New HP - Recovery (D)??

Just bought my new HP Pavilion dv7 cl notebook and the first thing I notice in exploring the system is that when I insert a DVD it shows as Drive E. So I check and find in addition to Drive C: I have a Drive D: which is named "RECOVERY (D)" - it has a capacity of 15.5GB and has 12.8GB used. My C: drive is 450GB.What is this D: Recovery drive and was it there from day 1? I did not create it (that I know of anyway).

Thanks in advance

Hi boaterbob

The recovery partition holds a system image of your system before you add any applications and can be accessed via your recovery disk/disks in the event of system failure so you can recover your system.

Hi boaterbob, I recently bought a HP as well. That partition you're referring to is your recovery partition. If needed, you can restore your computer to factory condition from there. The factory (HP) created it for us, instead of giving us reinstall discs. As long as you can boot into your computer, you can access this partition to rescue your computer through the Recovery Manager. I hope this explains your concerns.

Thanks Veedaz. So this Recovery image was created when I first turned on the computer? And with the recovery disks I created , they would use the System image to help restore my computer to a virgin system as it came from HP?

Does it matter that I ran pcdecrapifier and got rid of all the trialware and other app I didn't want and then added Firefox 'BEFORE' I made the Recovery disks?

Also - catilley 1092 - excellent info !

Thanks again

boaterbob, it just so happened today that I needed that partition to restore my PC, I had it up and running under two hours. Whatever you do, don't touch that recovery partition to get rid of anything. It saved my butt, and it may yours someday as well. Yes, it made it a "virgin" system, as you call it, with the Norton antivirus and all, but you don't want to chance messing that partition up at all. You can run that pcdecrapifier again if you need to do so. And it makes no difference if you make your Recovery Discs before or after you install anything. Just don't touch that recovery partition because it's not a matter of if, but when you will need it. Just ask Veedaz, he works on computers for a living.

boaterbob I've had HP's for years, and they come with that Recovery Partition already in place. Its just like buying a full Recovery Disc from the Manufacturer, except it's already in your computer. Under normal circumstances you don't even need Recovery Discs unless your Recovery Partition became damaged or corrupted somehow. So keep the discs you made incase of emergency. Otherwise, you can run a full recovery from just your Recovery Partition alone.

FYI....You can purchase a Recovery CD for your computer from HP if need be. I've done that before. Doesn't cost much. If memory serves it might have cost me $20 or so. However when they build them, they only make so many of those copies, so if a body thought they wanted one, it's better to order sooner than later before they run out.

Excellent tips - thanks to all. I certainly appreciate that the information shared had some meat to it - i.e., everyone took the time to explain in detail (unlike some forums where some answers are "yes", or "worked for me".

I just installed some GE/Jasco Z-Wave modules in the house to control lamps, etc using remotes. I need to transfer all the information I had set-up from one remote to a second remote and I did not understand one of the steps. Got what I needed from a forum - both remotes work identically now. As I do some shooting, and had bought a new shotgun, the 'shotgunworld' forum is another I use often - both ask questions and contribute answers. Always good to find forums where I can get 'real' answers.

So, thanks again to all.

I'm glad that you see the importance of this partition, and should you ever need help, it is here. There's usually someone online here, as we come from all over the world, as you can see in the posts. Merry Christmas to you and your family!