Question
Issue: How to remove a hidden recovery drive on Windows 10 April Update?
I just applied the newest Windows update (1804) for Windows 10 and everything seemed to be fine. However, when i flicked through my drives I noticed that there is an additional drive I have never seen before. It is located in the new H drive and has a capacity of 449 GB, of which 49 GB is free space. What is this drive? Should I delete it? Thanks in advance.
Solved Answer
The new drive you are talking about is Windows 10 recovery drive[1], and you are not supposed to see it. Windows system repair disc has been around since Windows 7 times. It allows users to create a bootable CD/DVD which can later be used to troubleshoot problems and recover from them.
In Windows 10, you can create a bootable USB drive which allows you to access different recovery and troubleshooting[2] tools. Additionally, you can also reinstall Windows using it if your system is still not booting correctly. Therefore, what you are seeing in your H drive is all the backup data of a recovery drive. It usually hides within the system and should not be visible to users. However, with the 1804 Windows update, quite few users complained about the new virtual drive appearing.
The April Windows 10 update[3] was first made available on 30th of April 2018 and was originally meant to be called “Spring Creators Update” but later Microsoft changed their minds and decided to go for “Redstone 4.” The update implemented quite a few new features, including:
- The timeline on your desktop shows activity on all your devices;
- “Nearby Sharing” feature introduced which allows you to access your wireless devices easily;
- New progressive apps added to Windows store;
- Future updates will be installed quicker;
- Fonts management and download directly from the store
- Various MS Edge improvements and many more.
As we already mentioned, however, this update also brought the unwanted drive. It is not a huge problem, however, and our security team provided you with the quick hidden recovery drive visible after April updates fix.
Before you proceed with the solution, we advise users to scan their machine with FortectMac Washing Machine X9 as additional drives might also be created by malware[4] which might have slipped into your machine without you noticing.
Quick solution: remove the drive letter
You should not delete the contents of the drive. However, as soon as you will eliminate the H drive, everything should go back to normal. Here is the instructions how to do it:
- Click on Start button and ten type cmd into the search box
- Command Prompt should appear – open it with administrative privileges (right-click and select Run as Administrator)
- Type in diskpart and press Enter
- Then, type list volume and press Enter again
- Remember the letter of the additional virtual drive
- Now type in select volume [the correct drive letter] and press Enter
- Finally, type in the following: remove letter=[the correct drive letter] and hit Enter
- Restart your machine
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Olivia Morelli is a young, but a perspicacious IT expert who is currently just a year away from a Bachelor’s Degree in Software Systems. Her primary passion is cyber security, however, thanks to her detailed understanding of computer networks, operating systems and hardware, she can find a fix for any PC or Mac issue...
- ^ Recovery disc. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.
- ^ Troubleshooting. GCF. Learn Free.
- ^ Chriss Hoffman. Everything New in Windows 10’s April 2018 Update, Available Now. How-to Geek. Site that explains technology.
- ^ Malware (malicious software). SearchSecurity. Site teaching technology.
