I recently purchased a new Dell computer, with Win 10 Pro installed, on the system disk. That disk has 4 partitions: a 500MB partition labeled “EFI System Partition”; a 227.24 GB NTFS partition labeled “OS (C:)”;a 450 MB and 500 partitions, each labeled “Recovery Partition”. All except the C: partition are empty. I also received two DVDs labeled “Resource Media”, with the notation “Already installed on your computer”. What should I do with the DVDs and with the two Recovery Partitions?
I also purchased a second disk which I installed as the Data (D:) disk. When I went to initialize it, I was asked which partition style I should use, MPR or GPT. GPT was the default. Someone please explain; thank you!
chances are the “recovery” DVD is just a bootloader and cloning utility; the actual OS install image is likely inside the recovery partitions on the hard drive. they only appear empty to keep people from messing with them. keep the discs in case you ever need to re-install the OS.
as for the secondary drive, use GPT (GUID Partition Table.) the only reason to use MBR (Master Boot Record) is if you need the disk to be accessible by old versions of Windows. “Old” meaning Windows XP or prior.
Thanks, JZ. This new 2TB disk is for data only and I might have to move it to another computer if this one fail. That’s unlikely since it is new.
The EFI system partition is the one that actually boots the computer, by pointing it to the OS partition.
I would be surprised if the actual data was in the recovery partitions, for the simple fact that Windows 10 is a 4GB installation, and none of your partitions seem large enough. I would guess that one contains software (and drivers) on your computer that didn’t come with Windows, and the other actually is blank, as a space to have room to have room for temporary files.
I mean, maybe someone’s made the compression much better than Microsoft, but I kinda doubt it. If Microsoft could make their massive 4GB files smaller, they would.
Most likely one of the recovery partitions contains the data to restore Windows, and the other recovery partition contains data to restore the Dell-specific programs. This article explains in more detail.
C: and D: are drive letters.
While windows doesn’t have to be on C:, it is by default and, it means to say that the partition is a windows accessible filesystem… (not that a windows accessible filesystem needs to be assigned a drive letter, and the driver letter can change if you move the drive , and at other times. )
They mention a recovery partition, which is not the data to restore Windows, but a minimal installation of Windows for troubleshooting and recovery purposes.
And, as it says, I’d expect the actual OEM recovery partition (which does contain the files) to actually be at least 4 GB.
The PC boots off this partition, you will see it on all PC’s with a UEFI bios, unless the OS is installed under legacy support.
Just call it the windows boot partition
That is your OS running partition, where everything runs from, if something goes haywire in it, windows can try running the repair your PC tools from its boot partition
OEM layout, the DELL HP TOSHIBA etc tools are in there, they no longer have the OS image in them though like they used to, now you need the recovery media, or an appropriate OS disc (Windows 10 Home or Pro, usually home)
The COD is embedded in the motherboard, so a reinstall from disc or bootable USB will just use it to activate after install
The “Resource Media” is the bundled apps the PC came with
Keeps the discs in case you want those apps and need to ever reinstall them.
The recovery partitions, well those depend.
Myself, i usually take a new PC and wipe all the partitions out (yes even the boot and c drive) then boot the PC off an appropriate windows image, most PC’s come out of the box with windows Home aka Core.
Microsoft lets you download what ever windows 8 or 10 images you need free.
The OS knows how to read the embeded license key from the bios.
Poof fresh windows load, no bloatware.
Have to make sure you get the right windows version though, so always good to check for sure if the PC came loaded with home or pro
But that is me, you can leave well enough alone and all will be fine, those partitions will simply use up a bit of space
GPT is fine as long as you dont try to move that drive to an old PC and boot from it
MBR i think is what you meant?
MBR master boot record, is the old partition scheme.
It has some limitations, like a limited amount of partitions it can have, its enough that most people would never notice. Most people dont make more than 4 primary partitions
MBR also does not support drives over 2TB in size.
GPT allows nearly unlimited partitions
GPT does require a PC with a UEFI bios to be booted from
GPT can also tell if data is being corrupted and attempt to rectify it.
All windows versions from vista and up can read GPT, only 64 bit versions can boot it though, so can apple and linux
The next job is to trawl through and uninstall all the Dell junk software.