Windows 7 - How to Uninstall W7 When In A Multi-Boot

Thanks SIW2. Helps me too.

On my dell, I have a 55 MB first partition. It is marked 'Healthy(OEM Partition). Anyone have any idea what that is about. I can't access it. It isn't marked active as my C: partition is active.

Gary

Hi gary,

sounds like the OEM recovery partition - on computers from Dell and the like there is often an option in the POST boot to go into a recovery system, there will be an image of the original setup somewhere on the disk but the system tools to perform the restore will be kept of it's own small partition which is what you are seeing.

Thanks Nigel. Was wondering about that.

Gary

Hello Guys....

I don't think 55MB is enough for a "whole" recovery partition; maybe something else related to the RP. As you'll see below, my HP RP is 8.35GB in total, and it's at the end of the disk not the beginning. I thought Dell gave you disks to recover with? What else could that one be?

I wonder if it could be the same "added boot partition" Smartey noticed?



Inquiring minds want to know.

Later Ted

Hi Ted,

I don't think I explained myself very well in the earlier post

In HP systems the Restore image and the software to manage it are in the same hidden partition which is probably the one that Smarty found,

In dells however they split the system into two parts one containing the Image which is several GB in size and a smaller (approx 10MB ) which contains the software to manage the restore process.

The thinking behind the Dell method is that if you make restore DVDs you can delete the image partition and still keep the small partition to retain the restore functionality (keypress at boot),using the DVDs while clearing the large amount of space used by the image.

With the HP method if you delete the image you delete the software as well so you are then reliant on the bootable dvd's created.

I think the dell system has merit as it gives you an extra option when the worst happens ( the dell dvds are also bootable) the downside is of course that you lose the 10MB for the partition but on a 160GB drive for example its a minor loss

Hope that explains my thoughts better

Yes. That's how I understood it. The recovery is on D: (15GB). The 55MB isn't worth the trouble to try and recover anyway. I just wondered why it was there. I do like that idea. Should I ever need the space used by D:, I now know I can safely delete it. With 2 internal and 1 external 500GB drives I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Gary