Windows 7 Removing the Recovery Partition

[F4RR4R]

Windows 7 includes its own pretty little recovery partition, which uses a non-standard format (UGGH!). I'd like to remove it from my laptop multiboot system. Anyone know if this will cause problems? I use GRUB as my bootloader.

The tail end of my grub file looks like this:

title Windows 7
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

... What i'm worried about is that as the recovery partition is hd0,0 and the operating system itself is located on hd0,1 ... So it looks like the boot process actively relies on the recovery partition.

Update: Just modified GRUB's entry for windows 7 to point at the operating system partition rather than the recovery partition - it generates the error "BOOTMGR Not Found" and won't boot. Why in the world did microsoft put the bootmgr for Windows 7 on a separate partition!? Anyone know a workaround?

 

[Kezix]

I'm very curious about the solution for this because it would probably solve the problem I have on one of my computers where it will give me that BOOTMGR MISSING error unless I have the Windows 7 install disc in my DVD drive... then it boots fine.

I don't hit a key when it asks to boot from DVD, just having it in the drive makes it so the computer will boot. When I run Windows 7 repair it finds no errors. It probably has to do with this little recovery partition issue. I think I deleted it and didn't think anything of it.

I was planning on reinstalling soon and seeing if I could get it fixed anyway... though the last time I tried didn't fix it. I bet if I just repartitioned my drive it would remake that little partition.

 

[F4RR4R]

I'm very curious about the solution for this because it would probably solve the problem I have on one of my computers where it will give me that BOOTMGR MISSING error unless I have the Windows 7 install disc in my DVD drive... then it boots fine.

I don't hit a key when it asks to boot from DVD, just having it in the drive makes it so the computer will boot. When I run Windows 7 repair it finds no errors. It probably has to do with this little recovery partition issue. I think I deleted it and didn't think anything of it.

I was planning on reinstalling soon and seeing if I could get it fixed anyway... though the last time I tried didn't fix it. I bet if I just repartitioned my drive it would remake that little partition.

Wish I had an answer for you. I'm still working on it. Haven't had much time to work on it lately, though.

 

[dcommand3r]

The only way i know how to remove it is during a clean install or when my disk is already partitioned the way i want.

If you have an unpartitioned/new hard drive, you can get rid of it like this.

1. On the setup screen, you'll see 1 unpartitioned drive (let's say a 200GB harddrive)
2. if you want 40 GB for W7 for example, you would create it and allow it to create the 200MB partition (so now you would have partition 1 as the 200 MB, partition 2 as 39.8 GB, 160 as unpartitioned space)
3. Then you would format the 160 into a whole partition on it's on (P1=200, P2=39.8, P3=160)
4. Then delete P2 and when you highlight P1, you can extend it to the full 40 GB (P1=40GB, P2=160)
5. Install W7 on P1, no 200MB recovery partition =)
(note: after extending P1, you can do whatever you want with the 160GB)

Sorry for my crude directions/example...but it works XD

-dcommand3r

 

[reghakr]

I's suggest tapping the F8 key (mat be another key according to manufacturer) until you get to the screen with Same Mode, Sade Mode with Networking, etc.

Choose the first option...Repair my Computer.

You'll notice you are in the X:\windows\system32 directory which is not actual you c: drive.

You'll need to go through the drive letters and use the dir /p command to find the Factory partition.

Now go back to the X: drive and type.................. format (letter of factory partition location):

in other words format E:

Whatever you factory recovery partition is located.

If you need to uninstrall at a later date, Id suggest thios site for step-by-step detailed instructions:

How to: Remove or ‘uninstall’ Windows 7 (or any other installed OS) | Featured | dotTech [.org]

 

[Kyle]

The "recovery partition" isn't a recovery partition. It's a cache for the OS itself, and a boot manager seperated from the OS' partition to protect it. It doesn't hurt anything, and it's only 200 MB, so why the hell do you need to rid yourself of it?

 

[reghakr]

Really that's true Lyle, although my factory restore partition is 9 GB in size.

 

[Kyle]

^^ That's a factory restore partition, not the 200 MB partition Windows 7 creates that the OP is trying to remove.

 

[reghakr]

On my Windows 7 machine I have no 200MB partitions and I assumed he was referring to the factory restore partition. That is on my Windows 7 machine as it didn't wipe out any partitions other than the C: drive.

Let's hope he comes back with an answer.

 

[W7 Rookie]

the "D" Recovery drive (partition) was created by (Vista or Windows 7? don't know, since I upgraded right away) and sits around 15GB...it only has 1.3GB remaining space. I used Partition Wizard, but it only allowed me to downsize C and would not allow the unallocated space to be used to make D bigger. I'm back to square one. I really don't understand why there are system files AND program files on both C & D. Shouldn't they be all together? There are folders for both Windows and Program Files, but the contents seem somewhat different in both. I really don't want to go forward with having so little space left on D, because I don't know what this darn thing is going to use it for. ARRRGGHHHH!