · Nov 17, 2021

ThrashZone said:
Think it has something to do with restore points....

Restore points are stored in C:\System Volume Information.

lafargeotte · Nov 17, 2021

The-Hive said:
Every website I checked say they are best left alone, especially if you are not experienced and do not need the space

OK, will do, thanks.

Bree · Nov 17, 2021

The-Hive said:
Every website I checked say they are best left alone.

If you know what you're doing it is safe to remove the unused ones. By disabling the recovery environment first you don't risk loosing your WinRE. I recently tidied up my System One that had ended up with two recovery partitions after upgrading from 10 to 11, going from this....

...to this.

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

Bree said:
Restore points are stored in C:\System Volume Information.

Hi,
Yes but these individual recovery partitions point to the restore point that created it and to the location you posted don't they.

lafargeotte · Nov 17, 2021

ThrashZone said:
Hi,
Yes gpt can be very sloppy/ cluttered looking lol
Add a column and date created or modified and see when they were added.

How do I find when they were created, there is nothing in properties.

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

lafargeotte said:
How do I find when they were created, there is nothing in properties.

Hi,
Just going left to right should tell
Right most would be the oldest.
Disk management view would be more clear.

Bree · Nov 17, 2021

lafargeotte said:
How do I find when they were created, there is nothing in properties.

MiniTool Partition Wizard lets you explore the partition and look at the files it contains. Look for the date of the WinRE.wim file. This is my Windows 11 recovery partition, WinRE.wim was created by me when I tidied up and enabled the new recovery partition, and the Modified time was when Windows Update performed my upgrade on the 20th October.

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

Hi,
Recovery partitions are always on the far right of the disk
So far right would be the oldest

I delete them as windows creates them I've never had any issues
But then again I use macrium reflect winpe not windows re recovery features

Bree · Nov 17, 2021

ThrashZone said:
But then again I use macrium reflect winpe not windows re recovery features

So do I, mostly. But it's always useful to be able to boot to Advanced Start up if needed.

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

Bree said:
So do I, mostly. But it's always useful to be able to boot to Advanced Start up if needed.

Hi,
Not to me but that's why the most recent recovery partition would be nice to know and then leave it alone

Bree · Nov 17, 2021

Well reagentc /info in a Command Prompt (Admin) will tell you which recovery partition is active and should be left alone. Partition 4 in my case....

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

Bree said:
Well [B]reagentc /info[/B] in a Command Prompt (Admin) will tell you which recovery partition is active and should be left alone.

Hi,
Follow up
I'd like to know and op as well is
Why are these recovery partitions multiplying instead of being reused ?

ThrashZone · Nov 17, 2021

Bree · Nov 17, 2021

ThrashZone said:
Why are these recovery partitions multiplying instead of being reused ?

A clean install of Windows 10 version 2004 or later places the recovery partition immediately after the C: partition. Should a subseqent Feature Upgrade need a larger recovery partition it can then shrink C: and increase the size of the recover partition. Earlier versions of Windows didn't do that, and if the existing recovery partition was too small a new one would have to be created, often one for each Feature Update.

Solved Too Many Recovery Partitions?

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