How to create a Recovery Partition in Microsoft Windows 10/11

When troubleshooting system boot issues, having a recovery partition can be a lifesaver. It serves as a safety net, allowing you to restore your system to a previous state in case of critical errors or system failures. Please see How to reset folder view settings on File Explorer for Windows 11 and 10, Change the default start page for File Explorer on Windows 11, and How to Remove Frequently Used Folders from Quick Access in Windows 11.

While Windows 10/11 offers built-in recovery options, creating a dedicated recovery partition can provide additional peace of mind and streamline the recovery process. It typically includes utilities for system recovery, such as system restore points, recovery images, and diagnostic tools.

By creating a recovery partition, you ensure that these critical resources are readily accessible, even if your operating system becomes corrupted or unbootable. In this guide, we’ll explore the step-by-step process of creating a recovery partition in Microsoft Windows 10/11.

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Preparing for Partition Creation:

Before creating a recovery partition, it’s crucial to take some preparatory steps to ensure a smooth process. Firstly, ensure that you have sufficient free space at least 250 MB on your hard drive to allocate for the recovery partition, see how to Extend the Windows RE Partition.

Typically, a recovery partition requires a few gigabytes of space, depending on the size of your operating system and the additional tools you wish to include. Additionally, back up any important data on your system to prevent loss in case of unforeseen complications during the partition creation process.

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Creating a Recovery Partition in Windows

Now that you’ve prepared your system for partition creation, it’s time to dive into the actual process. Follow these steps to create a recovery partition in Windows 10/11:

Press the Windows key + X on your keyboard to open the Power User menu. Select “Disk Management” from the list of options to launch the Disk Management utility.

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Shrink Volume

In Disk Management, locate the partition from which you want to shrink the volume to allocate space for the recovery partition.

Right-click on the partition and select “Shrink Volume” from the context menu.

Enter the amount of space you want to shrink from the partition to create unallocated space for the recovery partition, and then click on “Shrink.”

See How to extend System Drive Partition on Windows, and how to fix “Failure 5456: Unable to determine destination disk, partition, and/or drive, see BDD Log“.

Create Simple Volume

After shrinking the volume, you should see unallocated space on your hard drive. Right-click on the unallocated space and select “New Simple Volume” from the context menu.

In the New Simple Volume Wizard, specify the size for the partition and click “Next.”

Optionally, you can assign a drive letter or mount point for easy access.

Optionally, you can give the partition a descriptive name to identify it as the recovery partition.

Click ‘Finish’ to complete the process.

Move Recovery Image to Recovery Partition

Before moving the recovery image to the newly created partition, we need to first disable the Windows Recovery Environment (WINRE) if it is already enabled. Follow the steps below to do this:

Run the command prompt as administrator.

To confirm if Windows RE is enabled, type the following command and press Enter:

reagentc /info

To disable Windows RE, type the following command and press Enter:

reagentc /disable

We will need to assign an ID to the created partition before we move the WinRE to the partition. Type the following command and press Enter after each command.

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0

List Partition

List the partitions in the selected disk.

list partition

From the listed partition, select the newly created partition. Change the “6” in the below command to your partition number.

select partition 6

View Partition

To view the current partition ID, enter the following command.

detail partition

To change the partition ID, enter the following command.

for MBR partition:
set id=27

for gpt partition:
set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

Leave diskpart using the following command.

exit

Now, when we re-enable the WinRE, it will look for the new partition ID we set and move the recovery image there. To do this, use the following command.

reagentc /enable

Verifying the Recovery Partition:

After creating the recovery partition, it’s essential to verify that it functions correctly and contains the necessary system files and tools. You can do this by accessing the partition through File Explorer and checking for the presence of recovery-related files and folders.

Additionally, you can test the recovery process by booting into the recovery environment and attempting to restore your system from the recovery partition.

Also, see how to Enable and use Sudo in Windows 11, How to fix error “Microsoft Outlook cannot sign or encrypt this message” when sending email? and how to Fix the application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000135) error.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, creating a recovery partition in Windows 10/11 is a proactive step towards safeguarding your system against potential disasters. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create a dedicated space on your hard drive for storing essential system recovery tools and files.

I hope you found this article on how to create a recovery partition in Microsoft Windows 10/11 useful . Please feel free to leave a comment below.