On Sun, 29 Dec 2019 07:55:22 -0500
rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, December 28, 2019 03:46:53 PM Doug McGarrett wrote:
> > I bought a new computer last summer, and it came with Windows 10 on
> > FOUR partitions! I shrank the Windows partition 4 to 100 GiB to
> > allow a minimum Windows system for anything that won't run on
> > OpenSUSE TW, and made a new partition for Linux, using a disk for
> > GParted. Works fine.
>
> Interesting, I'm wondering about the logic behind that -- was that an
> effort to segregate the user's "real" data (photos, videos, email,
> ...) on a separate partition?
No, MS has never done that. The Users directory is always part of the
system tree. If Windows breaks badly, or gets a virus, you reinstall
it. It's your responsibility to have backed up anything you want to
keep.
>
> Which manufacturer? What is on /dev/sda3 and /dev/sda4? (Are
> /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2 as described in the original email (Windows
> and Windows recovery partitions)?
>
> I don't remember the correct terminology, but is the partioning done
> under whe old scheme (where there can be up to 4 primary partitions
> or 3 primary partions and then (hmm, iirc, up to 12?) extended
> partitions "under" /dev/sda, or under the new scheme (which I don't
> remember enough about to describe -- I vaguely think a lot more
> partitions and all of them primary?)?
>
I'd guess C:, Recovery, EFI and a small 'Microsoft Reserved Partition'.
The MS Disk Administrator does not show this reserved partition, but
GParted does. My Windows 10 machine is an Acer Aspire netbook (which, by
the way, came fitted with a drive too small to do the inevitable set of
updates after first boot). Partitions will be GPT now.
I have an HP, where I, in effect, replaced Windows with multiple Linux Partitions, Debian, Devuan and Ubuntu. Most of the 1 Terrabyte [Spinning] Hard Drive was the, actual NTFS Windows Partition. I Blew all of that away. But that was Partition Four. In order, Partition 1 is 1G, Hidden NTFS, and labeled "diag". Partition 2 is Fat32 (377 MB), EFI, and I use it, with both Debian's and Refind's EFI Programs, to allow me to Boot. (Since every Debian Upgrade that includes Grub Reconfigures Grub, the Refind part is there in name only). Partition 3 has a Blank File System name (in parted), is 134 MB, and is labeled "Microsoft Reserved Partition", with a Flag of msftres.
Since they didn't take up much space, I thought it would be prudent to leave the first three Partitions alone (except for using the EFI one).
My 1.97 Cents worth. :-)
Kenneth Parker