Microsoft appears to have fixed the Recovery Partition hell in Windows 10
Windows 10 users who perform a fresh install of the operating system won't run into issues related to the creation of Recovery Partitions on the operating system anymore starting Windows 10 version 2004 according to reports.
The Recovery Partition is an essential part of the Windows installation; it may be used to restore the operating system if issues are encountered.
One of the main issues associated with the Recovery Partition on Windows was that it was often placed at the very beginning of the disk. The layout would start with the Recovery Partition and then the main partition with Windows itself. The problem with that layout is that Windows cannot extend the Recovery Partition easily, e.g. when it lacks the space for the required data. Windows would then create another Recovery Partition on the disk; systems would end up with multiple Recovery Partitions and seemingly little options to detect or delete old ones.
Tip: read about the differences between GPT and MBR style partitions.
Diskpart and third-party partition tools can remove old recovery partitions from the operating system, and some tools may also help in adding the freed up space to an existing volume. Most computer users may not feel comfortable running these applications, especially considering that the amount of disk space that is gained is minimal.
The correct layout puts the Recovery Partition behind the operating system partition on the disk. Some manufacturers and Microsoft itself may do so already for devices that they sell. The following Disk Management screenshot is from a Surface Go device that I bought some time ago.
Microsoft itself recommends that manufacturers place the Recovery Partition right after the Windows partition on the drive on Windows.
We recommend that you place this partition immediately after the Windows partition. This allows Windows to modify and recreate the partition later if future updates require a larger recovery image.
Starting with Windows 10 version 2004, Windows will use the correct partition structure for new installations. The company has not officially confirmed the change, but Windows Latest reports that a Microsoft support member confirmed it to them when asked about it.
How to detect and delete old Windows Recovery Partitions
You can use Disk Management to display the list of partitions on the system. One option to open the interface is to use Windows-X to open the admin menu and select Disk Management from the menu that opens.
If you notice multiple recovery partitions, you may want to delete old ones. But how do you determine which partitions are old and which is the current one?
- Open an elevated command prompt, e.g. by opening Start, typing cmd.exe, holding down Shift and Ctrl, and selecting the Command Prompt result.
- Run the command reagentc /info, it displays which Recovery Partition, if any, is active.
- Open Disk Management on the system, either by using the Windows-X menu or by typing diskmgmt.msc in the Run box (open with Windows-R), hold down Ctrl-Shift to run it with elevated rights if necessary.
- Locate the partition that the command reagentc /info listed as the Recovery Partition. Now you know all the other Recovery partitions.
You can run diskpart from an elevated command prompt to remove any recovery partition volume that is no longer in use. Here is how that is done:
Attention: we recommend that you create a full system backup of the disk before you run any commands that manipulate partitions; this way, you are able to restore the system should things go wrong-
- Open an elevated command prompt as described under 1) above.
- Type diskpart to launch the environment.
- Type select disk 0 to select the first disk. Note: Disk 0 is usually the correct disk but if you have multiple, you need to make sure you select the disk with the Windows volume on it.
- Type list volume to display all available volumes.
- Type select volume x (with x being an inactive Recovery Partition).
- Type delete volume x to remove the partition.
- Repeat the process for any other inactive Recovery Partition.
Now You: how many Recovery Partitions does your system have?
What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?
Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.
If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.
5. Rufus
6. Ventoy
PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.
I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.
bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.
ps…. time travelling?
written. Jan 15, 2023
Updated • Jan 13, 2023
This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.
Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.
I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:
1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)
2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)
3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””
4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows
5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss
Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:
6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now
Have I missed any group off this list?
You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.
Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.
Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update
only from windows update though
KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site
1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.
2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.
3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.
This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.
Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.
Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.
Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215
check out the following recent articles:
Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/
BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/
While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.
My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277
I try to disable the Diagnostics Tracking Service (Connected Devices Platform User Services) but it wont let me disable it, any help will be greatly appreciated.
Tank you for your help