Dell Backup & Recovery Keeps Creating Partitions

Steve C

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Power User
Messages
275
Location
UK
I have a Dell laptop running Windows 8.1 x64 with UEFI boot. I've been having problems with the Dell Backup & Recovery Utility showing errors. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the program but this results in additional partitions being created on the hard drive! I now have 10 partitions on the hard drive ( mostly small) - see the enclosed reports.

Is there a way of reconfiguring the partitions on the hard drive to the configuration of a standard Windows 8 installation without having to wipe the disk and reinstall everything? I have Paragon Partition Manager and Paragon Backup in addition to using the Microsoft utilities (DISKPART). Note the laptop operates normally despite the extra partitions.

DISKPART Report:

Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
Partition 1 System 500 MB 1024 KB
Partition 2 OEM 40 MB 501 MB
Partition 3 Reserved 128 MB 541 MB
Partition 4 Recovery 750 MB 669 MB
Partition 5 Primary 911 GB 1419 MB
Partition 10 Recovery 900 MB 913 GB
Partition 9 Recovery 900 MB 913 GB
Partition 6 Recovery 450 MB 914 GB
Partition 7 Recovery 8 GB 915 GB
Partition 8 OEM 8 GB 923 GB
 

Attachments

  • Laptop Partitions.txt
    737 bytes · Views: 89
  • Laptop Partitions by Disk Manager.JPG
    Laptop Partitions by Disk Manager.JPG
    160.5 KB · Views: 90
  • Laptop Partititions by Paragon Utility.JPG
    Laptop Partititions by Paragon Utility.JPG
    61.1 KB · Views: 97

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
I've uninstalled and reinstalled the program but this results in additional partitions being created on the hard drive!

Stop using the Dell Backup and Recovery program - every time you install it It creates the OEM factory recovery.. It is known as First Run Software..

Good to run after a clean install to create the factory option..

The problem now is determining which partitions are good and in uses.. (which ones to remove)

Laptop came with windows 8 ???
 

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
reading your txt it appears - but not suggesting anything yet.
10, 9, 7 appear likely removable candidates
6 is usuall created by windows 8.1 update..

From Command Prompt(admin)
type> reagentc /info

post a pic
 

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
Yes, I've removed the useless Dell Backup & Recovery Program. Wouldn't it be nice if it warned you about creating new partitions.

The laptop came with Windows 8.1 x64 pre-installed.

With advice from the Forum I hope to identify which partitions created by Dell Backup & Recovery I can delete. Is it then safe to use something like Paragon Partition Manager to delete the offending partitions and grow the system disk C: to use the free space created?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
Thanks - I think our posts crossed. Here is the output for reagentc /info:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.3.9600]
(c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


C:\WINDOWS\system32>reagentc /info
Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration
Information:


Windows RE status: Disabled
Windows RE location:
Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: c75b21b3-d062-11e3-a912-b82a729fff82
Recovery image location:
Recovery image index: 1
Custom image location:
Custom image index: 0


REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.




Does that help?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
well if you reading to go fishing >

right click start flag > command prompt(admin)
type> diskpart
type> select disk 0
type> list volume
type> list partition
You will see a lot of volumes without drive letters assigned..
type> select volume # (# being the volume number without a drive letter)
type> assign letter=? (? being an unused drive letter)
repeat until all volumes have drive letters
type> select volume # (# being the volume number without a drive letter)
type> assign letter=? (? being an unused drive letter)
type> exit (to exit diskpart)

You can now browse thru ?

I believe the OEM 8GB partition is your factory recovery partition
but please show me this
From Command Prompt(admin)
type> reagentc /info

post a pic
 

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
From Command Prompt(admin)
type> reagentc /enable

reboot PC


From Command Prompt(admin)
type> reagentc /info
 

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
Thanks for your help.

I enclose 3 files showing the drive letters assigned & the reagentc command, a screenshot of the drives in Windows Explorer and a table summarising the output of Paragon Partition Manager (in the order shown by the utility).

Does this help locating the unwanted partitions for removal and how do I remove the drive letters once finished?

View attachment Volumes.txt
View attachment Paragon Partition Summary.txt
Drives.JPG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
The 450 MB partition would not lead one to believe that system came with 8.1 installed originally. Since it is normally created by the 8 to 8.1 upgrade process, it would have taken over the Dell Recovery options. Maybe you did not upgrade it, but it certainly seems like someone did.

The following is the result of the reagentc command on a normal Dell 8.1 system. The recovery image in the 8 GB folders is probably of Wiindows 8.0 on your system.

C:\Windows\system32>reagentc /info
Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration
Information:
Windows RE status: Enabled
Windows RE location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk1\partition4\Recovery\WindowsRE
Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: 666fc8e3-1231-11e4-814d-999cae8b55b8
Recovery image location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk1\partition6\Dell\Image
Recovery image index: 1
Custom image location:
Custom image index: 0
REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
The laptop came with Windows 8.1 but Microsoft Support did an in place repair install to Windows 8.1 last summer to cure a fault with Metro Apps. Is that why I have the 450MB partition and why Dell Backup & Recovery finds a partition error?

No problems with my home built system!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
In reply to post 7 - I tried the reagentc /enable command but it reports "The Windows RE image was not found"

Should I have a Windows RE Image?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
I would say the Microsoft process did mess up your Recovery options.

We are still in discussion mode here, so don't yet take any action based on observations presented.

