Extra Partition keeps showing up

[New2ToMe]

Hi, last week I noticed an extra Partition on the internal SSD. Not sure if it is normal or not. I have just done a full restore using the Media Recovery tool followed by 71 Critical updates and the extra partition is not there - yet.

Could someone please right click the white-windows icon on the lower left of the screen then select "Drive Management" and see what they have. This is what I have for now.

300MB Healthy (Recovery Partition)
100MB Healthy (EFI System Partition)
118.72 GB NTFS Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition)

But after about three days I get another partition squeezed in just after the 100MB EFI Partition. No idea what or where it is coming from, or whether it should be there. Using MBAM etc it declares no issues, but I don't like a Partition appearing for no reason.

Well, unless of course, everyone else has it too.

Thanks

 

[leeshor]

I assume you are on Windows 10 which would make that normal and this in the wrong forum.

 

[New2ToMe]

I assume you are on Windows 10 which would make that normal and this in the wrong forum.

Nope and nope, what made you assume that?. Win8.1pro and pretty sure this is the correct forum as the issue is more specific to the Surface Pro 2 than just the OS-software. But, I too have been wrong before.

 

[GreyFox7]

AFAIK It's normal to have another "reserved" partition before the C drive partition.

See my 8.1 starting Partition layout ...
Upgrade observations and post upgrade Recovery Options | Microsoft Surface Forums
To begin with there were 5 Partitions only 4 showed in Disk Management.
1 - Windows RE Tools NTFS 350MB 282MB used.
2 - EFI System FAT32 200MB 25MB used.
3 - (unlabeled) unformatted 128MB / Not visible in Disk Management. AKA MS Reserved
4 - Windows NTFS 232GB 42GB used.
5 - Recovery Image NTFS 5GB 4.7GB used.

So ... where is your Recovery Partition? Or did you just not mention it, remove it? No matter...

Something may be making that reserved partition visible but it's a documented thing... and whether you see it or not AFAIK it's always been there. Standard MS partition management doesn't support sliding a partition up to add one below it either.

 

[leeshor]

Nope and nope, what made you assume that?. Win8.1pro and pretty sure this is the correct forum as the issue is more specific to the Surface Pro 2 than just the OS-software. But, I too have been wrong before.

Your description is nearly exactly what I have seen after an organic upgrade to Windows 10.

 

[New2ToMe]

AFAIK It's normal to have another "reserved" partition before the C drive partition.

Not anymore there isn't. As you mentioned, it was not normally seen in Drive Management, but it was when I looked this morning. So, went to my other laptop which also had it and used a Ubuntu thumb drive and GParted and removed it. It started and ran OK, so did the same to the Surface.

So far so good. I didn't like the sudden appearance of it, but it might have been there all the time just that Drive management didn't normally show it. Not sure why I saw it this morning. I didn't like it as it was shown as all in use. That's 128MB of program(s).

So ... where is your Recovery Partition? Or did you just not mention it, remove it? No matter...

I used the msoft Media Recovery Tool (described the process here a year or so back) which installs a clean almost "Signature" style version of win8.1pro. As such, it doesn't include a recovery partition. Just the (now) two-hidden and the C drive.

I am in the middle of a power outage (country living) and having to shuffle keyboard, mouse and LAN cables in and out to use one at a time. LOL My multi USB port+LAN thing is normally powered and does not pass-through in an outage!

 

[GreyFox7]

Not anymore there isn't. As you mentioned, it was not normally seen in Drive Management, but it was when I looked this morning. So, went to my other laptop which also had it and used a Ubuntu thumb drive and GParted and removed it. It started and ran OK, so did the same to the Surface.

So far so good. I didn't like the sudden appearance of it, but it might have been there all the time just that Drive management didn't normally show it. Not sure why I saw it this morning. I didn't like it as it was shown as all in use. That's 128MB of program(s).



I used the msoft Media Recovery Tool (described the process here a year or so back) which installs a clean almost "Signature" style version of win8.1pro. As such, it doesn't include a recovery partition. Just the (now) two-hidden and the C drive.

I am in the middle of a power outage (country living) and having to shuffle keyboard, mouse and LAN cables in and out to use one at a time. LOL My multi USB port+LAN thing is normally powered and does not pass-through in an outage!

The partition is actually empty its a feature to appear full it documented as a Microsoft reserved partition for what purposes it doesnt say... I suppose just in case there's no space anywhere else or for other purposes too hideous to mention

 

[New2ToMe]

The partition is actually empty its a feature to appear full

Might be right, but scanning the sectors there was data of some sort there. A small amount of text in several places. Nothing identifying, but text it was.

Also, I expanded the C: drive to use the reclaimed space so it will be an interesting feat to try and recreate it. But I will keep a casual watch on it.

Msoft of late has show that it cannot be trusted.