What's up with the Recovery Disk partition?

On my Dell Vostro 1400, I have an 80GB HD. This is divided into four partitions: 2.50GB partition for Dell Media Direct, 78MB partition for EISA Configuration...no problem so far.
But then the last two partitions are the primary OS partition, which should be somewhere > 70GB, but it is ~62GB, because of the remaining 10GB partition, which shows up in 'Computer' as 'Recovery D:' as you can see.

You can see for yourself what it contains:

My question is: Is this partition necessary? I've never had this on a computer before. Can I delete it? If so, I would like any suggestions on how to safely delete it. Any help would be appreciated deeply.

 

recovery partition holds an image of your HD in the factory state. by pressing a certain key/key combo, you can restore your computer to the state it was in when you 1st turned it on.

for me, it's a total waste of HD space, but others like having it there.

removing that partition will only hurt you if you ever want to restore your machine to factory settings.

 

You can delete it if you own a Windows CD (or whatever OS you like).

If you have a problem with your machine, you'd use the partition to restore your machine to the factory settings (like NotebookYoozer said above). If you own an OS CD, you can format your harddrive and install the OS from the CD (the drivers for everything on your computer can be downloaded online).
If you're not familiar with formatting, you're probably better off keeping the partition if you ever need to restore your computer.

 

Thanks a lot! I have done some formatting before, but this is a bit stickier, because I'm not sure how to create a partition for and re-install Media Direct, which I like having. Oh well, I guess I'm not starved for GBs yet =^)

 

Am I right in inferring from this that no Windows CD comes with the computer?

 

Most times (as far as I know) computers that come with a recovery partition do not have the CDs (unless you ask for them when you order your computer).
So I'm pretty sure pixelot doesn't have any CD, but maybe he does.

 

Doesn't the lack of a Windows CD complicate matters a lot if the HD with the recovery partition dies?

 

Actually, Dell systems typically ship with both the recovery partition and a full Vista installation/Anytime Upgrade DVD. They also ship with a "Resource CD" that contains the system drivers.

 

Whoa, hold on, stop! I do have a Windows CD. Actually it's a DVD, so I'm assuming it has an image of my HD in it's factory default state. I also have a Dell drivers and utilities DVD. Furthermore, I have a Dell MediaDirect 3.3 Re-Installation DVD, complete with an instruction booklet. =^)
So if I ever have to replace my HD or reformat/reinstall, I think I'll be able to pull it off.
Cheers...

 

That's what I would have thought -- and hoped. Otherwise, life could get awfully difficult.

 

Ah good to know that they give out CDs/DVDs. My parents never got one with their newer computer (bought a few years ago).

Well if you have all those CDs/DVDs I wouldn't keep the recovery partition. Formatting really isn't hard. There are a few guides around here to help you through it if you ever need to. The decision is yours.

 

No. The DVD is not a hard drive image, it's a standard Windows Install disk.

Yes. All those disks are necessary to a clean install. The Recovery Partition allows a novice to restore the pc to it's factory shipped state. All the drivers, etc. so it's much faster and easier than doing a clean install from the DVD's. But - the Recovery Partition also reinstalls all the Dell bloatware.

Most people reformat the Recovery Partition into something more useful. I'd suggest a separate data partition.

You can always burn the recovery image to a DVD, just in case.

 

I'll just add that the drivers CD/DVD isn't "necessary". The drivers for pretty much anything you might have can be found online for download (usually on the manufacturer's website and/or your computer manufacturer's website).
So if you lost your Dell drivers and utilities DVD, you'd still be fine as long as you have your Windows CD.

I usually get my drivers online anyway (and I still have the DVD that came with my computer), that way I know I have the most up to date drivers.

 

How do you do that? Also, is it possible to burn the updated drivers?

 

Thibault - you have made another point on why the Recovery Partition can be deleted. Yes - it does allow for quick, and easy restore - but the restoration will be way outta date! You may as well download the newest drivers and do a clean install.

 

If I recall correctly, there's a tool that comes with your notebook that allows you to brun the recovery partition on a DVD. I think it's under Start > Accessories.

And yes it is possible to burn the updated drivers, if you have a CD/DVD burner (of course). All you have to do is find all the drivers you need online, download the most up to date driver. And burn them onto a CD/DVD. They're .exe files.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out again. I tried 'back-up" before but in the final stage I couldn't burn a bootable disk. Another problem is how do I see the recovery partition to burn since it's hidden?

One more questions. I have a 60 gig HD with 37.2 on my C drive and 12.5 on my "back-up D drive. I know that it may not be entirely 60 gig the way they do the math but how much in each drive am I likely to save by wiping the disk and using a DVD and/or a external drive for recovery?