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XPS 8700, SSD upgrade, partition questions
Hey guys,
(I just made a post exactly the same as this one, but I got an error and I could not find it anywhere, sorry if it is duplicated)
I have a old XPS 8700 1TB HHD (Windows 8 at first) from 2013 in my office and 4 years ago I had a OS problem, so I decided to perform a clean installation of Windows 10.
Now I decided to upgrade it with a 1TB SSD and leave the HDD as a storage.
I have Acronis for backing up my system and files and I used it to clone the HHD to the SSD, the cloning was OK, all 4 partition from HHD were cloned to SSD (EFI, OS and 2x Recovery) and I can boot from the SSD without problems.
My questions are (picture attached):
-Can I wipe all 4 partition from my HDD? Will I have any kind of problem?
-As you can see in the picture, the two Recovery partition have the size and the description in the HDD, but in the SSD it shows only the size, is it any kind of problem or is it normal?
-As I performed a clean Windows 10 Installation some years ago, do I need the two Recovery partitions or could I delete them from my SSD?
-In my BIOS (latest version A14) it shows three "Windows Boot Manager" options, I would say 2 should be OK (one for HDD and one for SDD) as I didn't wipe the HHD so far, but the 3rd one I have no Idea where it comes from, any on how to find out?
Vic384
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June 4th, 2020 14:00
-Can I wipe all 4 partition from my HDD? Will I have any kind of problem?
You can wipe the HDD without any problem, but first I would disconnect the HDD and boot only from the SSD.
-As you can see in the picture, the two Recovery partition have the size and the description in the HDD, but in the SSD it shows only the size, is it any kind of problem or is it normal?
Normally I see the descriptions with all the partitions, so I not sure why this is happening. I suggest you disconnect the HDD, boot from the SSD, and run Disk Management on the SSD.
-As I performed a clean Windows 10 Installation some years ago, do I need the two Recovery partitions or could I delete them from my SSD?
I would leave the Recovery partitions. I believe Windows 10 uses the Recovery partition if it fails to boot and needs to do a repair.
-As I performed a clean Windows 10 Installation some years ago, do I need the two Recovery partitions or could I delete them from my SSD? In my BIOS (latest version A14) it shows three "Windows Boot Manager" options, I would say 2 should be OK (one for HDD and one for SDD) as I didn't wipe the HHD so far, but the 3rd one I have no Idea where it comes from, any on how to find out?
The "Windows Boot Manager" options are options for booting the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd boot devices. Since you don't have a 3rd boot device, it does not matter that the option is set. I am concerned that you have "Windows Boot Manager" option for both the HDD and the SSD. How are you sure you are booting from the SSD? If you right-click on Disk 0 in the graphical view (bottom part) of Disk Management and select 'Properties' you will see identified in the General tab the properties of the disk. You can do this with Disk 1 also. Make sure the Disk 1, the disk wiht the C: partition is the SSD.
VZarpelao
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June 5th, 2020 01:00
Thank you for the feedback @Vic384
So far I have wiped the HDD completely, as some partitions are protected and I could not find a way to format it in the Disk Management I decided to use the Acronis Cleanser, it took a VERY long time, but in the end the HDD is wiped, btw just out of curiosity do you know if it is possible to format those Recovery and EFI partitions using the Disk management?
Before wiping it I booted the PC only with the SSD connected and it worked flawless, I performed a sfc/ scannow and disk check everything is fine.
Now when I access BIOS it shows only one "Windows Boot Manager" as the HDD has been wiped.
Regarding the Recovery partitions I decided to delete the one with 500 MB and add it to the C:/, the one with 450 MB, even if I delete it, I could not use it to extend the C:/ as there is a EFI partition in between, so I left it as it is.
I have a couple of system images, which I have tested before, and they are working fine, if I have any problem with Windows I will just restore the image with all partition again.
Vic384
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June 5th, 2020 04:00
@VZarpelao I am happy everything is working. In the future, if you wish to wipe (re-initialize) a disk drive you could use DiskPart. Here is the procedure: https://macrorit.com/partition-magic-manager/initialize-disk-gpt-mbr-from-cmd-diskpart.html
When using the procedure be careful that the disk you are initializing is the correct one.