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Patch reliability is unclear, but widespread attacks make patching prudent. Go ahead and patch, but watch out for potential problems. |
I would like for someone to explain what these partitions on my laptop are and the purpose they serve (why are they there, what do they do, how do they interact with one another, how to they interact with software, what role do they play in an image backup and restore, etc. — I probably don’t know all the questions to ask here, but I think it’s a beginning).
500MB Healthy (EFI System = the Windows boot files for an EFI machine.
OS (C:) = your C: drive with Windows installed and probably your data.
504MB NTFS Healthy (OEM = a partition put there by the manufacturer, possibly with some utility files for booting into diagnostics, possibly empty.
Image = Manufacturer created Windows installation files for restoring to original configuration.
DELLSUPPORT = diagnostic tools from the manufacturer.
In the days of small disks we used to clean out the OEM partitions and expand C, these days it’s not worth the hassle.
cheers, Paul
And what about this one from my other machine? One of the partition names is different. What
is WinRETOOLS for? And about the OS (C:) partition here — I have not knowingly used BitLocker to encrypt anything. Is it encrypted anyway? And if so, does that affect the ability to do an Image Backup?
Is it encrypted anyway? And if so, does that affect the ability to do an Image Backup?
It would appear to be encrypted but that doesn’t prevent you doing a backup from within the booted Windows.
To confirm Bitlocker status.
If it’s encrypted you must create a recovery USB in case you need to decrypt the disk.
Bitlocker Recovery.
When restoring a machine with an encrypted disk, the backup software won’t be able to recreate the disk encrypted. You will need to create a standard partition, restore the files and then re-encrypt – and save a new recovery USB.
cheers, Paul
Thanks for the link that describes how to confirm BitLocker status:
Here’s what I found.
Bitlocker is installed, disk is not encrypted.
In other words, you are saying that BitLocker is not/has not been securing my files/laptop (or whatever it is supposed to do when activated), right? Is it OK to let it sit there on the laptop inactivated? (Keep in mind that I don’t want to use it). This seems similar to disabling/inactivating IE, even though it is installed.
I am not sure why you provided the link to Howtogeek to see if I have a TPM chip, but let me say:
A. I didn’t run tpm.msc to find out if my laptop has a TPM chip, because looking at the screenshot in the link, I did not see an X in the upper-right hand corner to get out of the operations for “TPM Management on Local Computer” without having something inadvertent happen due to my ignorance about this.
B. I didn’t restart the laptop into its UEFI/BIOS mode either, since I am not sure if I would have to go through the Win10 advanced startup options menu or would have to press a key during startup, (and not knowing what that key-press would be).
C. But, I did check Device Manager, and there seems to be a TPM chip present. So, this means, apparently, that BitLocker would work the way it is supposed to work, should I ever decide to activate it. See the device manager screen below.
.
At this point, you say — although BitLocker is installed, it is not activated (which is what I want). So, following this to the end, can I then conclude that there are not going to be BitLocker complications, should it come down to a need to “restore” with a system image that Aomei has created?
So that brings me to your last statement:
No need for a recovery USB.
Do you mean a Win10 Recovery Drive (the one created on a USB at Control Panel>Create a Recovery Drive)? And you are not referring to the bootable media on a USB that Aoemi creates to use in conjunction with the system image it creates?
I know a) you think I am stressing out on this issue of being adequately prepared in case installing a CU makes things goes south and I know that you have repeatedly said “simply do this” to make the system image backup with Aoemi. I have done that.
It’s the “restore” part that has me confused. I don’t want (or need) to do a REAL system-image restore right now; everything is working fine. I simply want to know if everything is set up correctly to work the way it should, IF there is a need to restore.
I don’t understand why your Bitlocker’s status is ‘waiting for activation’ while mine is just OFF.
Windows 10 Pro 1909 Feb. updates.
I don’t understand why your Bitlocker’s status is ‘waiting for activation’ while mine is just OFF.
Windows 10 Pro 1909 Feb. updates.
Bitlocker waiting for activation apparently means that the disk IS encrypted, but only with an insecure, random key. Bitlocker is “suspended”, due to “pre-provisioning” by the manufacturer:
Is a volume with BitLocker “Waiting for Activation” encrypted or not?
Introduced with Windows 8:
BitLocker Pre-Provisioning
Thanks to BitLocker pre-provisioning, administrators can enable BitLocker for a volume and encrypt the volume before the Windows 8 OS is installed. In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, BitLocker can only be enabled after the Windows OS is installed.
During pre-provisioning, Windows 8 generates a random encryption key that BitLocker uses to encrypt the volume before the OS is installed. Microsoft calls the random encryption key a “clear protector” because it’s stored on disk in an unprotected way. After Windows is installed, users can then “fully” protect the encryption key for the pre-provisioned volume by activating BitLocker on the volume and selecting a BitLocker unlock method. Protecting this encryption key takes much less time than encrypting an entire volume.
New BitLocker Features Speed Up Encryption in Windows 8 [May 28, 2013]
Microsoft’s documentation:
If a drive is pre-provisioned with BitLocker, a status of “Waiting for Activation” displays with a yellow exclamation icon on the volume. This status means that there was only a clear protector used when encrypting the volume. In this case, the volume is not in a protected state and needs to have a secure key added to the volume before the drive is fully protected. Administrators can use the control panel, manage-bde tool, or WMI APIs to add an appropriate key protector. Once complete, the control panel will update to reflect the new status.
BitLocker Basic Deployment: Checking BitLocker status with the control panel
To turn it off instead of activating it apparently requires use of “manage-bde”:
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