This post is more than 5 years old
3 Posts
0
58748
Other partitions on XPS13 SSD
My new XPS 13 (9333) with Windows 8.1 has 6 (!) partitions on the 256 MB SSD. They are:
500 MB (EFI Partition)
40 MB (OEM Partition)
750 MB (Recovery Partition)
221.50 GB C: Drive (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump)
7.58 GB (Recovery Partition)
8.01 GB (OEM Partition)
I would like to fully understand what all these other partitions are (it is MY computer, after all!)
In particular, the last two total over 16GB, which is a LOT of space on an SSD (I feel sorry for those who bought smaller SSDs!) At some point in the future, I may want to recover some or all that space (and know exactly what I'm sacrificing by doing so).
I use other forms of disk imaging for backup, and will likely never use Dell's recovery method. I did create all the backup / restore disks, so I always have the "nuclear option" if all else fails.
Obviously, I understand what the C: drive and the EFI partition are. Dell support indicated that the 750 MB OEM partition is what I'm used to seeing in Windows 7 as the "System Reserved" partition, the 7.58 GB partition is a Dell recovery partition, and the 40MB and 8.01 GB partitions are for Windows 8's own recovery and restoration purposes. I'd like to confirm this information, as I expect to someday need some of that 16GB back! In particular I'd like to know with absolute certainty which of the nearly 8 GB partitions is Dell's, and which is Microsoft's.
rlhn
3 Posts
1
May 27th, 2014 05:00
Well, I guess since no one else is answering my question, I;ll answer it myself for others who may want to know! The 40MB and 8.01 GB partitions are used for the Intel Smart Response, Rapid Start, and Smart Connect Technologies. Dell has a white paper describing how they work, but it does not explain the partitioning scheme. Smart Response is not used in an SSD-only laptop, as it is only used when both an SSD and HDD are present (the SSD being used as cache for the HDD, making it like a hybrid drive). Rapid Start is kind of an improved version of hibernation that the system can use to save power and resume quickly. Smart Connect is a technology that leverages Rapid Start to occasionally wake a sleeping/hibernating system to access the internet to check email, update social media, etc. If you don't want to use any of these features, these partitions can go away, but I think Rapid Start is nice to have as long as space isn't critical. The 750MB is for WinPE (keep it!) and the 7.58 GB is Dell's factory recovery partition, If you have made restore media or ordered the free recovery media from Dell, it's not needed either. So you COULD eliminate the 7.58 GB partition and add it to C: to have more storage, and eventually the 8.01 GB partition if you're willing to give up Rapid Start and Smart Connect. Search for the Dell whitepaper titled "Dell Setup Guide for Intel Responsiveness Technologies" for more info.
Wouldn't it be nice if Dell would just TELL you about these things instead of giving you NOTHING with a new system and letting you fend for yourself??
rlhn
3 Posts
1
June 14th, 2014 05:00
One more thing...I created a USB recovery drive (using the procedure described on pages 723-724 of "Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual", and the 7.58 GB partition was AUTOMATICALLY deleted, and its space added to C:, without any manual tweaking whatsoever! Great!
muaz_xps
1 Message
0
September 13th, 2015 06:00
Hi RLHN
Many thanks for making the effort to inform everyone of your findings, much appreciated.
Thanks.