Solved Toshiba Laptop Upgraded to W8.1 Update 1

Ken429

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I have "upgraded" a friends crippled Toshiba Satellite Laptop (Model #C875D-S7330) by replacing the 500GB drive with a 240GB SSD and then updating W8 that come with the Laptop to W8.1 Update 1. I used Acronis 2014 to backup the 500GB Hard Drive and Restore it to the SSD. The system has new life! It almost runs fast enough to be acceptable.

Since all the recoverable OEM stuff on the system is now obsolete or at least I do not ever want to go through the 100+ W8 updates and then W8.1 store upgrade and then Update 1 again I am curious what hidden partitions I can delete to clean up the SSD. I have included a screen shot of the partition structure.

W8.1.1 will only let me delete the first 450MB partition and the last 9.35GB partition. Can I use DiskPart to delete the 260MB EFI partition and the third 450MB partition? I have two desktop W8 systems set up using MBR and they only have the System Partition. The Laptop is set up with the GPT structure. I'm willing to settle on leaving the first Recovery partition and the EFI partition alone but I would like to Delete the other two recovery partitions at the end so I can add the space to the C: partition and/or create a D: for Data.

I'm new to the "store bought systems" since I have always "built my own" so I would appreciate some input on how to proceed.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
Can u please inform me how to
1. Download my updates on windows 8.1 on Tuesday 5 th August
2. How can I view or send mail from my three accounts
Hotmail,yahoo,gmail
Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Ken429, you cannot delete any partitions, regardless if it is an OEM or self built. Windows 8.x.x needs all of those partitions to properly run.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
You should for sure keep the EFI (boot) partition and the hidden MSR partition. You should also keep the first (on the left) System Recovery partition. I'm not sure why there is an additional Recovery partition of the same size after C:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Built in the basement with the usual thunder, lightning and scary organ music
    CPU
    Intel i5 4690 Quad Core 3.5Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z97-G55 SLI, AMI BIOS v1.9
    Memory
    Corsair DDR3 - 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB,
    HDD: WD 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 912
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Can u please inform me how to
1. Download my updates on windows 8.1 on Tuesday 5 th August
2. How can I view or send mail from my three accounts
Hotmail,yahoo,gmail
Thanks
1. Control panel > Windows update > Check for updates if it's not set to do automatically. You'll get Important and Recommended updates.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Can u please inform me how to
1. Download my updates on windows 8.1 on Tuesday 5 th August
2. How can I view or send mail from my three accounts
Hotmail,yahoo,gmail
Thanks
1. Control panel > Windows update > Check for updates if it's not set to do automatically. You'll get Important and Recommended updates.

My thread got hijacked but I'll throw in my experience anyway. I had all kinds of trouble trying to let W8 update the 100+ updates automatically. It would run for hours and then say there was an error and back them all out. I ended up installing them a few at a time until I found the one that was causing the conflict. I installed that update by itself and W8 finally installed all 100+ updates (manually 10 at a time to play it safe in case I found another conflict)! Frustrating, especially on a Laptop that is very Slow..... Actually that's what made me take out the Hard Drive and upgrade it to an SSD.

Ken429
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
You should for sure keep the EFI (boot) partition and the hidden MSR partition. You should also keep the first (on the left) System Recovery partition. I'm not sure why there is an additional Recovery partition of the same size after C:

Yeah, that's what I thought but I don't understand why W8 will let me delete the first Recovery Partition (first on the left) and not the third Recovery Partition (third from the left). I suspect that Acronis 2014 did something that created the third Recovery Partition but W8 acts like that's the one it's using?!

"Boot files (including NTLDR, boot manager and the BCD data) are in the EFI System Partition (ESP). The MSR (Microsoft Reserved) partition is simply 128 MB of empty space reserved by Microsoft because they wanted to leave room to convert a basic partition to a dynamic partition in future and the UEFI partition specification does not permit gaps between partitions.

Microsoft say the MSR is required on a GPT bootable drive but not needed on a secondary data drive. However the Windows Disk Manager seems to always create ESP and MSR partitions just in case you make the drive bootable in future. It should be safe to delete them provided that you can expand the data partition so that there is no gap.
If you do leave a gap your partitions will not be compliant with the UEFI standard and It is possible that some disk utilities may see the gap as the end of useful data, and then decide to overwrite any partitions after the gap!"

I found this explanation for the extra Recovery Partition Googling my problem. Seems to make sense on why they are there on a GPT drive. Still don't understand why it won't let me delete the third one.

I also finally went and looked at the original Hard Drive and it does not have a Recovery Partition in front of the OEM Partition.

So...it looks like Acronis 2014 was following the GPT rules (above) and went and created the extra Recovery Partition ahead of the OEM Partition when I "cloned" the Hard Drive to the SSD.

Ken429
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
Before upgrade to Windows 8.1 from the Windows Store, you do not need to install all Windows 8 updates from Windows Update. You only need to install KB2871389 update, then you’ll be able to install the Windows 8.1 update via the Windows Store. Download and install KB2871389 update from link or from Windows Update.

