An update from Win 8 Pro to Win 8.1 Pro has occurred automatically on one of my machines.

Prior to the upgrade (from memory) the machine had an OEM Partition (40MB), EFI System Partition (500MB), Recovery Partition (8.17GB) and OS (C:) partition. Only the latter was visible in Computer.

After the 8.1 upgrade there are two additional partitions, Recovery (500MB) and Recovery (450MB). All the partitions are now displayed in This PC as drives except the 40MB OEM Partition.

When viewed in This PC both the two new drives (that appear to equate to the new partitions) show as 499MB each with the same amount of free space. In Disk Management the first new partition is shown as 500MB and the second as 450MB.

I have SugarSync installed on this machine and since the upgrade it is displaying an error telling me it won't work because the two new drives have the same Volume Serial Numbers.

Clearly something has gone wrong with the upgrade:

Is there any way to resolve the Volume Serial Number conflict? 
Is there any way to stop all these drives appearing in This PC?
Do I need the two new partitions and if not how can I get rid of them?

• Edited by MalcH Monday, December 15, 2014 6:03 PM

Hello MalcH,

If my understanding is right, the Windows 8 automatically upgraded to Windows 8.1.
Do you mean that you didnt update to Windows 8.1 from Windows store manually?

Based on my research, there are three path to upgrade from the Windows 8 to Windows 8.1.
1. Manually upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Windows store.
2. Deploy the upgrade in Enterprise environment by using System Center Configuration Manager.
3. Third-party software will also have the ability to update the windows 8.1. Please check if there are some software conduct this upgrade.
Please use the antivirus software to scan if there are malware to make this upgrade.

After the upgrade, do you mean that the two additional partitions are created and they are displayed in the Computer?
Please share us screenshots about disk management and the Computer.

Please upload the Windows Update log for better analyzation.
It is located in C:\Windows\WindowsUpdate.log.

Best regards,
Fangzhou CHEN

There is a fourth path to upgrading to Windows 8.1 provided by Microsoft. Microsoft have been displaying automated reminders from time to time on Windows 8 computers that Windows 8.1 update is available to download - from these reminders it is possible to choose either Install or Not Now.  Just recently these reminders have changed, they are instead notifying the user that the Windows 8.1 Update will be installed automatically or the user has options to postpone the installation for 1hr, 2hrs, etc. The user of this computer tells me she went away from the machine and Windows 8.1 update installed automatically from one of these prompts.

I have seen these installation prompts on several of my customer's computers and they are not malware related (I deal with malware removal every day and would recognise this). However, I have scanned this computer with Bit Defender and MalwareBytes and there are no infections present.

The only difference between this Windows 8.1 Update and the others that I have carried out is that it wasn't controlled and therefore I wasn't able to disable the security software (Bit Defender Internet Security 2015). This may be the cause of the problem.

I've uploaded the two screenshots you asked for - the two new drives are W: and Z: and SugarSync is reporting that they have the same Volume Serial Numbers. Note: X: and Y: were not visible prior to the upgrade.

There are two Windows Update logs at C:\Windows\ so I will upload both.

• Edited by MalcH 14 minutes ago

Please advise how to upload the WindowsUpdate.log file, I can't find a file upload option.

There is a fourth path to upgrading to Windows 8.1 provided by Microsoft. Microsoft have been displaying automated reminders from time to time on Windows 8 computers that Windows 8.1 update is available to download - from these reminders it is possible to choose either Install or Not Now.  Just recently these reminders have changed, they are instead notifying the user that the Windows 8.1 Update will be installed automatically or the user has options to postpone the installation for 1hr, 2hrs, etc. The user of this computer tells me she went away from the machine and Windows 8.1 update installed automatically from one of these prompts.

I have seen these installation prompts on several of my customer's computers and they are not malware related (I deal with malware removal every day and would recognise this). However, I have scanned this computer with Bit Defender and MalwareBytes and there are no infections present.

The only difference between this Windows 8.1 Update and the others that I have carried out is that it wasn't controlled and therefore I wasn't able to disable the security software (Bit Defender Internet Security 2015). This may be the cause of the problem.

I've uploaded the two screenshots you asked for - the two new drives are W: and Z: and SugarSync is reporting that they have the same Volume Serial Numbers. Note: X: and Y: were not visible prior to the upgrade.

There are two Windows Update logs at C:\Windows\ so I will upload both.

• Edited by MalcH Wednesday, December 17, 2014 11:36 AM

Hello MalcH,

Do you mean that other computers that normally upgrade to Windows 8.1 have disabled the security software?

