W8.1 - which partitions to clone?

jollyjack

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My last laptop had W7 dual booted with Linux (Mint Cinnamon 17.1), each in a partition. I'd clone them both on a regular basis with Clonezilla. Nice and simple. My new laptop is a Lenovo with W8.1 - UEFI of course. I've managed to dual boot it as well, but I'm having a problem with cloning W8.1 - there are SIX partitions associated with it. (There was also a seventh associated with Lenovo, but I found I didn't need it, so I put Linux in it instead). I don't know enough about UEFI, W8 and Lenovo laptops to understand what they all are for, and whether I need them all. They are: WINRE_DRV SYSTEM_DRV LRS_ESP MICROSOFT ? (reserved to Microsoft - drivers?) WINDOWS08_OS PBR_DRV For backup purposes, I'd prefer to use a stand-alone product, booted from a CD/DVD or USB key, but if it's simpler to use an internal utility like, eg, System Image, please tell me. Similarly, if I use something like Clonezilla or AOEMI, I can clone all five of the partitions, but do I need them?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
I always image all of those partitions. 5 of the 6 partitions are rather small anyhow. But bare minimum would be the C partition and the EFI partition. But then you lose a lot of capability (e.g. Refresh).
 

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Thanks for the reply, whs.

You're right, it's not a lot of work to clone them all, and that's what I'll probably do. I guess I'm trying to work out which partitions I need for W8.1 to work, and which are associated with MS/Lenovo recovery.

I'm not that bothered about Refresh. If something goes wrong, I could restore the cloned image, and if that failed, I've a USB Key containing "Lenovo Recovery Media" which would give me a clean install (I think)

You say the minimum is C partition (WINDOWS08_OS) and EFI (SYSTEM_DRV). I think the recovery partitions are WINRE_DRV and PBR_DRV. What about the other two (LRS_ESP and the Microsoft one) - should I keep them, or can they go as well?

(I'm not desperate for space - I'd just like to know how it all fits together).

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
If you want to get rid of the Lenovo recovery partition cleanly, just make a recovery drive in windows at Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Recovery you'll have the option to include lenovos recovery partition which will then be deleted from your hard drive:

When the process is done, do one of the following:

  • If you want to keep the recovery partition on your PC, tap or click Finish.
  • If you want to remove the recovery partition from your PC and free up disk space, tap or click Delete the recovery partition. Then tap or click Delete. This will free up the disk space used to store your recovery image. When the removal is done, tap or click Finish.
    [h=3]Note[/h]
    • Some PCs don't offer the option to remove a recovery partition. If you experience this, there isn't a recovery partition on your PC that's using additional disc space.


 

My Computer

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    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
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    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
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@Cliff S,

I think that's what I did when I created the USB key (Lenovo Recovery Media) - I now use that partition for Linux.

@whs, as far as I can find out:

LRS_ESP contains a folder titled "OneKey", which is Lenovo's recovery utility, plus others to do with Boot and EFI. (ESP = EFI System Partition, I think).

PBR_DRV contains a folder called "OKRBackup" , plus some big .swm files. (OKR = One Key Recovery).

WINRE_DRV is part of the Microsoft Recovery process

It looks like the first two (LRS and PBR) partitions are part of the Lenovo recovery process. If that's the case, I THINK I can delete them, and depend on my own recovery processes - System Image (possibly), cloning, fresh reload from USB.

Or am I misunderstanding completely?

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
WinRE_DRV is the partition containing the Windows Recovery Enviroment

PBR_DRV is the partition containing the factory recovery images .swm(s)

ESP is the EFI Boot partition

and you should have a 128 MSR partition and your OS partition

5 partitions total..

from a command prompt(admin) type each command below
Diskpart
list disk
list volume
select disk 0
list partition

post a pic of cmd window
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 3.1 > Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700
    CPU
    I7
    Memory
    24 GB
Screenshot (2).png

I hope this will do - W8 is new to me.

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
For a basic Windows UEFI system you need 2 partitions.

You need a EFI (or ESP if you prefer) formatted FAT with partition type x'EE'. This has to contain your bootloader for Windows (and Mint or other OS's if you want). It is where your system will look for boot files.

Then you need a partition type x'07' (your C: drive) and that is it.

