How Can I Extend Drive C When a Recovery Partition Blocks It?
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MellowQuill42
One of our virtual machines is running low on space on Drive C. I want to extend the volume, but a Windows Recovery partition is positioned after it. The disk is configured as a Dynamic Disk, and I haven't been able to remove the recovery partition through the usual tools. What is the safest way to delete the recovery partition and extend Drive C?
Answers
Dynamic disks generally don’t prevent this by themselves. The important part is selecting the correct recovery partition and using `delete partition override` when the normal delete option is unavailable. Don’t skip the backup or snapshot, since deleting the wrong partition could make the VM unbootable.
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Take a snapshot or backup first. Check whether Windows Recovery Environment is using the partition with `reagentc /info`. If it is enabled, disable it with `reagentc /disable`, then use an elevated DiskPart session to identify and remove the correct partition: `list disk`, `select disk `, `list partition`, `select partition `, and `delete partition override`. Afterward, extend Drive C using Disk Management or DiskPart.
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For a server VM, the recovery partition usually isn’t essential if you have reliable backups or other recovery media. Disable WinRE before deleting it, double-check the disk and partition numbers, and then extend the volume once the unallocated space is adjacent to Drive C.
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