Extend a volume blocked by a recovery partition
On the canned DEV-BUILD-02 Windows 11 practice box, begin at an ordinary prompt, prove that REAgentC needs elevation, open an administrator Command Prompt, locate Windows RE on disk 1 partition 4, turn it off, and use DiskPart to confirm and remove the 956 MB Recovery partition. Extend C:, leave DiskPart, turn Windows RE back on, and confirm it is Enabled on partition 3. The simulation uses sample disk and partition numbers and keeps one prompt even when a real prompt would change. It does not inspect or change the learner's machine.
Steps
- 1
Run reagentc /info at the ordinary prompt. Read the message: the command can only be executed from an elevated command prompt.
- 2
Run powershell Start-Process cmd -Verb RunAs, approve the User Account Control prompt, and continue in the new administrator Command Prompt window.
- 3
Run reagentc /info again. Confirm Windows RE is Enabled at harddisk1 partition4, which identifies disk 1 and partition 4 for this canned scenario.
- 4
Run reagentc /disable before removing the partition Windows RE uses. Confirm that the operation succeeds.
- 5
Run diskpart. A real console changes to the DISKPART> prompt, while this simulation keeps its original prompt.
- 6
Run select disk 1 because the Windows RE location reported harddisk1. Confirm that disk 1 is selected.
- 7
Run list partition. Identify partition 4 as the only 956 MB Recovery partition, and partition 3 as the 464 GB Primary partition that contains C:.
- 8
Run select partition 4 only after confirming its size and Recovery type. Confirm that partition 4 is selected.
- 9
Check the selected partition once more, then run delete partition override to remove the protected Recovery partition.
- 10
Run select partition 3 to select the 464 GB Primary partition that contains C:.
- 11
Run extend. With the Recovery partition gone, the free space is immediately after C:, so the selected volume can grow into it.
- 12
Run exit to leave DiskPart and return to the elevated Command Prompt.
- 13
Run reagentc /enable to turn Windows RE back on from the recovery image kept on C:.
- 14
Run reagentc /info once more. Confirm Windows RE is Enabled and now reports harddisk1 partition3.
What you should see
Windows RE reports Enabled on harddisk1 partition3 at the end, and C: has grown into the free space.