Detailed Guide on Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition 2024

By Vernon Roderick, Last updated: January 6, 2024

Windows 10/11 is perhaps one of the best creations of the Microsoft Incorporation. However, it is still far from being flawless. As always, you will eventually encounter errors as you continue to use the operating system. Nevertheless, developers keep on creating ways for us to have a better user experience. One of the most useful features that they’ve developed is the Windows 10 recovery partition.

Despite that, there are many people who don’t know about it. What is a Windows 10 recovery partition? How does it work? How can I use it? Without the answers to these questions, it would be no more than a useless function. So today, we’re going to delve deeper into this topic.

Before We Discuss Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition:

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If you do not need to retrieve the recovery partition, read below to know more about Windows 10/11 recovery partition.

Part 1. An Overview of Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition Part 2. How to Retrieve a Lost Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition Part 3. How to Create a Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition Part 4. How to Delete a Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition Part 5. How to Reset Windows from Recovery Partition Part 6. Wrapping Up

Part 1. An Overview of Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition

The first question a Windows user will have about Windows 10/11 recovery partition is its definition.

What is a Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition?

A recovery partition can be defined in many ways. Firstly, it not only helps us fix errors, but it also allows us to make our job easier by offering a quick and easy-to-follow way to restore our Windows 10.

So where does it come from?

When you buy a computer, you will often see an operating system already preinstalled. In the case of Windows 10/11, or even Windows 8, you will always notice that there’s a recovery partition stored in the system. Although it may not have a drive letter or any functions, in the beginning, you will find its uses in the future when the need arises.

Then what is a recovery partition?

What is a recovery partition? A recovery partition, regardless of whether it is from a Windows 8 or Windows 10/11 operating system, is a portion of your disk drive that is set aside by the manufacturer to hold an image of your system before it was shipped from the factory. Recovery partition contains the files of system backup image and files that guide system restoration.

An Overview of Windows 10 Recovery Partition

What Is The Importance of Recovery Partitions?

Since it holds the configurations of the operating system from when it was manufactured, you can already assume that it can be used to factory reset your Windows OS. Thus, a Windows 10/11 recovery partition is often used when the user encounters an error and in the need of a factory reset.

Does Windows 10/11 need a recovery partition?

The Recovery Partition is an essential part of the installation of Windows system , it may be used to restore the operating system if issues are encountered. One of the main issues associated with the Recovery Partition on Windows was that it was often placed at the very beginning of the disk.

What Are The Types of Recovery Partitions?

It is important to remember that there are not one, but two types of recovery partitions. The first one is a Windows recovery partition, which is our main topic, while the second one is the OEM recovery partition. The Windows recovery partition contains the default settings of the manufacturer, while the OEM recovery partition contains the default settings of the supplier.

For this reason, the OEM recovery partition usually has a larger size than the Windows recovery partition. Since the manufacturer is more credible, using the Windows 10/11 recovery partition is more preferable. As previously mentioned, it doesn’t have any drive letter so it won’t easily get lost. So what if you lose it?

Due to its utmost importance, a Windows 10/11 recovery partition should always be used in case of emergencies. But in some cases, users somehow tend to lose them due to various reasons. Regardless of that reason, if this happens, your priority should be to retrieve that lost Windows recovery partition, which takes us to the next topic.

What Are The Types of Recovery Partitions

Part 2. How to Retrieve a Lost Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition

We’ve said over and over that a recovery partition is very important, and that’s exactly why you can’t just use a simple recovery tool to recover partition windows 10 once it is lost. There are security features that you will need to bypass. That is why we recommend using FoneDog Data Recovery to retrieve your lost Windows 10/11 recovery partition.

An Overview of FoneDog Data Recovery

FoneDog Data Recovery is a specialized software that can retrieve all sorts of files, including lost partitions, which is a pretty rare feature for a recovery tool. You can also retrieve partitions regardless of how it was lost, be it due to accidental deletion, formatting, improper cloning, virus attack, disk errors, and more. Lastly, you won’t have to worry about losing data as it specializes in accurate recovery.

FoneDog Data Recovery User Guide

Fortunately, despite its generous functions, you don’t have to go through a lot just to use it. You will only need your computer, nothing else, and just follow these simple steps:

Launch the FoneDog Data Recovery tool after downloading and installing it.

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The next window will show the different File Types you can recover and Drives you can recover from.

Choose File Type to Recover

Choose all the items under the File Types.

This is because you don’t know what kind of files Windows 10/11 recovery partition must-have.

Check the WinRE_DRV under the Hard Disk Drives.