KB2871389 (direct download link)
- All supported x86-based versions of Windows 8: http://download.microsoft.com/downl...5E-794177982162/Windows8-RT-KB2871389-x86.msu
- All supported x64-based versions of Windows 8: http://download.microsoft.com/downl...49-140AB1CF7B5F/Windows8-RT-KB2871389-x64.msu

But if you've opened the Windows Store and you don't see the Windows 8.1 update, then you will need to also install KB2917499 update.

I'm not sure why there is an additional Recovery partition of the same size after C:

The 450 MB partition was added during the update to Windows 8.1.

Here is info about the new 350 MB or 450 MB recovery partition -> link
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
Thank you, for the info, I guess Acronis 2014 is not the source of the extra Recovery Partition although, when I did the restore to the SSD, Acronis flashed some message about a Partition that I ignored at the time. I suppose I could go back and repeat the process just to verify who did what. I appreciate the information on installing just the one update that gets you to the MSFT Store for W8.1. I have several desktops running W8 and I finally found a W8.1 download that I put on a USB. That works great if you have a W8 Product Key but this @#$% OEM machine adds to the problem since I don't know how to get the Product Key. Should have asked before I spent a day screwing around with all the updates! Oh well, next time.

Back to my original question - can I delete the last two partitions on the SSD so that I can expand the OS Partition and eventually create a D: Partition? Will DiskPart do the job?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
genet,

Thanks again. I'm getting smarter - the hard way! I'll delete the last two partitions and see what happens. I've backed up the old Hard Drive and the SSD every step along the way so whatever happens I can recover the OEM setup or W8.1 or W8.1 Update 1.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
On my ASUS laptop after doing a clean UEFI install this is what I was left with.

DM.PNG

I had a hard drive that I took out of my desktop when I swapped in an SSD and there were some partitions that Windows wouldn't let me delete though disk management. I used diskpart and the override switch to do it. Example: delete partition 3 /override < I think that's how it went.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Ken429, one recovery partition is for Windows 8.0. The other is for 8.1, then you have one added by 8.1.1 for some reason.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
You can no longer Refresh or Reset, if you delete the Windows RE tools partition or the recovery image partition.

If you were to create the Recovery (WINRE) partition using Diskpart what name would you need to assign to it? Would it be "Recovery" or "WINRE" ??? and I assume it would be formatted NTFS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Built in the basement with the usual thunder, lightning and scary organ music
    CPU
    Intel i5 4690 Quad Core 3.5Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z97-G55 SLI, AMI BIOS v1.9
    Memory
    Corsair DDR3 - 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB,
    HDD: WD 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 912
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Don't think the label matters. It seems for autofailover you may need to use partition ID DE94BBA4-06D1-4D40-A16A-BFD50179D6AC

Probably best to make it a touch under 500mb, 495mb for example.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
If you were to create the Recovery (WINRE) partition using Diskpart what name would you need to assign to it? Would it be "Recovery" or "WINRE" ??? and I assume it would be formatted NTFS.

Here's one example (link):

Code:
rem == CreatePartitions.txt ==
rem == These commands are used with DiskPart to
rem    create five partitions
rem    for a UEFI/GPT-based PC.
rem == Usage: diskpart /s ScriptFileName
rem == Example: diskpart /s D:\CreatePartitions.txt
rem ================================================
select disk 0
clean
convert gpt
[B]rem == 1. Windows RE tools partition ===============
create partition primary size=1000
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows RE tools"
assign letter="T"
set id="de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac"
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001[/B]
rem == 2. System partition =========================
create partition efi size=260
format quick fs=fat32 label="System"
assign letter="S"
rem == 3. Microsoft Reserved (MSR) partition =======
create partition msr size=128
rem == 4. Windows partition ========================
rem ==    a. Create the Windows partition ==========
create partition primary 
rem ==    b. Create space for the recovery image ===
shrink minimum=20480
rem       ** NOTE: Update this size to match the size
rem                of the recovery image           **
rem ==    c. Prepare the Windows partition ========= 
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows"
assign letter="W"
rem === 5. Recovery image partition ================
create partition primary
format quick fs=ntfs label="Recovery image"
assign letter="R"
set id="de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac"
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001
rem ================================================
list volume
exit

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
Here's one example (link):

Great! Thanks for the info.

I cloned over my HDD to an SSD using Macrium. Before the cloning I created EFI and MSR partitions with diskpart. I was changing from legacy boot MBR to GPT disk and UEFI boot. I left out the recovery partition, this of course means I don't have the windows recovery tools. I don't really need them since I have the windows 8.1 install disk and I use Macrium for images. However, at some point (if I get another SSD) I may rebuild a system drive and add the recovery partition just to get it to stock.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Built in the basement with the usual thunder, lightning and scary organ music
    CPU
    Intel i5 4690 Quad Core 3.5Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z97-G55 SLI, AMI BIOS v1.9
    Memory
    Corsair DDR3 - 8GB (2x4GB) 1600Mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB,
    HDD: WD 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 912
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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