pettyB Cloned SSDs cause this all the time. What probably happened is your old recovery partition got copied exactly where it existed on the previous drive, so now it’s sitting between C: and the unallocated space. Windows Disk Management can’t extend across partitions, which is why Extend Volume is blocked.
As for why the partition is protected: Windows treats WinRE partitions as system partitions because they hold recovery tools like Startup Repair and Reset this PC. That protection is mostly there to stop people from accidentally nuking recovery features.
delete partition override is basically DiskPart’s way of saying “okay, but this is on you now.” It’s generally safe IF you are 100% sure the partition you selected is actually the recovery partition and not the EFI System Partition. Deleting the EFI one is the thing that will actually make the machine unbootable.
Before touching anything, I’d run: reagentc /info
That tells you whether WinRE is enabled and which partition it’s using.
If that 800MB partition is the active WinRE partition, you can still remove it safely. Typical process is:
reagentc /disable
Delete the recovery partition
Extend C:
Then:
reagentc /enable
Windows usually recreates or reconfigures WinRE afterward. I’ve done this a couple times after SSD migrations and never had boot issues from deleting only the recovery partition.
Still, I’d make a quick backup image first. Partition operations are usually fine until the one time DiskPart targets the wrong thing or the system loses power halfway through.
