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Recovery Disc Full - now what?


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You leave that disk alone. You don't put ANY files on it, it is used to restore your system if things go horribly wrong. 

Speaking of which, have you created your bootable recovery media? Usually, it takes a few CDs or a 16GB Thumb-drive. Most people don't and then they have all sorts of problems if they have their HD replaced. 

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57 minutes ago, Brian said:

Speaking of which, have you created your bootable recovery media? Usually, it takes a few CDs or a 8-16GB Thumb-drive. Most people don't and then they have all sorts of problems if they have their HD replaced. 

I confess I haven't done this.  Do you have a link to info about it?

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The majority of the time, if you bought a name-brand computer, it has software that will create the recovery media for you. It's usually in the Windows Start Menu, under the manufacturer's name or in a "Utilities" folder. Phrases to look for: Create Boot Media, Create Recovery Disks, Create Emergency Media, Create Recover Media...things like that. Or there is a program simply called, "Recovery Manager." It's probably been sitting there waiting for you. :)

Keep in mind, you can only create the media once, so make sure you use quality discs / DVDs, I prefer the Verbatim & Sony brands. Also, for computers from around 2010 to current, there is often an option to create a Thumb Drive, which is quite handy as you only need one. I'd recommend using a 16GB Thumb Drive and store it in a marked bag and kept somewhere safe. Only the recovery media can be installed on it and as I said before, you have one shot to create it. 

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That recovery D: drive is just a partition on your main HD. Think of a hard drive like a bookcase, and the programs / data are the books. The individual shelves in the bookcase are the HD partitions. You just have a single bookshelf that's really full.

As long as you haven't put ANY files on that recovery partition, it should stay the same forever. If it keeps growing, you have another issue and I'm thinking you'll need to talk to support. In either case, create the recovery media. 

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I would contact the manufacture's customer service and see what they recommend. The Geek Squads of the world will want to nuke your HD and then charge you lots of money. The software on that recovery partition is very specific and it just can't simply be deleted, unless the manufacturer's tech support gives their blessing.

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