Vol 11 – How to kill Windows 7 Reserved Partition
Vol 11 – How to kill Windows 7 System Reserved Partition
When I setup Windows 7, the system decides to create a “System Reserved” partition for it to boot. However, I haven’t got a clue about this and the idea is absolutely crazy! But don’t panic and run around like a headless chicken. There are two direction to clean this problem. For better security, I would also recommend everyone to backup their important data – externally.
Now, before we start, I would like you to take out your “Windows 7 DVD” – use your Bios and boot from your disk drive. After that, you may select these options. However, the second option is only for experience user who knows how to use “Command Prompt.” It’s also linked with “Method 01.”
Method 01 – DVD Installation Method
1.] Follow Windows 7 installation guide and stop at the partition screen.
2.] Select ‘Drive’ options (advance) to delete your existing partition and create a new partition.
3.] Click ‘OK’. You’ll be greeted with this message:
“To ensure that all Windows features work correctly, Windows might create additional partitions for system files.”
After this ridiculous message, you will see two partition from the same Hard Drive: “System Reserved – 100MB” and another partition which is your primary partition.
4.] Click on your primary partition and delete it. However, to avoid confusion, please don’t click on your “System Reserved” partition and delete it. If you did this by accident, then please erase your hard drive and create a new partition.
5.] Now select your “System Reserved” partition (100MB) and “Extend” it. But, don’t forget to assign the available disk space to your partition and click Apply.
Notes: at this stage, your “System Reserved” partition will get extended – click on it again and reformat it. However, please don’t delete it!
6.] Once you are done reformatting your “System Reserved” partition, it will be converted as a normal system partition.
Now, you can install Windows 7 as usual.
Method 02 – Command Prompt Method
Warning: this stage is only for users who already got Windows 7 on their “Primary Hard Drive.” However, this strategy will only work if you have “System Reserved (100BM)” and another partition on the same Hard Drive. Therefore, please don’t attempt this if you have “System Reserved” on another Hard Drive. It’s very dangerous and “System Repair” may corrupt your data if you try to repair it…
1.] Boot into Windows 7 as an Administrator and disable UAC. This can be done by going through: “Control Panel >> User Account >> Select: “Change User Account Control settings.”
2.] To gain access, you will need to use “Disk Management” and assign drive letters. The following procedure will guide you:
a.] Click Start >> Right Click: My Computer >> Manage.
b.] Select “Disk Management” from your left panel (Tree Menu).
c.] Right click on “System Reserved” partition and select “Change Drive Letters and Paths.”
d.] From the pop-up menu, just click the “Add” button and assign it with a new letter. When you are done, please click OK to exit. In this tutorials, I will be using “N:” for my “System Reserved” partition.
Notes: I would recommend you to leave “Windows Computer Management” tools open. You will need it later. On the other hand, if you see any Autoplay windows, just close it and ignore it.
3.] Execute My Computer and make a note of your assigned drive letters. For example, my Operating System drive is C: (Windows 7 Directory) and N: is my “System Reserved (Boot Directory) partition.”
5.] Close “My Computer” once you’ve determined your drive letters.
6.] Start Admin – Command Prompt (CMD). To perform this action, please follow this guides:
Click Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> Command Prompt – Right Click: “Run As Admin…”
7.] Unload BCD registry hive by running this command. However, if you encounter an error, then its already drop.
reg unload HKLM\BCD00000000
8.] Copy these files and folders from “System Reserved” partition: “BootMGR and Boot.” These files / directory shall be transferred to your “C: Drive.”
Tips: paste these commands into “Notepad” and change my default letter “:N” to your assigned driver letters. After that, you may transfer these commands…
robocopy n:\ c:\ bootmgr robocopy n:\Boot c:\Boot /s
9.] Once you are done copying, you may use this command to verify (if they had been copied correctly).
dir c:\ /ah
Notes: if these BootMGR file and Boot folder represents itself, then the transfer was a success.
10.] Now, we need to update your BCD files. This is crucial and it needs to be configured, so that it can boot correctly.
bcdedit /store c:\boot\bcd /set {bootmgr} device partition=c:
11.] Return to “Windows Computer Management” tools and remove your “System Reserved” partition drive letter. However, please don’t delete it!
12.] Right click on your Windows 7 – “Partition System C” and select “Mark Partition as Active.”
13.] Click “Yes” to confirm any changes and you should see the “Active” tag migrate from your “System Reserved” partition.
14.] Exit “Windows Management Tools” and reboot your computer. After the initial reboot, you will need to use “Windows Management” again, and reformat your “System Reserved” partition (Quick Reformat).
15.] Windows will now use “Partition System C” as a primary device for booting. From now on, you can use “Acronis Partition” Backup without problems…
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