deleting unused OEM partition

[horzman]

Hi all.

I have just purchased a new Lenovo laptop. when I checked disk management. there are 4 partitions.
simple basic NTFS (Sys Active primary) 200mb.
simple basic OEM partition 14.7 GB this one has 100% free space.
NTFS C (boot, page, dump, primary) 340gb
NTFS Lenovo ( logical dr) 29GB.

I want to create a new partition for a dual boot OS, but I am unable to, unless I delete one of these partitions.
I've already created a recovery CD for the system. is it best to delete OEM partition (14.7gb) or the sys active primary (200mb)?
OEM seems to have 100% of free space.

thank you.

[Medico]

The OEM partition is most likely the factory Recovery partition. Unless your PC came with Recovery disks, this is how Lenovo expects you to recover to a factory fresh install. In my case I use Imaging of my OS and apps after I customize my system to the way I want it. I do not want to restore to factory fresh, thus I chose to use the System Recovery Partition and restored this space to my C Drive. To do this required a 3rd party partitioning app as the Win 7 Disk Manager is not able to reclaim space in fron to f the C Drive as this also involves moving the C Drive data into this reclaimed space.

The 200 mb is way too small for any sort of active use. It most likely contains the MBR on your PC.

Here's what I would do. I would do this in a couple of steps.

!) Install Partition Wizard in the C Drive

2) Use Partition Wizard to delete the 14.7 GB drive. This will leave Unallocated space in it's place. Now Resize the C Drive to reclaim this space. With Partition Wizard you can just grab the left hand bar and drag it to the left. (You will see what I mean when you open Partition Wizard). The PC will reboot and move the C Drive to the new larger partition outside Windows, then reboot.

3) Now Resize the C Drive to make it smaller on the right side so that it occupies as large a size as you wish the C Drive to occupy. (Grab the right side bar and drag it left). This will leave unallocated space in the area where you just made C Drive smaller.

4) Now Resize the 29 GB Logical Drive to occupy the unallocated space you created when you made the C Drive smaller.

This sounds more complicated than it really is. In my screenshot I am showing how I would make my D Drive smaller by grabbing the Right Side Bar and dragging it to the left:

partitionWizard.jpg

[CLiNT]

I have also recently just purchased a Lenovo X220 thinkpad, unless your recovery plan includes a means
of putting evrything back to it's original setup, you might be setting yourself up to be in violation of your warranty.
All of the recovery on the above system is based on a hidden partition(s) and not externally supplied discs.


So simply creating a recovery CD isn't good enough.

[curiousclive]

If he has an external HDD large enough to partition he could create a partition of 15GB and clone the 14.9GB partition to the 15GB partition on his external HDD that he just created, then he has a copy to put back if he needs to send laptop back. Then he could follow the above advice to reclaim the space on his main HDD.

[Medico]

Create an Image of the entire HD before you start, including all partitions as they presently exist. This will allow the restoration of one or all the partitions at a later date, then do the repartitioning scheme. I would always create an Image before starting any major changes anyway. I would also choose a good 3rd party Imaging app for this vital chore rather than relying on the Win 7 Backup and Restore app (OK wait until I put my hard hat on before commencing throwing things at me all you Win 7 Backup enthusiasts, sorry Fred) I just believe the Win 7 app is limited. I am a firm believer in recreating new Images on a regular basis (although I would keep this initial manufacturer Image as original) and keeping more than one Image. I do not believe Win 7 app is good at doing this IMHO.