Solved Question on Windows 8 Reserved Partition?

melabones36000

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Pittsburgh, PA
My desktop came with Windows 7 and I just recently upgraded to Windows 8. My question is about the Windows 8 system reserved partition that is suppose to be 350mb large. My reserved partition is only 100mb in size so does that mean that the partition that is currently on my drive is actually for Windows 7 and not Windows 8. Also does that mean that when Windows did the upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 that it incorporated the reserved partition that is suppose to be for Windows 8 into the partition that Windows 8 is installed on or did it not create one at all for Windows 8. I've included a snapshot of disk management that shows the System reserve partition which is 100mb and what was on my hard drive when Windows 7 was installed. It also shows the OS partition as well. Please if anyone can give me info on this and a reason as to why this happened I would be thankful. Also if there is a fix for this I would love to know how to. Thank You for your time.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard p6754y
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core
    Motherboard
    FOXCONN N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
    Memory
    2X 4GB Kingston Memory (Upgraded)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 660TI PCI Express x16 graphics
    Sound Card
    Nvidia High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 1TB (Main)
    Western Digital C 1TB (Backup)
    PSU
    Corsair GS 700
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 922
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 200mm front fan, 1 x 200mm top fan, CPU fan
    Keyboard
    HP Standard Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
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    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
it just means that that partition was created when you had windows 7. during the upgrade the system is not going to rearrange your partitions. therefore you will continue to have the 100mb partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Also if there is a fix for this I would love to know how to. Thank You for your time.
I'd want the 350 MB partition. In this regard, you might want to do a clean reinstall of Win8.

1. In this regard, a useful starting point, for you, could be doing the first 4 steps here: SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation. After doing these steps your install drive will have only unallocated space--which is good if you want the 350 MB partition.
2. Next, you could use Clean Install - Windows 8. In this regard, if you did step 1 above, then you will need to do no more to get the unallocated space needed to provide for the 350 MB partition when reinstalling Win8.
3. Note that you are likely to have to use the refresh procedure covered in this tutorial, Clean Install with Windows 8 Upgrade, in order to activate your reinstalled system.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
One more thing does that mean since the 100mb partition is active that the computer is booting from that partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard p6754y
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core
    Motherboard
    FOXCONN N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
    Memory
    2X 4GB Kingston Memory (Upgraded)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 660TI PCI Express x16 graphics
    Sound Card
    Nvidia High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 1TB (Main)
    Western Digital C 1TB (Backup)
    PSU
    Corsair GS 700
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 922
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 200mm front fan, 1 x 200mm top fan, CPU fan
    Keyboard
    HP Standard Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
The main importance of this partition for me is that it contains the system repair tools one might want to use in Win8?

Edit:

I searched a bit. Found (in Clean Install - Windows 8): "The 350 MB System Reserved partition is used for the Boot Manager code, BCD (Boot Configuration Database), System Recovery Options (Windows RE), and start up files for BitLocker (if turned on)."

Also Found (in Advanced "Startup Settings" - Boot to in Windows 8): ".... If Repair your computer isn't listed as an option, then your computer doesn't have the 350MB System Reserved partition normally added during the installation of Windows 8."
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
So does that mean the 100mb partition is useless to Windows 8 and is just taking up space on my hard drive. Also I've read that some people have deactivated the system partition and activated the partition with windows installed on and they said there pc wouldn't boot up so I'm confused as to weather the system partition is just for recovery or also allows the pc to boot from it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard p6754y
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core
    Motherboard
    FOXCONN N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
    Memory
    2X 4GB Kingston Memory (Upgraded)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 660TI PCI Express x16 graphics
    Sound Card
    Nvidia High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 1TB (Main)
    Western Digital C 1TB (Backup)
    PSU
    Corsair GS 700
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 922
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 200mm front fan, 1 x 200mm top fan, CPU fan
    Keyboard
    HP Standard Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
I am not sure, but I think that if it's there you don't want to delete it without a plan. I know that Win7 sometimes gets installed without it. I did a brief search. Sorry, I don't have time to continue the search now. But, search on "100 MB partition Windows 7." I think you will find some useful info.

See the note below in: Dual Boot Installation - Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista.

"NOTE:This example has the 100 MB System Reservered partition that Windows 7 creates when installed on a unallocated HDD. If your Windows 7 installation does not have the 100 MB System Reservered partition, then that is fine since this will still work to dual boot with Windows 8. Just do not delete the 100 MB System Reserved partition if you do have one."
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
As SIW2 mentions, it is fine as it is. In Windows 8, the larger Recovery Partition is used to hold the Recovery files, which are kept in C: on a Windows 7 system. In your install, those files are being kept in C: as in Windows 7.

The System partition holds the boot files... It is needed at least until the boot is reconfigured.

The advantage of having the Recovery and Boot files in partitions other than C: is in case of corruption, you can still boot into the recovery environment.
 

