System Default UEFI/GPT Hard Drive Partition Layout Description for Windows 10 and 11


  • Staff
Windows_11_banner.png

This tutorial will explain each partition of the default partition layout created when you clean install Windows 10 or Windows 11 on a blank hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drives (SSD).

When you clean install Windows 10/11 to a blank unallocated disk with UEFI, the disk is formatted using a GUID partition table (GPT) file system.

The default partition layout for UEFI-based PCs is: an EFI System Partition, an MSR, a Windows partition, and a Recovery Partition.

dep-win-partitions-uefi.png


This layout lets you use Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption or Device Encryption through both Windows and through the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

Reference:
learn.microsoft.com

UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions

UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions
learn.microsoft.com

EXAMPLE: Default partition layout for UEFI-based PCs shown in Windows Setup and Disk Management

Clean_install_Windows_11_partitions.png
Disk_0_partitions_Disk_Management.png




 EFI System Partition

The EFI System Partition (ESP) is usually stored on the primary hard drive (ex: "Disk 0:") without a drive letter.

The device boots to this partition.

The minimum size of this partition is 100 MB, and is formatted using the FAT32 file format.

This partition is managed by the operating system, and should not contain any other files, including Windows RE tools.



 Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR)

learn.microsoft.com

Windows and GPT FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Windows and GPT.
learn.microsoft.com

The MSR is a reserved partition to help with partition management.

The MSR does not receive a partition ID, so it does not appear in Disk Management and cannot store user data.

The size of the MSR is 16 MB.



 Windows Partition

This is the primary partition that Windows is installed on.

The partition must have at least 20 gigabytes (GB) of drive space for 64-bit versions, or 16 GB for 32-bit versions.

The Windows partition is formatted using the NTFS file format.

The Windows partition must have 16 GB of free space after the user has completed the Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) from Windows Setup (clean install) and Automatic Maintenance has completed.



 Recovery Partition

learn.microsoft.com

Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)

Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)
learn.microsoft.com

The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a recovery environment with tools that can repair common causes of unbootable operating systems.

If you do not have a "Recover Partition", then you can do a repair install of Windows to restore it.


WinRE includes these tools:
Advanced startup enables you to perform these actions:
  • Start recovery (aka: Windows RE or WinRE), troubleshooting, and diagnostic tools.
  • Boot from a disk (ex: USB or DVD) or device (UEFI only)
  • Access the PC's UEFI firmware
  • Restore Windows from a system image
  • Choose default operating system to boot to on PC if multiple operating systems are installed

That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
Very useful tutorial. ^^

This will come in handy, many, many, many times.
It seems that a lot of folks still expect partitions like there were on Windows 7.


P.S. I love the "Related Tutorials" and the bottom of all the tutorials. They come in really handy as well. :-)
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.2033 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
is possible install windows 11 24h2 on refs partition

u4tmDC3.gif



After installed, look at the surprise

eeCNPKl.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Iot Enterprise LTSC 24h2 26100.1876
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    xeon E5-2697v2
    Motherboard
    rampage iv extreme
    Memory
    32gb 8x4gb ddr3 1333 mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 570 poit of view
    Sound Card
    realtek HD (ALC898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    samsung b2030
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    2tb hd 5400 rpm
    3tb hd 5400 rpm
    1tb nvme pcie 3.0
    PSU
    hx850w
    Keyboard
    mtek
    Internet Speed
    500/250 gpon
    Browser
    firefox
    Antivirus
    none
- Setup requires a minimum of 54 GB for the Windows partition. It's false that a "BypassStorageCheck" exists to override this limitation.

- Recovery partition should be a minimum of 700 MB (if reserved, since it's optional). A better size is at least 800 MB to avoid WinRE patching errors.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
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