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+--- Thread: Windows RE tools partition (/thread-3804.html)
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RE: Windows RE tools partition - Froggie - 09-04-2025
This happens quite often during Windows upgrades. When Windows finds the existing Recovery Partition to be too small to accommodate a WindowsRE.wim image update, it shrinks the OS partition by the amount needed to create a new, larger Recovery partition... creates and assigns the new Recovery partition, and winds up orphaning the old Recovery partition. The result: a new registered Recovery Partition, a completely orphaned old Recovery partition, and a new shrunk OS partition.
This Windows "operation" always changes the geometry of existing automatic imaging tasks, and as a result either makes the task fail or forces a new, unexpected FULL image to reflect the new partition geometry.
The way I have solved it is to make your existing Recovery partition much larger (I use 2-gB)... that way Windows will always (at least for the forseeable future) find enough room in that partition for any WindowsRE.wim changes required for any update/upgrade.
RE: Windows RE tools partition - admin - 09-04-2025
(09-04-2025, 11:34 AM)Froggie Wrote: This happens quite often during Windows upgrades. When Windows finds the existing Recovery Partition to be too small to accommodate a WindowsRE.wim image update, it shrinks the OS partition by the amount needed to create a new, larger Recovery partition... creates and assigns the new Recovery partition, and winds up orphaning the old Recovery partition. The result: a new registered Recovery Partition, a completely orphaned old Recovery partition, and a new shrunk OS partition.
This Windows "operation" always changes the geometry of existing automatic imaging tasks, and as a result either makes the task fail or forces a new, unexpected FULL image to reflect the new partition geometry.
The way I have solved it is to make your existing Recovery partition much larger (I use 2-gB)... that way Windows will always (at least for the forseeable future) find enough room in that partition for any WindowsRE.wim changes required for any update/upgrade.
Strange, why doesn't Microsoft directly expand the recovery partition after shrinking the OS partition, instead of creating a new recovery partition?
RE: Windows RE tools partition - CDC9762 - 09-05-2025
Exactly what happens depends on the vintage of the OS and the configuration of the particular PC.
My understanding is that Windows doesn't exactly expand the partition in a backwards direction into the C drive. It does the shrink and then deletes the partition and recreates a new one in the increased space giving it the attributes of a Recovery Partition and copies in the RE files. It looks like it stretched the Recovery Partition back into C but it really did an increase size by stealing from C, delete RE partition, recreate a RE partition and replace the RE files. Anyway, that's my understanding and it doesn't explain why one should get an orphan unless it is a configuration quirk and Windows can't do the usual method.
I also set my RE to a significantly larger partition to avoid the above song and dance.
RE: Windows RE tools partition - Froggie - 09-05-2025
(09-04-2025, 12:15 PM)admin Wrote:(09-04-2025, 11:34 AM)Froggie Wrote: This happens quite often during Windows upgrades. When Windows finds the existing Recovery Partition to be too small to accommodate a WindowsRE.wim image update, it shrinks the OS partition by the amount needed to create a new, larger Recovery partition... creates and assigns the new Recovery partition, and winds up orphaning the old Recovery partition. The result: a new registered Recovery Partition, a completely orphaned old Recovery partition, and a new shrunk OS partition.
This Windows "operation" always changes the geometry of existing automatic imaging tasks, and as a result either makes the task fail or forces a new, unexpected FULL image to reflect the new partition geometry.
The way I have solved it is to make your existing Recovery partition much larger (I use 2-gB)... that way Windows will always (at least for the forseeable future) find enough room in that partition for any WindowsRE.wim changes required for any update/upgrade.
Strange, why doesn't Microsoft directly expand the recovery partition after shrinking the OS partition, instead of creating a new recovery partition?
The problem is... if it's a pure MicroSloth build, the RE partition is always last and if there's any room beyond that partition when the change is made, no problem, a simple RE partition extension to the right (free disk space). If it's an OEM build, many OEMs place their own "recovery/diagnostic" partitions after the Windows RE partition. This doesn't let Windows do a simple RE expansion to accommodate the change. Their only solution is to manipulate partitions that they they control... in this case, RE and the OS partition that it's next to.
I have never seen the case where the OS partition is only shrunk for the needed additional RE space... when that is needed, they create an entirely new RE out of shrunk OS space and reregister the RE partition accordingly.
The mention of doing that operation then deleting the old RE partition I have also never seen... although I can't say for a fact that it has never been done by MicroSloth.