The WinRE_DRV stands for the Windows 10 recovery partition.

Click on the Scan

Wait for the scanning process to finish. Once it does, you will see a list of files.

Scan Windows Recovery Partition

Select all the files that were scanned.
Click on the Recover

At this point, all you have to do is to wait for the process to complete. With this, you’ll be able to recover the Windows 10/11 recovery partition that you lost. Now, what if you don’t have anything to recover, but you need an extra Windows 10/11 recovery partition?

Part 3. How to Create a Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition

Recovery tools can only recover files that were lost. However, for files that are hidden, you have to find them yourself in order to use them. Unfortunately, Windows 10/11 recovery partitions tend to be hidden.

Although it may take up to a few GBs of your storage space, it would be worth it as long as you have a quick way to restore your PC to its best condition in case of an abnormality. Regardless, you will have to know how to create a Windows 10/11 recovery partition. However, remember that it won’t be as easy as creating a normal partition.

Recovery partitions are special cases and you will have to utilize utmost cautiousness.

On your Windows 10/11, go to the Start menu by clicking on the icon located at the bottom-left corner of the screen or by pressing the Win key on your keyboard.
Under the Settings tab, click on Create a recovery drive. If there’s a message that pops up, just click on Yes.

Remember that this will only show up on Windows 10/11 and not on other versions.

You should see a pop-up window at this point.

Click on the checkbox for Back up system files to the recovery drive then click on the Next
You will be asked to choose the drive where the partition should be stored. If you don’t have enough space, simply connect a USB drive to the PC then select that drive and click on Next.
Click Create.
Wait for the process to complete.

With that, you’ll be able to create as many Windows 10/11 recovery partitions as you want, as long as you have enough space. Now, what if your disk space is already full?

How to Create a Windows 10 Recovery Partition

Part 4. How to Delete a Windows 10/11 Recovery Partition

When the time comes for you to delete some files to store new ones, you’ll ask yourself, “Can I delete Windows 10/11 recovery partition? Fortunately, the answer to that is a big YES. In addition to that, it is also fine to delete a Windows 10/11 recovery partition. There won’t be any severe damage to your system.

However, that is only assuming that you don’t plan on doing a factory reset for a while. Additionally, please note that this cannot be done by simple means. Nevertheless, Windows still has a way for you to delete Windows 10/11 recovery partitions without spending a dime. You just have to use the Command Prompt and follow these steps:

Go to the Start menu of your Windows 10/11.
Type in “Diskpart” on the search bar.
Right-click on the first option that pops up and click on Run as administrator.
Type in “list disk”. This will display all the disks installed on your Windows 10/11.
Type in “select disk #”, replacing # with the number of the disk that contains the Windows 10/11 recovery partition.
Type “list partition”, which should show you all the partitions on that disk.
Type “select partition #” replacing # with the number assigned on the partition you want to delete.
Type “delete partition”. This should delete the partition you selected.
Type “exit” to close the window.

By following these steps, you will be able to delete any partition you like, even if it is not a recovery partition. Though in case you need the Windows 10/11 recovery partition, you should know how to use it before you delete it.

Part 5. How to Reset Windows from Recovery Partition

The main function of a recovery partition is to reset your Windows system. This can be due to various reasons, such as the appearance of errors or abnormalities. Either way, a recovery partition plays an important role in keeping your system safe. Regardless, it would be pointless if you don’t know how to use it.

And so, here are the steps you need to follow to reset windows from a recovery partition:

Go to the Start menu and click on Settings.
On the pop-up window, type in “reset” and select on the option that says “Reset this PC”.

You will be taken to another window.

Under the Update & Security, click on the Recovery
Here you can select which type of recovery you want to execute, whether it’s a simple Reset or an Advanced Reset.

Compared to deleting or creating a Windows 10/11 recovery partition, using it is actually easier. This might also be because deleting or creating a recovery partition can lead to significant changes in your system. This is the main reason why it is more difficult to accomplish.

Either way, now that you know how to create, delete or use Windows 10/11 recovery partition, you should be able to solve any errors that will occur to your device.

Part 6. Wrapping Up

No matter how amazing a system is, there will always be a flaw. For Windows products, one of the most common flaws is the occurrence of errors. But the important thing is that there is a way to solve these issues.

One of the most helpful features that were introduced to us is the development of Windows 10/11 recovery partitions. It allows you to recover your Windows system, on top of solving your errors for you. The bottom line is, you don’t have to worry about encountering some major errors, but at the same time, you should always be prepared for them.

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