Please upload the log to OneDrive and share it with us.
Upload to OneDrive: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/add-photos-files
Share files: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/share-file-folder

Best regards,
Fangzhou CHEN

Hi Chen,

No I meant that before I upgraded other computers to Windows 8.1 I disabled the security software first as recommended by Microsoft here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/update-from-windows-8-tutorial

As I mentioned in my previous response there are two Windows Update logs (I assume one is prior to the Windows 8.1 upgrade and the other one is after?), I have uploaded both of them to my OneDrive and these are the links (you have viewing permission only, please let me know if you want permission to edit the files):

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F71B2400D6F4B6F7!5020&authkey=!AK44RLkTXM-ODVI&ithint=file%2clog

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F71B2400D6F4B6F7!5019&authkey=!AGisbwPa6W-YmsQ&ithint=file%2clog

Thanks,

Malcolm

• Edited by MalcH 6 minutes ago Clarification

Hi Chen,

No I meant that before I upgraded other computers to Windows 8.1 I disabled the security software first as recommended by Microsoft here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/update-from-windows-8-tutorial

As I mentioned in my previous response there are two Windows Update logs (I assume one is prior to the Windows 8.1 upgrade and the other one is after?), I have uploaded both of them to my OneDrive and these are the links (you have viewing permission only, please let me know if you want permission to edit the files):

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F71B2400D6F4B6F7!5020&authkey=!AK44RLkTXM-ODVI&ithint=file%2clog

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F71B2400D6F4B6F7!5019&authkey=!AGisbwPa6W-YmsQ&ithint=file%2clog

Thanks,

Malcolm

• Edited by MalcH Friday, December 19, 2014 11:44 AM Clarification

Hi Chen,

No I meant that before I upgraded other computers to Windows 8.1 I disabled the security software first as recommended by Microsoft here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/update-from-windows-8-tutorial

As I mentioned in my previous response there are two Windows Update logs (I assume one is prior to the Windows 8.1 upgrade and the other one is after?), I have uploaded both of them to my OneDrive and these are the links (you have viewing permission only, please let me know if you want permission to edit the files):

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F71B2400D6F4B6F7!5020&authkey=!AK44RLkTXM-ODVI&ithint=file%2clog

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F71B2400D6F4B6F7!5019&authkey=!AGisbwPa6W-YmsQ&ithint=file%2clog

Thanks,

Malcolm

• Edited by MalcH Friday, December 19, 2014 11:44 AM Clarification

Windows 8.1 will create a second recovery partition on a system that is installed on a GPT disk. This is normal.

You should get some better information from diskpart, as Disk Management does not show you everything. See my research here for more info, and examples of how to get partition information:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/169284-windows-81-creates-2nd-recovery-partition/

• Proposed as answer by Nakii 19 hours 7 minutes ago
• Unproposed as answer by MalcH 14 hours 38 minutes ago

Windows 8.1 will create a second recovery partition on a system that is installed on a GPT disk. This is normal.

You should get some better information from diskpart, as Disk Management does not show you everything. See my research here for more info, and examples of how to get partition information:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/169284-windows-81-creates-2nd-recovery-partition/

• Proposed as answer by Nakii Sunday, December 28, 2014 4:43 PM
• Unproposed as answer by MalcH Sunday, December 28, 2014 9:11 PM

Thanks Tripredacus, I've only just become aware of your reply which is why I've taken so long to respond.

I've read your research, the issue here is that two recovery partitions have been created by the 8.1 upgrade (i.e. in addition to the original manufacturer's recovery partition making three recovery partitions in total). All the partitions are now suddenly visible in computer. Programs like SugarSync and my security software don't like two partitions with the same volume serial number so they are faulting. I think this has probably happened because the security software wasn't disabled prior to the upgrade.

To be honest I think it's pretty poor that this machine has been left like this and I don't have much faith in it's current state so I've taken it out of use. I don't have the time to mess around trying to tidy all this up so I guess I will just wipe it, reload Windows 8 from the recovery media and perform a more controlled Win 8.1 upgrade (i.e. disable the security software first). 

This will by my first wipe and re-install of Windows 8 from recovery media so I'm assuming it would be best to delete all partitions (including the OEM Recovery Partition) except the OEM 40MB partition or would you recommend I delete all partitions?

If you are doing a re-install using recovery media (DVD or USB) they just erase all partitions. The recovery media will put in the partitions it needs automatically.

• Marked as answer by MalcH 12 hours 10 minutes ago

If you are doing a re-install using recovery media (DVD or USB) they just erase all partitions. The recovery media will put in the partitions it needs automatically.

• Marked as answer by MalcH Tuesday, December 30, 2014 11:41 PM

If you are doing a re-install using recovery media (DVD or USB) they just erase all partitions. The recovery media will put in the partitions it needs automatically.

• Marked as answer by MalcH Tuesday, December 30, 2014 11:41 PM

Thanks for the info Tripredacus, I haven't heard back from MSFT so I'll mark your post as the answer.

Thanks for the info Tripredacus, I haven't heard back from MSFT so I'll mark your post as the answer.