RE: Windows RE tools partition - al3x - 09-05-2025
Actually it’s quite simple. To expand a partition to the left you need to move existing data blocks. Unfortunately Microsoft’s tools (including diskpart) still haven’t implemented that feature.
So instead they shrink the OS partition, delete the RE partition and recreate RE beginning from the new position after the OS partition. That’s what also happened just recently as described here.
As for the additional partition seen in this thread something might’ve gone wrong. Or it actually is an OEM partition that’s left untouched by MS as presumed already.
RE: Windows RE tools partition - xeroid - 09-05-2025
(09-05-2025, 07:00 AM)Froggie Wrote:(09-04-2025, 12:15 PM)admin Wrote: Strange, why doesn't Microsoft directly expand the recovery partition after shrinking the OS partition, instead of creating a new recovery partition?
The problem is... if it's a pure MicroSloth build, the RE partition is always last and if there's any room beyond that partition when the change is made, no problem, a simple RE partition extension to the right (free disk space). If it's an OEM build, many OEMs place their own "recovery/diagnostic" partitions after the Windows RE partition. This doesn't let Windows do a simple RE expansion to accommodate the change. Their only solution is to manipulate partitions that they they control... in this case, RE and the OS partition that it's next to.
I have never seen the case where the OS partition is only shrunk for the needed additional RE space... when that is needed, they create an entirely new RE out of shrunk OS space and reregister the RE partition accordingly.
The mention of doing that operation then deleting the old RE partition I have also never seen... although I can't say for a fact that it has never been done by MicroSloth.
So, in a nutshell (I am seeing Mike Myers as Austin Powers right now saying "help, I'm in a nutshell") , is it safe to presume that Hasleo will make the correct decision (by default) as to whether the Windows RE partition will be included?
RE: Windows RE tools partition - admin - 09-05-2025
(09-05-2025, 11:44 AM)xeroid Wrote:(09-05-2025, 07:00 AM)Froggie Wrote: The problem is... if it's a pure MicroSloth build, the RE partition is always last and if there's any room beyond that partition when the change is made, no problem, a simple RE partition extension to the right (free disk space). If it's an OEM build, many OEMs place their own "recovery/diagnostic" partitions after the Windows RE partition. This doesn't let Windows do a simple RE expansion to accommodate the change. Their only solution is to manipulate partitions that they they control... in this case, RE and the OS partition that it's next to.
I have never seen the case where the OS partition is only shrunk for the needed additional RE space... when that is needed, they create an entirely new RE out of shrunk OS space and reregister the RE partition accordingly.
The mention of doing that operation then deleting the old RE partition I have also never seen... although I can't say for a fact that it has never been done by MicroSloth.
So, in a nutshell (I am seeing Mike Myers as Austin Powers right now saying "help, I'm in a nutshell") , is it safe to presume that Hasleo will make the correct decision (by default) as to whether the Windows RE partition will be included?
From the information you provided (screenshots, files, etc.), I can confirm that Hasleo Backup Suite has correctly backed up the currently used recovery partition. As for whether the last partition is an OEM partition or a completely orphaned old Recovery partition, we may need to check what files are stored in that partition.
RE: Windows RE tools partition - xeroid - 09-06-2025
(09-05-2025, 12:31 PM)admin Wrote:(09-05-2025, 11:44 AM)xeroid Wrote: So, in a nutshell (I am seeing Mike Myers as Austin Powers right now saying "help, I'm in a nutshell") , is it safe to presume that Hasleo will make the correct decision (by default) as to whether the Windows RE partition will be included?
From the information you provided (screenshots, files, etc.), I can confirm that Hasleo Backup Suite has correctly backed up the currently used recovery partition. As for whether the last partition is an OEM partition or a completely orphaned old Recovery partition, we may need to check what files are stored in that partition.
How can we do this? That computer is an original Windows 10 machine that went through the upgrade to Windows 11 a while back.
RE: Windows RE tools partition - Froggie - 09-06-2025
Just open up a COMMAND PROMPT window "as administrator" and execute the following command...
reagentc /info
That will identify the location of the Windows registered (official) WinRE (Recovery) partition... the one HBS will include in a System image.
RE: Windows RE tools partition - xeroid - 09-07-2025
(1 hour ago)Froggie Wrote: Just open up a COMMAND PROMPT window "as administrator" and execute the following command...
reagentc /info
That will identify the location of the Windows registered (official) WinRE (Recovery) partition... the one HBS will include in a System image.
So, if I'm reading this correctly, partition 5 is the one that isn't being used (see attached). What's the easiest way to delete that partition?