Deleting Windows 7 System Reserved Partition

Is there a way to delete the system reserved partition on windows 7 after the OS is installed? I know it is possible to not install it at all, but I am working with an image and it would be easier to delete it then re-image rather than install the OS and all the software from scratch. Our provisioning system requires a certain partitioning scheme and windows 7 breaks it.

Solution 1:

Yes you can remove the system reserved partition on Windows 7 after the OS installed. When you delete the system reserved partition after the OS is installed you will lose the bootfiles and Windows 7 won't boot. You would need to run Windows 7 Startup repair after you do this.

Detailed instructions for removal of system reserved partition here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71363-system-reserved-partition-delete.html

How to run the Startup repair in Windows 7 here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

If I were you then I would try it out in a test system first and then proceed with it in actual system.

Solution 2:

You could use a Linux live boot CD, like Ubuntu. Once running, you can "Disk Utility" or Gparted for a GUI tool, or you can use 'parted' at the command line to remove the partition.

Solution 3:

Not with the Disk Management snap-in, but third-party partition-programs can delete it.

Alternately, you can boot into Windows 7 System Recovery and delete it with diskpart: [1][2].

Of course since the system partition is where the bootloader is, you will need to then place it onto the Windows partition (which can also be done from the System Recovery console).