Microsoft recommends you have a MSR partition of 128MB immediately before C:\ but what this is for is unclear. Possibly to give a bit of slack if you resize partitions (with some file systems it is recommended to leave 128MB between all partitions but I've never hap any problem not doing so). It has no data you need to backup anyway. Microsoft Reserved Partition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I usually make one just in case it has some purpose that hasn't been made apparent but certainly Windows seems to work OK without it.

You don't need any of the Lenovo partitions - you'd be better off just making a system image and keeping an ISO or something else bootable on a USB stick. Certainly you don't have to back them up more than once.

I've never bothered restoring but backing them up would help if you ever want to restore your system to factory state. I do have some DVD's I made for my Lenovo when I bought it just in case of that eventuality...
 

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    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
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    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
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    T7600
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There is already a legacy bootmgr on C:\
UEFI uses bootmgr.efi and winload.efi

Delete your EFI partition or try to combine the EFI partition with your windows partition
and your machine WILL NOT BOOT..

you can do it in Legacy Mode
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 3.1 > Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700
    CPU
    I7
    Memory
    24 GB
@adamf, if I understand you correctly, all I need for a simple UEFI W8 installation is the ESP partition (SYSTEM_DRV), the C: partition (WINDOWS08_OS) and possibly the MSR partition - I can get rid of the two Lenovo partitions (LRS_ESP and PBR_DRV).

So far, so good, but what do I do about the first partition (WINRE_DRV)? I'm still confused about what it does. If it comes with W8 (as I think I read somewhere), I'll probably keep it - if it's something that Lenovo installed for their own purposes, I'd like to get rid of it.

Sorry to ask what may be stupid questions, but I'm having to learn a lot of new stuff.

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
If you delete the PBR and WINRE you will no longer have an on disk factory recovery option..

Partition 5 contains the recovery image (which is optional)
all the other partitions are the more to normal partitions and partition sizes

View attachment 60409

Partition 1 is the WINRE partition
Partition 2 is the EFI partition
Partition 3 is the MSR partition
Partition 4 is the WinOS partition
Partition 5 is the PBR image partition

If you notice your partition sizes they are larger then they have to be - because that is how the OEM created them..

If you used Control Panel > Recovery > create a recovery disk
Windows will rewrite two files and properly size all the partitions when you use the recovery media to reset your PC
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 3.1 > Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700
    CPU
    I7
    Memory
    24 GB

Partition 1 - 1000 MB (Recovery Partition) – This partition contains Windows Recovery Environment tools and utilities, allowing the user to repair problems that affect the system drive.

Partition 2 - 260 MB (EFI System Partition) - UEFI firmware loads files stored on the EFI System Partition to start installed operating systems.

Partition 3 - 1000 MB (OEM Partition) – Boot loaders to launch OEM manufacturer-specific recovery tools.

Partition 4 - 128 MB (Microsoft Reserved Partition) - Note: This partition not visible within Disk Management.

Partition 7 - 22 GB (Recovery Partition) - This partition contains the recovery image that would be restored to the system drive if the Refresh or Reset option in Windows 8 is used.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
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    Intel Core i5-3230M
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    8 GB
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    Intel HD Graphics 4000
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    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
either way you just gotta love OEM setup
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 3.1 > Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700
    CPU
    I7
    Memory
    24 GB
@KYHI, I'm not bothered about having an on-disk factory recovery option. I'd prefer to restore from a cloned image anyway, as it's up-to-date and reflects all the changes I've made. If that doesn't work, there's "Microsoft Installation Media", which apparently I can create myself (though I'd need drivers, updates, etc). After that, I have the "Lenovo Recovery Media" a USB drive that I created first thing. And if that doesn't work (maybe because it needs one of the partitions I've deleted), I'll go back to W7.

So, as far as I can see, I need my partitions 1,2,4 and 5 (your partitions 1,2,3 and 4) - the rest can go.

Or have I got that horribly wrong?

Cheers
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
So, as far as I can see, I need my partitions 1,2,4 and 5 (your partitions 1,2,3 and 4) - the rest can go.
you are correct..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 3.1 > Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700
    CPU
    I7
    Memory
    24 GB
One more question, if I may?

If I delete sda3, then sda4 becomes sda3 and sda5 (which contains W8 OS) will become sda4. Will the EFI boot process still be able to find W8, and boot it?

If it's going to cause problems, I may just leave sda3 there - it's only 1Gb - and just delete sda7.

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
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