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January 30th, 2026 22:50
How much disk space should I allow for the 3 recovery partitions
The above shows my current Inspiron 3671 256 GB SSD. How much disk space should I allow for the 3 recovery partitions after I upgrade to a 512 GB SSD and expand my C: partition to as much room as possible? I shift partitions with an app.
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Tesla1856
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January 31st, 2026 03:57
Leave those alone.
Just use the computer and try not to run out of space on C-Drive.
When you get the new 512gb SSD ... install it by itself as Drive-C.
Clean install Windows to this completely blank SSD.
It will Initialize as GPT.
It will take care of setting-up a new Recovery Partition (if it thinks you need one) ... usually at the very end of the drive.
It will format as NTFS.
Reinstall programs fresh.
Restore data and media-files from the backup you made before you started.
(edited)
Manchester00
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February 4th, 2026 14:59
I decided to keep things as they are. Not upgrading memory and not updating using Dell Support Assist.
Dell Support Assist says it cannot back up an image of C: because there is not enough memory on my Disk 3 (shown above), which leads to Dell Support Assist being unable to update software. Do I manually download updates on Dell's website?
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Manchester00
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January 31st, 2026 04:21
I do not want to reinstall the apps, so I use an app to migrate my C: to the new SSD, and to keep my apps, and I need to know how much room each partition will eventually need.
Manchester00
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January 31st, 2026 15:44
<You replied to a 6 year old thread. Started your own thread. DELL-Admin>
How much disk space should I allow for the 3 recovery partitions? The below shows my current Inspiron 3671 256 GB SSD. How much disk space should I allow for the 3 recovery partitions after I upgrade to a 512 GB SSD and expand my C: partition to as much room as possible? I shift partitions with an app.
Tesla1856
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February 3rd, 2026 02:30
@Manchester00
The Dell-OEM Recovery Partition will no longer work after being moved (or if the Drive Geometry changes).
Also , that Recovery Partition will be outdated soon (if not already).
I suggest you do as I said.
After it's all done, you can create a Full-System Drive Image (usually onto an external drive). I use Macrium Reflect 8.x. If you ever need to "Recover" you boot the little USB Recovery Environment flash-drive (against bare metal) and restore that image.
System will be back to completely working (and setup perfectly ... the way you had it before) in a matter of minutes.
Or, you can use the Windows-11 Media Creation Tool to do another clean-install ... your choice.
Manchester00
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February 3rd, 2026 11:56
Is it possible to delete the recovery partitions and keep my apps, then extend C: and uninstall Dell Support Assist?
Tesla1856
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February 3rd, 2026 16:45
@Manchester00
2. Yes.
1. Unknown.
I suppose if you are brave enough, you could Full-Image it and then try it.
But as I said ... the best way to get rid of an old Recovery Partition is in the process of a clean-install (to a blank drive).
Tesla1856
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February 4th, 2026 19:49
@algoria ,
Respectfully, I don't think so.
OP only has a 256gb SSD (relatively small for a C-Drive system drive now-days).
Not sure how allocating a bunch of space to a purpose that is hopefully never to be used is the best move. And if it is used, it will be fairly old and need to have years of updates applied on top.