partitions hidden partitions recovery partitions

hi i have 2 partitions on my pc C: OS D: DATA
however it used to have a recovery partition (as far as im aware hidden on c)
for system restore (acer system restore)
which leads me to my query as i have recently performed a format and clean install of vista from retail media and have no need for acer system restore would it be ok to delete this partition/hidden partition and reclaim the HDD space.. and how best to proceed to safely do so..

any help would be much appreciated.

thanks

i just found this

Delete and Remove to Unlock EISA Hidden Recovery or Diagnostic Partition in Vista « My Digital Life

does anyone have any experience with this method or can anyone reccomend this method

or would you advise against using this method.

thanks

I use 3rd party partition managers, but that looks correct to me. Should be fine.

If you do delete the partition, you'll have to mess around with the partitioning to make it a worthwhile operation (expanding the Windows partition into it, or moving the Windows parttion and expanding the data partition), and then re-activate (probably by phone).
The Recovery partition is the first partition - Windows is the second.
If you make Windows the first, then it's going to think it's a new machine, and complain about activation.


The Recovery partition is 15GB - you could simply reformat it as NTFS and use it as a second data partition.

I do NOT recommend attempting to splice that and the exisitng partitions together using Dynamic volumes - in cases like this, if you happen to have a file that crosses teh boundary, there is going to be a very large lag caused by head travel between the two parts of the file, and it could lead to stalls or even redcued head life.

Hiya Noel,

I have never had to reactivate after moving a windows partition.

It is best to use a partition manager which will update the os drive letters if you are performing multiple operations - else windows may decide to flip it's own os registry letter. ( On those rare occasions you may get a non genuine message. Changing the letter back fixes it )

Another way to do that kind of thing is to make an image with macrium/paragon free versions.

Boot up the restore disc ( if you are using macrium - you would use the winpe media it creates - with paragon, the linux one has basic partitioning included already ). Repartition from there and restore the image wherever you want it to be.

Image and restore windows partition only takes a few minutes.

Making backup images regularly is probably the single most important recommendation I would make to anyone.

The Recovery partition here is a hidden one - so it doesn't figure in the Windows alphabet drives, but it is enumerated, and will affect the boot.ini file, and consequently activation.