is the hpa required?

[phutro]

is it necessary to keep the hpa? or can i reclaim it's space? furthermore, how do i do that? i went into the bios and changed the hpa setting so that it's reclaimable, but i am unable to see it once i boot into windows.

i'm also thinking about upgrading my hd, can i do a fresh install of windows without having to re-install / copy over the hpa?

[sugo]

HPA is not needed. I deleted it and reclaimed a few GBs. All you need is a re-partition utility like partition magic.

[hiyel]

I'm not quite sure but, I think you also need to go to bios and change a setting there before it can be seen by a partition utility

[sugo]

I'm not quite sure but, I think you also need to go to bios and change a setting there before it can be seen by a partition utility

Yes. OP said that's already done however.

[hiyel]

My bad, sorry...