Partitioning Scheme Changes when you install Windows 8.1

When I install Windows 8.1 it changes the hard drive partitioning scheme on my computer. In the Windows disk management it shows that when you install Windows 8.1 it adds a small hidden 350MB recovery partition. The first question that pops into my mind is why would Microsoft do that without letting you know and second what the hell it for? For a second I thought it was malware or something bad, until I reinstalled Windows 8.1 that I found out that it was apart of the Windows 8.1 installation. I'll heard that its the Windows 8.1 recovery repair tool partition but how do you use it?
This is what my partition scheme looks like, this is on my laptop so I not using a dual boot scheme, however its formatted GPT so that I might clone it to a SDD that might be used as a dual boot machine in the future. The rest of the partitions aside from the new 350 Mb partition when you install Windows 8.1 is a default install of GPT partitioning scheme. The SYSTEM FAT32 partition has boot files however I'm using the main C: drive as the bootloader for now.

You have a laptop, UEFI and GPT formated disk, each of them take it's toll.

Can you provide a screenshot of your disk management and identify your installation media please (retail, downloaded ISO, etc)?

Here's what mine looks like:

fedyHamito said:

I'll heard that its the Windows 8.1 recovery repair tool partition

Click to expand...

Windows 8.1 creates 2nd Recovery Partition - Windows 8 - MSFN Forum

Update Windows 8 to 8.1 partition split - Microsoft Community

genet said:

fedyHamito said:

I'll heard that its the Windows 8.1 recovery repair tool partition

Click to expand...

Windows 8.1 creates 2nd Recovery Partition - Windows 8 - MSFN Forum

Update Windows 8 to 8.1 partition split - Microsoft Community

Click to expand...

The unusual thing about the OPs issue is that his recovery partition is sized at 350mbs which is usually the size for a Legacy installation. Now, if you look at my image, mine is sized at 300mbs for a UEFI installation; however, that sizing (300 mbs) has caused issues when trying to use the new Windows System Imaging function and was reported to Microsoft accordingly. So, I'd really like to see his full partition structure and identify his installation media to see if MS has incorporated a fix to (possibly) resize that recovery partition (on new installations) so one doesn't encounter an issue when trying to use the System Imaging function.

The first 200MB partition has boot and memtest files I guessing that's the partition you access when you tap F9 or F10, or whatever that you press to get into the menu screen where you can boot in safe mode, memtest option and such.

Then I have the main C: with a clean install of Windows 8 or 8.1 in this case, just named Windows 8 for now.

I've created a separate partition for my desktop apps call Applications, and I still having the manufacture recovery partition with manufacture default install of Windows 7 intact that's the 25GB partition, but I plan on getting rid of that one since I have the created the recovery disks for that.

And then there's the Windows 8.1 350MB partition.

Is that an OEM partition structure? If so, forget everything I said (and thought) because that is an entirely different ballgame. With that said, maybe genet (or someone else) can continue to address your concerns because I was off on the wrong track. Good luck.

my2cents

fedyHamito said:

And then there's the Windows 8.1 350MB partition.

Click to expand...

Everything is alright.

Windows 8.1 creates 2nd Recovery Partition - Windows 8 - MSFN Forum

"If you have a computer with Windows 8 that was installed by an OEM on a GPT disk, the Windows 8.1 update from the Store will create a second recovery partition! Alternatively, if your OS is installed on an MBR disk, the 2nd partition is not created. This second partition is seen as a 350MB Recovery partition."

Update Windows 8 to 8.1 partition split - Microsoft Community

"I had Windows 8 in disk partition F.
I updated to 8.1.
It appears that the update split partition F into two partitions, a shrunken F followed by a Recovery Partition.
The Recovery Partition's size is 350MB, the amount by which the original F partition was reduced."



Note: This is not same as 350MB System Reserved partition.

Here is some more info -> http://www.eightforums.com/installa...ilt-asus-recovery-partition-2.html#post330641

my2cents said:

Is that an OEM partition structure? If so, forget everything I said (and thought) because that is an entirely different ballgame. With that said, maybe genet (or someone else) can continue to address your concerns because I was off on the wrong track. Good luck.

my2cents

Click to expand...

Is that an OEM partition structure?
OEM in part
Windows 7 in part
Upgraded to Windows 8.1 in part.

Got the disk partitions looking like a crow's nest (same as OP's) on my OEM laptop (with recovery etc). But on another laptop made a clean w8 install + 8.1 upgrade, it made only 2 partitions (I did later split C: into C: os and D: files, see attachment).

OP has a UEFI install.

this laptop is still using BIOS However the drive is GPT but once was a MBR. I didn't want the limitations of a MBR disk for maybe when I clone to a SSD so then I could use Hyper-V that won't defrag my main drive badly since SSD's don't need to be contiguous but iam totally unaware of what that looks like since 1. i don't have a SSD yet and 2. its not that important.

fedyHamito said:

this laptop is still using BIOS However the drive is GPT but once was a MBR. I didnt want the limitations on the MBR disk for maybe when I clone to SSD so then I could Hyper-V that wont defrag my main drive badly since sdds don't need to be contiguous but iam totally unaware of what that looks like since 1. i dont have a SSD yet and 2. its not that important.

Click to expand...

Can you repost the partition lay-out screenshot, as the screenshot is a UEFI partition lay-out, not a BIOS partition lay-out.

no pic then

theog said:

fedyHamito said:

this laptop is still using BIOS However the drive is GPT but once was a MBR. I didnt want the limitations on the MBR disk for maybe when I clone to SSD so then I could Hyper-V that wont defrag my main drive badly since sdds don't need to be contiguous but iam totally unaware of what that looks like since 1. i dont have a SSD yet and 2. its not that important.

Click to expand...

Can you repost the partition lay-out screenshot, as the screenshot is a UEFI partition lay-out, not a BIOS partition lay-out.

Click to expand...

fedyHamito said:

View attachment 39273

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You have reposted the UEFI partition lay-out, which is the same as post one.