Windows 10 Announced - Released 29-Jul-2015

Thanks, yeah I ran disk clean-up. I just didn't expect that. Is it safe to delete that recovery partition? I use an imaging program and don't need any other recovery methods.

 

It is a partition for the Windows Recovery Environment and has nothing to do with backups. Leave it as if it's deleted you lose WinRE.wim.

I assume the partition size is 450 MB.

 

450 MB sounds right.

 

If we get a new Recovery partition next week you can delete the old one. The new one should be nearest the Win10 partition.

Edit... To determine the relevant Recovery partition if you have more than one.

From an administrator Command Prompt, run
bcdedit /enum all > C:\bcdedit.txt

search for "volume" in the text file. Find which volume relates to \Recovery\WindowsRE\WinRe.wim

HD Volumes start at 1

 

Alright, thanks Brian.

 

@Brian K I don't think that 450MB partition was ever created when I updated from 8.1 to 10. Should it have been?
Or was it? See my bcdedit.txt below ...

 

Paul,

My 450 MB partition was created when I upgraded Win10 to Ver 1511 Win10. But the extra partition is not always created in a MBR system.

Your bcedit.txt is quite different from mine. Can you post a screenshot of Disk Management?

 

Here it is. It is a ThinkPad S1 Yoga (upgraded recently from Win 8.1 to Win 10).

 

Microsoft removes policies from Windows 10 Pro
http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/28/microsoft-removes-policies-windows-10-pro/

 

Paul,

Thanks. That makes sense. You have 5 partitions (the MSR partition doesn't appear in Disk Management). You have two Recovery partitions. The one at the end of the drive contains a Restore image.

All OK.

 

But would that Restore image still be for Win 8.1, and not Win 10?

 

Yes. For the original OS.

 

http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/28/windows-10-version-1607-driver-signing-changes/

 

I didn't upgrade.

My main reason was Microsoft's taking away control over updates for my own good.

I am still on Windows 7 and its rock-solid.

 

Another example of Microsoft telling users they must do as Microsoft has ordered. Thanks but no thanks.

With their "free" upgrade there was a big catch - you can no longer run Windows on your own terms.

 

Yup. Windows 10 is basically a service. There is little of value in it. The last decent OS was Windows 7 and since then Microsoft has told computer desktop users to go screw themselves.

 

Why would any sane person upgrade to a Windows version that gives them the ability to do less. The shiny new interface doesn't hide W 10's flaws which outweigh whatever improvements it brings to desktop computing.

We don't need corporations deciding for us what we want or need.

 

"Microsoft announced recently that the upcoming version 1607 of Windows 10, known as the Anniversary Update, will only load kernel mode drivers that are digitally signed by Microsoft."

This was done to improve security. How does not being able to run unsigned kernel mode drivers prevent you from running Windows on your own terms?

 

What if a Microsoft signed driver isn't available for your device and your hardware maker has only unsigned drivers on its wesite? Then you're SOL.

Granted, badly coded drivers can lead to blue screen crashes but that's not the point.

The point is Microsoft has taken away yet another choice from desktop users in the name of security.

 

From what I've read, we will not be able to turn off Cortana now and we won't be able to disable advertising, so Linux and / or Win7 is looking better and better. I've loved Win10 for the twelve months I've used it but I may not continue with it forever.

 

Yup. Microsoft treats people like idiots and wants to make all their decisions for them.

If you want to give away control over your desktop to Redmond, Windows 10 is an upgrade.

For the rest of us, its just another service pack update to Windows 7.

 

It's always unfortunate when older hardware is unsupported in a new operating system. It has always been important for users to check in advance that their printers, etc, are going to work in a new OS before they upgrade. More generally though Microsoft has to push forward with security. They focused for too long on backward compatibility and left too much old code in the OS IMHO.

 

@Krusty13 http://winaero.com/blog/disable-cortana-in-windows-10-anniversary-update-version-1607/

 

Thanks. I've seen the Registry tweak mentioned but if you disable Cortana that way will that disable the Search feature in the Anniversary Update as well?