The original partitions were all of the first ones including the OS partition and one of the 8 GB Recovery Image partitions. It may be hard to determine which Recovery Image was the original. You can try running the Diskpart list volume command and see if one shows with a PBR Image designation.

The fact the second 8 GB partition shows with an OEM description means it will not work with your Recovery options. If it was to be the correct partition, you would need to change the Type ID de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac and an Attrib of 0x8000000000000001.

My partition readout.
DISKPART> lis par
Partition ### Type Size Offset
------------- ---------------- ------- -------
Partition 1 System 500 MB 1024 KB
Partition 2 OEM 40 MB 501 MB
Partition 3 Reserved 128 MB 541 MB
Partition 4 Recovery 750 MB 669 MB
Partition 5 Primary 221 GB 1419 MB
Partition 6 Recovery 9 GB 223 GB
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
Thanks. No volume has the PBR designation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
Well, another thing you might try is run a Mountvol command in the Admin Command prompt. Several of the entries in the result will show as ***No Mount Points ***. Pick the last one and copy the Volume ID and paste it into a Run Box to open that folder. The attachment shows the folder structure in my Recovery Partiton.

RecovPar.JPG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
Thanks for the last tip. I get the nag box "Location is not available" for the last volume stating the location is not available / The device is not ready. In fact, all of the mount points result in the same error.

Regarding the reagentc /enable command which didn't work, I found I have no winre.wim file in my System32 directory. Should I have? I found this article to install it if necessary:

https://www.winhelp.us/restore-windows-re.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
If the partition is designated as OEM, nothing may work. You would need to reset the Type ID.

The WinRE file is in the first Recovery Partition.

What I am thinking is you reset the last Recovery Image partition so it no longer shows as OEM. Then use the reagentc commands to set the recovery options as shown on my system. You can set those setting by using the Volume IDs as long as you know you are using the correct partition.

So, for now, use Diskpart and pick the correct drive and then the correct partition. Use the Set id command to set it to the correct designation for a recovery partition. The other 8 GB partition may be the same as the OEM one and you should be able to check the folder structure in it. You may want to copy the current Type id to a notepad to save if for some reason you need it agin.

set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

You can copy and paste this info into a command prompt window.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Grown
    CPU
    i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77 -v Pro, Z87-Expert
    Memory
    16 G
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 680 Classified (2)
    Hard Drives
    Kingston SSD 240 GB
Volume 0 C OS NTFS Partition 911 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 1 P ESP FAT32 Partition 500 MB Healthy System
Volume 2 Q RAW Partition 750 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 3 R RAW Partition 900 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 4 S RAW Partition 900 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 5 T RAW Partition 450 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 6 U RAW Partition 8 GB Healthy Hidden

Every one of the "RAW" partitions are now worthless - the data has been wiped and you have no factory Recovery or Recovery Tools

Unless you happen to find a windowsRE folder on P - and hidden inside that folder is winre.wim

View attachment 59238

C and P have to stay - all the others are just blank un-formatted partitions.. And can now be safely removed...
 

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
Many thanks for the above advice. Some of the volumes labelled as RAW by DISKPART are formatted and contain data when you view them in Paragon Backup.

My understanding based on the above advice and further information from Paragon Backup which shows more information partition by partition in the sequence reports by Paragon is shown below:

Partition 1 Vol P - 500MB ESP, FAT 32 formatted - Need to keep. It contains an EFI directory but no winre.wim
Partition 2 - 40 MB OEM/DIAGS, FAT 32 formatted. Only 512 bytes used. Should I keep this?
Partition 3 - 128MB, System Reserved. Should I keep this?
Partition 4 Vol Q - 750MB, WINRETOOLs, NTFS, 440.8MB used. Should I keep this since it contains data?
Partition 5 Vol C - Win 8.1, NTFS. Obviously keep!
Unallocated space 50MB - eligible to be used by the OS partition C:
Partition 6 Vol R / DISKPART Partition 10 -900GB unformatted. This can be removed.
Partition 7 Vol S / DISKPART Partition 9 -900GB unformatted. This can be removed.
Partition 8 Vol T / DISKPART Partition 6 - OEM Service Volume 450MB NTFS, 314.5MB used. Should I keep this since it has data or can it be deleted?
Partition 9 Vol U / DISKPART Partition 8? - PBR Image, 8.2GB NTFS, 7.4GB used. Should I keep this since it has data or can it be deleted?
Partition 10 / DISKPART Partition 7? - 8GB not formatted. This can be removed.

Please advise:

1. Whether you agree with the above?
2. It's unclear whether Partitions 8, 9 above can be removed. If I can't remove them, it would seem difficult to expand the OS partition to use up the free space.
3. I have no winre.wim file on Partition 1. Should I have this file, and if so, how do I repair the partition to include it?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
you should find windows 8.1 winre is on Q
you should find windows 8.1 winre is on T

and your factory recovery image is on U

right now it looks like you keep 1,2,3,4,5,and if you want factory recovery 9
 

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
Thanks.

I tried viewing Q & T using the DIR command in a command prompt window but just get the error "The device is not ready". Is there a way of searching the volume/partition for winre?

Do I need both volumes Q & T? Can I delete T? If so, can I also safely delete Partition 10 then move Partition 9 to the end of the disk? This would enable me to merge all the free space with the OS partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    Intel i3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-77X-UD5H
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire R9 280X Toxic
    Sound Card
    Realtek on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Intel 520 180GB SSD
    Seagate 2T HDD
    Seagate external 1T USB HDD
    PSU
    XFX 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
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