EFI and Recovery Partition Size Recommendations


mccnavy

mccnavy

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A while ago I extended my Recovery Partition from the default Window size. I had heard of some previous Windows Updates failing because it was used for something...and the default one was basically showing as full. It gave it a few hundred more MBs to an even 1.00GB. I also read that some people extended their EFI partitions from the default 100MB (allegedly a minimum). Thoughts on using a Partition Manager to extend it (500MB or something else larger)? Likewise, any additional space recommended beyond the 1GB Recovery Partition?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z-270A
    Memory
    32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C27F390
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Western Digital SN770 (System) and 2TB Western Digital SN770 (Storage)
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/XPS 15 9510
    CPU
    i9-11900H
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel and Nvidia 3050Ti
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    None
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (non-Touch)
    Hard Drives
    2TB SK Hynix P41 Platinum
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
mccnavy said:
A while ago I extended my Recovery Partition from the default Window size. I had heard of some previous Windows Updates failing because it was used for something...and the default one was basically showing as full. It gave it a few hundred more MBs to an even 1.00GB. I also read that some people extended their EFI partitions from the default 100MB (allegedly a minimum). Thoughts on using a Partition Manager to extend it (500MB or something else larger)? Likewise, any additional space recommended beyond the 1GB Recovery Partition?
Click to expand...


1GB should be OK for Recovery.

As for the EFI partition, mine has been 100MB on both Win 10 and Win 11... no issues.



In Disk Management, Windows tells us the the EFI partition is full.
But when I just looked at it in EaseUS partition Master...

Image1.webp


Minitool Partition Wizard, shows the same thing...


Image1.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.2894 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2 ♦♦♦non-Insider
    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?
Yep...I use Minitool...mine says I have 64MB free (out of 100MB). I wasn't sure if Windows uses the EFI partition for anything else...I thought it was just some initial boot files?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z-270A
    Memory
    32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C27F390
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Western Digital SN770 (System) and 2TB Western Digital SN770 (Storage)
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/XPS 15 9510
    CPU
    i9-11900H
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel and Nvidia 3050Ti
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    None
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (non-Touch)
    Hard Drives
    2TB SK Hynix P41 Platinum
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
mccnavy said:
Yep...I use Minitool...mine says I have 64MB free (out of 100MB). I wasn't sure if Windows uses the EFI partition for anything else...I thought it was just some initial boot files?
Click to expand...


That's pretty much all it uses it for.

The extra room is for things like dual or even triple boot.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.2894 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2 ♦♦♦non-Insider
    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?
1GB is indeed plenty for the Recovery partition, that's the value I extended the partition to in my laptop in order to install that Windows update that would fail to do so due to lack of space. This partition on another PC is only 494MB big, but I didn't have that issue, go figure.

About the EFI partition, it's 100MB/63 MB total/free, and I don't see any need to extend it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 5600
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B450 Aorus M
    Memory
    XPG Z1 2x8GB DDR4 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Ventus OC RTX 2060 12GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC892
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer RG241Y
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    XPG Gammix S41 512GB
    Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM008 2TB
    PSU
    XPG Pylon 650W 80 Plus Bronze
    Case
    Gamemax Fortress TG
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gammaxx 400 V2 Red // 5x Cooler Master Sicklefan red
    Keyboard
    Dell KB522
    Mouse
    Redragon Cobra
    Internet Speed
    300/150 Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
If it ain't broke don't fix it.
I've never had a problem with either partition.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600x
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair Viii Hero Wi Fi
    Memory
    32 Gb DDR4 3600MHz GSkill
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia Geforce 950
    Sound Card
    USB Out NAD M51 DAC with Adams A8 powered speakers
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 3219Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SSD SN770 1TB
    Samsung EVO SSD 970 1TB
    PSU
    Fractal Design 1000W
    Case
    CoolerMaster ATCS 840
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12S Chromax
    Keyboard
    Razer Huntsman V2
    Mouse
    Razer Viper Ultimate
    Internet Speed
    Starlink 94Mbps down 20Mbps up
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    ESET
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