OEM (Reserved) Partition -- What is it ??

mjf said:

Of course it's to do with the binary system!!!!!!!!!!
But some people do get confused hence the question raised by the original poster.
This is a technical forum not a supermarket.

I think we are saying the same thing. But the question comes up all the time. It shows that people still need to be educated. Not every OP has a technical background.

It would be best to start your own thread.

Chaka15205 said:

So it is safe to delete the OEM partition?

You appear to have multiple Dells. It would be unwise not to have at least a couple of external HDDs for backup. I would make Macrium images of all partitions including the recovery. This way you can always revert to your previous installation(s). If you don't want to do a true clean install I would keep the partition.
Also, Dell used to be very good in supplying clean install discs if you want them.

It is always best to delete all partitions during a booted Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

But as it is says in the Special Note to Dell Owners at end of tutorial, I would first try running the bootable Dell Diagnostics from the F12 menu at boot. Run Built-In Diagnostics for Your Dell Computer | Dell US

If it will run and test the hardware then its valuable enough to leave on the HD for that reason alone. Note that the Recovery partition will not run after reinstall so it can always be deleted.

gregrocker said:

But as it is says in the Special Note to Dell Owners at end of tutorial, I would first try running the bootable Dell Diagnostics from the F12 menu at boot. http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?docid=266787

If it will run and test the hardware then its valuable enough to leave on the HD for that reason alone. Note that the Recovery partition will not run after reinstall so it can always be deleted.

1) The link appears to require a login.
2) Your clean install would reformat the HDD anyway wouldn't it and delete all partitions anyway?
3) Even with the Dell clean install retaining the recovery partition as I suggested is probably not an option.
4) I'm not sure how you leave the Dell diagnostics on the drive after a clean install. gregrocker may be able to comment.
5) If it was me I would still image everything with Macrium before performing a clean install. You can always delete them at some future stage.