What Is the EFI Partition in Windows 10 and Should You Delete It?

The short answer is no, and here’s why

Have you ever gone poking around in your computer and found partitions or disk volumes you didn’t know existed? Or, have you noticed that a Windows installation makes two partitions; a large one and a smaller one? The small one is either 100 MB or 600 MB in size. What is that? Do you need it? Well, it’s the EFI partition, and the short answer is yes, you do need it.

What Is The EFI Partition in Windows 10?

We sayWindows 10, but EFI partitions have been a part of previous versions of Windows and are also a part of other operating systems (OS), like Linux and macOS.

EFI stands forExtensible Firmware Interface. As the name reveals, EFI connects the OS to the firmware of the hardware components in a computer. Think of firmware as the brain in each piece of hardware. The extensible part of the name tells us that EFI can be changed for different situations.

Most Windows devices use a UEFI BIOS (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface Basic Input/Output System) these days. It’s easy tofind the BIOS versionfor your computer. Only Windows devices using the UEFI BIOS will have the EFI partition. A non-UEFI BIOS Windows system includes the boot information in the primary partition.

When we start a computer, Windows doesn’t start right then. First, the BIOS is started.What is the BIOS? It’s a minimal OS that lives on a chip. It wakes up the hardware and firmware. Then the BIOS looks for the EFI partition to get instructions on starting and interacting with Windows.

The EFI partition contains essential files and utilities, such as:

When the EFI partition is successfully found and the boot process works, Windows starts.

Should I Delete the EFI Partition?

If you see the EFI partition and think, “There’s an extra 100 MB my computer could be using. Let’s delete it.”, don’t do that. Windows does a good job of making it hard to delete the EFI partition. But you can do it. Without the EFI, the BIOS will think Windows doesn’t exist, and the computer won’t properly start. Plus, does gaining an extra 100 MB offree drive spacematter? Between cloud storage and inexpensive 1TB+ drives, we don’t need that 100 MB. Let it be.

Where Is the EFI Partition In Windows 10?

If you’re looking for the EFI partition inFile Explorer, you probably won’t find it. The EFI partition is valuable, so it is hidden. But it’s not too hard to find.

Disk Management is a Windows utility for partitioning, resizing, renaming, andformatting disks.

How Can I See What’s In The EFI Partition?

You could use theCommand Promptto view the contents of the EFI partition. It’s a bit complicated and not easy to navigate, though. If you’re really curious about what’s in the EFI partition, downloadMinitool Partition Wizard. It’s free.

Now you can see everything that’s in the EFI partition.

How Can I Delete The EFI Partition In Windows 10?

You’re stuck on doing this, aren’t you? Before trying, make sure you have a system backup or haveWindows 10 installation mediato restore if it fails. This can go seriously wrong.

DiskPart is a command line utilitythat can manage drive partitions. You can put it to work on the EFI partition.

If you can’t delete the EFI partition using DiskPart, it’s likely it can be deleted using Minitool.

How Do I Restore the EFI Partition?

You have regrets, do you? You could reinstall Windows from installation media like aUSB thumb driveor DVD. Or you could manually rebuild the EFI partition using the Command Prompt. That’s a complicated process beyond the scope of this article, so stay tuned for an article about restoring the EFI partition in Windows 10.

Guy has been published online and in print newspapers, nominated for writing awards, and cited in scholarly papers due to his ability to speak tech to anyone, but still prefers analog watches.Read Guy’s Full Bio

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What Is the EFI Partition in Windows 10 and Should You Delete It?#

What Is The EFI Partition in Windows 10?#

Should I Delete the EFI Partition?#

Where Is the EFI Partition In Windows 10?#

How Can I See What’s In The EFI Partition?#

How Can I Delete The EFI Partition In Windows 10?#

How Do I Restore the EFI Partition?#

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