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How to Remove Recovery Partition on Windows (VM)

Overview​

This document describes the process to remove the recovery partition present in Windows operating systems in virtualized environments, in order to allow the expansion of the main disk partition.

Prerequisites​

  • Administrative access to the Windows VM

  • VM backup (recommended)

  • VM disk already expanded through the platform

Step by Step​

1. Access the Windows VM​

Connect to the virtual machine to be modified with an account that has administrative permissions.

2. Check existing partitions​

Open Disk Management:


diskmgmt.msc

Check if the “Extend Volume” option is disabled. This usually happens when there is a recovery partition immediately after the main partition (e.g., C:).

image

3. Open Command Prompt as administrator​

  • Search for cmd in the Start menu

  • Right-click and select Run as administrator

4. Use diskpart to remove the partition​

Run the commands below very carefully:


diskpart

list  disk

select  disk X # Substitua X pelo número correto do disco

list  partition

select  partition Y # Substitua Y pela partição de recuperação

delete  partition  override

exit

⚠️ Warning: carefully select the correct partition. Deleting incorrect partitions can cause data loss or system failure.

image

⚠️ Warning: The image above is illustrative and was performed in a test environment.

5. Extend the main partition​

image

  1. Return to Disk Management, as shown in the screenshot above.

  2. Right-click on the main partition (usually C:)

  3. Select "Extend Volume..."

  4. Proceed and select all available space

image

  1. Complete the wizard

Final considerations​

  • After removing the recovery partition, the space becomes unallocated and can be used to expand the main partition.

  • In some cases, it may be necessary to restart the VM after the operation.

  • This procedure is commonly needed in virtualized environments when the disk is expanded by the platform, but Windows cannot reflect this expansion due to the recovery partition.

References​