For new installations, by default, Windows Setup will create a system partition and a Windows partition.

This table shows the partition structure:

	Note:
	In this example, the Windows partition is assigned the letter "W" to avoid drive-letter conflicts. After the computer reboots, the primary hard disk will automatically be reassigned to the letter "C".

Windows Setup will automatically create these disk partitions when:

• There is no existing system partition on the computer.
  
  
• The computer does not already have three existing partitions.
  
  
• There is enough disk space for the partitions.
  
  

When upgrading Windows from a previous version, Windows Setup does not change the arrangement of your partitions.

The code below shows a script for the DiskPart tool that will create the default partition structure, for use in image-based deployments:

select disk 0
clean
create partition primary size=300
format quick fs=ntfs label="System"
assign letter="S"
create partition primary
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows"
assign letter="W"
exit

Consider installing recovery tools such as Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) in either the system partition or in a separate recovery partition to enable end users to repair or reinstall Windows without deleting the recovery tools.

Once installed, you can configure Windows Boot Manager to start a recovery tool when Windows is unable to start.

To configure a separate recovery partition, identify the recovery partition as a utility partition by setting the Partition Type:

• In Windows SIM, set: Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk\ModifyPartition\TypeID to 0x27.
  
  
• In the DiskPart tool, after you have created and formatted the partition, use the command set id=27.
  
  

We recommend placing recovery and utility partitions at the beginning of the drive. Recovery partitions do not appear in Windows Explorer.

In the example below, the configuration includes a primary recovery partition, a primary system partition, and a primary Windows partition.

The table below shows settings to use in Windows SIM, under the Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk setting, to set up this example configuration.

	Note:
	In this example, the Windows partition is assigned the letter "W" to avoid drive-letter conflicts. After the computer reboots, the primary hard disk will automatically be reassigned to the letter "C".

For image-based deployment, create an identical partition structure on the destination computer. The code below shows a script for the DiskPart tool that will create the example partition structure:

select disk 0
clean
create partition primary size=3000
format quick fs=ntfs label="Recovery"
assign letter="R"
set id=27
create partition primary size=300
format quick fs=ntfs label="System"
assign letter="S"
active
create partition primary
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows"
assign letter="W"
exit

On BIOS-based systems, each hard drive can have up to four primary partitions, or up to three primary partitions and an extended partition. An extended partition can be divided into multiple logical partitions.

Note:

The extended partition is not assigned a partition ID and does not need to be modified. The Windows partition may be assigned to a logical partition. To create a logical partition that uses the remainder of the extended partition through Windows SIM, first create a partition with an initial fixed size (CreatePartition: Size=100, CreatePartition: Extend=false, and then modify it using ModifyPartition: Extend=true.

The diagram below includes three primary partitions (Recovery, Utility2, and a system partition) and an extended partition. The extended partition includes logical partitions (Windows and Logical2).

The table below shows the settings to use in Windows SIM, under Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk, to set up this example configuration.

	Note:
	In this example, the Windows partition is assigned the letter "W" to avoid drive-letter conflicts. After the computer reboots, the primary hard disk will automatically be reassigned to the letter "C".

For image-based deployment, you must create an identical partition structure on the destination computer. The code below shows a script for the DiskPart tool that will create the example partition structure:

select disk 0
clean
create partition primary size=3000
format quick fs=ntfs label="Recovery"
assign letter="R"
set id=27
create partition primary size=250
format quick fs=ntfs label="Utility2"
assign letter="U"
set id=27
create partition primary size=100
format quick fs=ntfs label="System"
assign letter="S"
active
create partition extended
create partition logical
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows"
assign letter="W"
create partition logical
format quick fs=ntfs label="Logical2"
assign letter="L"
exit

You can install Windows on a drive with only a single partition.

	Important:
	Without a separate system partition, some tools may not be available, such as Windows® BitLocker™ Drive Encryption. For more information, see Understanding Disk Partitions.

The table below shows settings used in Windows SIM, under the Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk setting, to set up this example configuration.

For image-based deployment, you must create an identical partition structure on the destination computer. The code below shows a script for the DiskPart tool that will create the example partition structure:

select disk 0
clean
create partition primary
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows"
assign letter="C"
exit

By default, the system partition and utility partitions do not appear in Windows Explorer. To confirm that these partitions exist on the destination computer, do the following:

1. Click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Manage. This opens the Computer Management control panel.
   
   
2. Click Disk Management. The list of available disks and partitions appears.
   
   
3. In the list of partitions, confirm that the system and utility partitions are present and are not assigned a drive letter.
   
   

• Understanding BitLocker Drive Encryption
• Deploy a System Recovery Image