Share via

Can I delete the System Reserved partition? I have both the Legacy System Reserved partition & the new UEFI partitions (EFI & Recovery).

Anonymous
2020-07-09T00:52:05+00:00

Background Info:

Today, I uninstalled Linux Mint by removing its partition, but my PC keeps trying to boot to "ubuntu" from the BIOS. After some investigation, I found out that I have both the old (Legacy) & new (UEFI) partitions for booting on my SSD.

Since I recently changed from BIOS to UEFI (before installing Linux Mint), I think I should delete the System Reserved partition. Since it contains bootloaders, I think getting rid of it might stop the PC from trying to boot to "ubuntu". I'm worried it'll just cause more problems, though. I have an installation media USB handy, but I don't know if that will help me here.

About my PC:

  • HP EliteDesk 800 G1
  • Core i7 4770
  • Gigabyte GTX 1650 OC Low Profile 4G
  • 1TB SSD (w/ OS & aforementioned partitions) & empty 1TB HDD
  • Windows 10 Pro

Disk Manager:

A big thank you in advance to anyone who can help me out! If you need more info., let me know.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

  1. Anonymous
    2020-07-09T01:36:48+00:00

    Hi AJ. I'm Greg, an installation specialist, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, and Volunteer Moderator, here to help you.

    When you reinstalled Windows 10 to UEFI, you should have booted the media as a UEFI device, deleted all partitions off the drive. This resets the drive to GPT format from MBR Legacy format. Then if you select the Unallocated Space and click Next, it auto-formats the needed partitions and begins install - making it foolproof.

    I don't know how the System Reserved partition which is always for Legacy MBR, could have possibly remained because it has to be on the old MBR format - unless you used some trick to convert the drive underneath it. But those are notoriously unreliable methods. You really have to wipe the drive to reinstall Windows to UEFI. Wiping the drive is the bare minimum for a Clean Install, and is what makes it clean.

    If there are complications now with GRUB having been on the drive, the only sure thing I can recommend is to advise you to unplug the other drive and wipe the drive with Diskpart Clean Command to clear old boot code, then reinstall as I outlined above: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/85819-erase...

    Due to all of these complications I cannot advise you to delete the System Reserved partition, even though it should not be there. If you want to save a System image of it first using free Macrium, to your data drive, then delete it using EISA command here: https://techjourney.net/delete-and-remove-prote..., you can see if it will boot and have he ability to replace it if necessary.

    If it won't boot, or even if it will and the Linux issues is still present, I'd run the Macrium boot corrector off of it's bootable media which will sort out boot anomalies like this:

    https://win10.guru/fix-windows-boot-issues-with...

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/85198-use-m...

    If it won't start then you can reimage the System reserved partition back to where it was, then if necessary run the Boot corrector again.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. If you'll wait to rate whether my post resolved your problem, I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

    ______________________________________________

    Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments

2 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2020-07-09T01:58:01+00:00

    Your computer's boot process is not part of Windows. Your computer boots into Windows, it does not boot from Windows. You have to deal with your boot loader and that's separate from Windows.

    Avoiding boot loader issues is why dual-booting has lost popularity. It's much safer and simpler to run guest operating systems in a virtual machine.

    Going forward, you can absolutely delete the system reserved partition ... all of them ... IF you backup every day.

    If you make an image backup of your hard drive every day, you have no need for a system reserved partition, because a backup image is so much better. You also have no need for a Windows recovery disc. And you can forget about System Restore (as Microsoft already has.)

    Let's be very clear about this, because I don't want to mislead you.

    You need to have a very clear understanding of what a backup image is, and how it differs from a system reserved partition, a recovery disc and a restore point.

    You need to understand that you can only make an image backup with third party software - you can't do it with Windows - and you should have some practice using the software.

    Once you've got all that, you can delete all your system reserved partitions, toss out your recovery disc, and disable System Restore - all of which I have done, and never looked back. Because when you have an image backup, and you restore that image backup, your computer goes back in time to exactly as it was when you made the image. It's time travel. And you have nothing to re-install, repair, recover or research.

    For a computer user, there is no greater confidence than having a backup.

    With all that said, there's no reason why you have to get rid of your system reserved partition(s.) It's not like they're doing any harm to your computer. And there's nothing wrong with giving yourself more choices. Even a bad choice is better than no choice. But the fact is: If you backup every day, you don't need 'em.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2020-07-14T01:39:16+00:00

    Thank you so much!

    I went through the process you outlined, and everything is in order now! My drives are all in GPT format, that extra system reserved partition is gone, the Linux booting issues are gone (they were caused by GRUB, as you mentioned), and my operating system’s BIOS mode is now set to UEFI. I’ve also noticed a slight but not-insignificant decrease in the time it takes to boot!

    I cannot speak for the reliability of the backup method proposed (my machine was relatively new and did not have anything important that I needed to back up), but I can certainly vouch that the drive wiping and reinstallation you suggested worked flawlessly!

    Once again, thanks a lot!

    0 comments