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
Would you mind clarifying what you are said in the context of his circumstances and question? I'm having trouble fitting what you said into his circumstances and question.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
As long as the 100MB partition is the 'active' partition, it contains the bootmgr and you cannot live without it. In Windows 7, I always copy the bootmgr to the C partition. That is a lot more convenient - e.g. for imaging. But un less you copy the bootmgr to C and make C the active partition, you will boot from the 100MB partition. The boot sequence is BIOS > MBR > active partition > OS partition - where active partition and OS partition can be the same (C:\).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Is there a way to copy the boot manager from the 100mb partition to the C drive partition or maybe to just copy all the files from the 100mb partition to the C drive partition or should that be done during the install of the os.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard p6754y
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core
    Motherboard
    FOXCONN N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
    Memory
    2X 4GB Kingston Memory (Upgraded)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 660TI PCI Express x16 graphics
    Sound Card
    Nvidia High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 1TB (Main)
    Western Digital C 1TB (Backup)
    PSU
    Corsair GS 700
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 922
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 200mm front fan, 1 x 200mm top fan, CPU fan
    Keyboard
    HP Standard Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
Thanks I'll make a backup of my pc and try this out I'll post a response when I've finished
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard p6754y
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core
    Motherboard
    FOXCONN N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
    Memory
    2X 4GB Kingston Memory (Upgraded)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 660TI PCI Express x16 graphics
    Sound Card
    Nvidia High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 1TB (Main)
    Western Digital C 1TB (Backup)
    PSU
    Corsair GS 700
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 922
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 200mm front fan, 1 x 200mm top fan, CPU fan
    Keyboard
    HP Standard Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
Thanks I'll make a backup of my pc and try this out I'll post a response when I've finished
Good, I would be interested to know whether that works in /8 - I never tried that because I really don't use /8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
EasyBCD worked problem with unallocated partition!

So I ran the EasyBCD process to transfer Boot Manager to the C:/ drive partition that has the OS on it all that worked out fine, rebooted to see if it worked and everything was good. But now after deleting the 100mb partition I've got the unallocated partition but can't add it to the C:/ drive partiton, the option on the C:/ drive partition to expand is greyed out and I have no idea what to do cause I pretty much now have 100mb that I can't use. I mean I could format it and use it as storage but that would defeat the purpose of all the work I just did when I could have just left it as was at least the 100mb partiton was being used. Any clue as to how I can merge the too together. I've provided a image of disk management.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard p6754y
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core
    Motherboard
    FOXCONN N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
    Memory
    2X 4GB Kingston Memory (Upgraded)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 660TI PCI Express x16 graphics
    Sound Card
    Nvidia High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 1TB (Main)
    Western Digital C 1TB (Backup)
    PSU
    Corsair GS 700
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 922
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 200mm front fan, 1 x 200mm top fan, CPU fan
    Keyboard
    HP Standard Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
So I ran the EasyBCD process to transfer Boot Manager to the C:/ drive partition that has the OS on it all that worked out fine, rebooted to see if it worked and everything was good. But now after deleting the 100mb partition I've got the unallocated partition but can't add it to the C:/ drive partiton, the option on the C:/ drive partition to expand is greyed out and I have no idea what to do cause I pretty much now have 100mb that I can't use. I mean I could format it and use it as storage but that would defeat the purpose of all the work I just did when I could have just left it as was at least the 100mb partiton was being used. Any clue as to how I can merge the too together. I've provided a image of disk management.

This is normal because with Disk Management you can only extend a partition if the unallocated space is to the right of the partition that you want to extend. With the bootable CD of Partition Wizard you could do it. But I warn you - it will take a looong time because PW has to shift all the data in C to the left. And there is a big risk that some of the data may get corrupted. I don't think it is worth the 100MBs which are a nit. Just let them sit there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Ok so I used a partition program to extend the C drive partition everything went ok and now I have one partition instead of two. Everything seems to be working as it should. Also in the future if I were to decide to do a fresh install of windows 8 will it end up creating an additional partition the way it would normally do or will it just install everything to the single partition I have now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard p6754y
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core
    Motherboard
    FOXCONN N-Alvorix-RS880-uATX (Alvorix)
    Memory
    2X 4GB Kingston Memory (Upgraded)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 660TI PCI Express x16 graphics
    Sound Card
    Nvidia High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 1TB (Main)
    Western Digital C 1TB (Backup)
    PSU
    Corsair GS 700
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 922
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm rear fan, 1 x 200mm front fan, 1 x 200mm top fan, CPU fan
    Keyboard
    HP Standard Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless Mouse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013
Glad the partition program worked. What did you use?

If you do a clean reinstall of Win8 and start with no partition on a drive with only unallocated space, then you should end up with the 350 MB system-reserved partition. You may have to activate using the refresh procedure described here: Clean Install with Windows 8 Upgrade.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
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