Partition 1 contains Dell software to run diagnostic tests on the PC.

Partition 2 can be used to restore the system to the way it was when it left Dell’s factory.

Unless you are desperate for disk space I’d just leave it alone.

Joe

Strictly speaking, it’s not absolutely necessary to backup the first two partitions. Your Dell should have a utility called something like “Dell Datasafe Local Backup”, which allows you to burn a set of system recovery DVDs. Do that, and those will allow you to completely restore those partitions on a new, pristine hard drive should the need ever arise. If you do choose to use one of the good, third-party imaging programs, note you only need to backup partitions 1 & 2 once. The partitions won’t ever change so you don’t have to keep renewing your backup regularly.

Some people might suggest deleting the partitions to reclaim the disk space, but I agree with Joe; leave them alone. Deleting either one will cause booting problems for partition 3. That can be repaired, but you have to know what you’re doing and it’s not worth the hassle for the measly amount of space you’d be recovering. You’ve got a 640GB drive, so if you really need to use that extra 15GB of space, then you should instead be adding an external drive or replacing the 640 with a larger drive. Furthermore, leaving partition 2 intact allows you to easily return the computer to its OEM state if/when the time comes to eventually pass the computer on to another owner.

Dan

I guess I would say is what OS is on the HD at present? If the same as the factory recovery partition, there is no harm in keeping it. If you have upgraded to a new OS, why do you need it? Some people keep this partition in case they ever sell the PC, they can reinstall the factory settings. My thought is WHY? You can just as easily remove all your data and leave the new OS on it.

As Joe stated, unless you are running out of disk space, you do not need the space.

If it were my PC, I would leave the small utility partition alone. I would delete the Recovery Partition, leaving unallocated space. I would then use an app such as Partition Wizardto recover this unallocated space into my C Drive. Then I would take one further step and resize the C Drive to about 75 Gb and format the unallocated space that is left after resizing the C Drive and set it to logical. I would then use this as a separate Data drive. Now when it comes time to get rid of this PC, you can delete the data drive, overwrite it with an app made for this and be sure your data is no longer available for someone to see.

This is exactly what I did on our 2 laptops, but then we only have 320 Gb HD’s. You have much larger HD’s so I would again say unless you are lacking space then you really do not need the space. Some of the operations I have described can be intimidating if you are new to partitioning.

My questions are:

a. Do I need to backup partitions 1 & 2?
b. If this was your computer what would you do? Remember computer is 3 years old.
c. What do you think the differences are between partitions 1 & 2?

OPINIONS WELCOME PLEASE!

A. I would ensure that you have at least one image where the entire drive’s partitions are included.
Hard drives fail, that’s a fact of life, and if you have no backup, you’ll be sorry you hadn’t created one.

B. I would image the drive in it’s entirety then format it and install a genuine operating system
unfettered with the OEM’s offerings. I have a low tolerance for OEM installs, that is just me.
Along with the above I would also purchase an SSD and use the drive you currently have as internal data storage.

C. Partition two will include your OEM Dell setup install operating system files in the event you need to get back to a factory clean installed state.
Partition one may contain Dell diagnostics.
If you decide to purchase a new operating system you may discard the other two partitions by formatting the entire drive.

You would probably do better to focus more on keeping it updated & maintained rather than concern yourself with the meager bit
of space saved by removing a few little partitions.

I agree, on that size HD, those 2 partitions do not consume much space. Partition work can cause problems if done incorrectly.