Resizing the EFI partition using Macrium - would this work?


Use caution with the /bootex flag.

/bootex should only be used if:
- Secure Boot is confirmed as disabled, OR you have completed the UEFI CA 2023 cert procedure.
Thanks for the warning. Do you mean that the O.P.'s PC would be rendered unbootable if the O.P. used the switch /bootex ?

I'm glad the O.P. didn't do it. Disabling Secure Boot temporarily to repair EFI system partition may help but sure it could be a troublesome procedure for some users.

I am sorry @BrianInEngland
 

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My point was, if you didn't ask about Secure Boot, then using /bootex could end up installing a blocked boot file.

If you run "bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /v" with the verbose option, you can see bcdboot deciding whether to use the EX (CA 2023) files, based on what it finds in the existing EFI partition, or UEFI DB variable. Forcing the /bootex option, doesn't allow bcdboot to decide.
 

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@garlin Thanks for your further clarification. It is well appreciated.
 

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Secure boot is disabled
 

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Then you can use any version of the boot files, placed by bcdboot from a source folder.
 

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OK I did it.
Extra step before starting - run reagentc /disable (otherwise the Recovery partition is inaccessible after re-imaging)

200MB EFI, 16MB MSR, 360GB System drive (I extended it from 320 while I was doing the other stuff), recovery partition, 3.29TB games/storage

Macrium did the job, total time about 10 minutes (including backing up/restoring the games drive which was over 1TB each way)

Run reagentc /enable after

New backup created with the new partition layout

All good 👍
 

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Like they always say, don't try to fix something unless it is broken.
 

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100 MB EFI is not enough room for a modern W11 system. This is like the "Recovery partition is too small" disaster everyone went through. Resizing it makes sense if you're intend to upgrade in-place to 26H2 or later.

The reason for storing new files in EFI is to make them accessible to the UEFI (which reads from a FAT32 filesystem). This eliminates the need for requiring the user to copy the same update files to an external USB drive with a FAT32 volume. Back in the day, UEFI security fixes were less common and you could get by with a 100 MB partition.
 

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100 MB EFI is not enough room for a modern W11 system. This is like the "Recovery partition is too small" disaster everyone went through. Resizing it makes sense if you're intend to upgrade in-place to 26H2 or later.

The reason for storing new files in EFI is to make them accessible to the UEFI (which reads from a FAT32 filesystem). This eliminates the need for requiring the user to copy the same update files to an external USB drive with a FAT32 volume. Back in the day, UEFI security fixes were less common and you could get by with a 100 MB partition.
Which is why MS changed it from 100 to 200 on later install media
 

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MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
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Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
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Logitech G915 X (wired)
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900Mb/sec
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I am running this same OS from my previous 4 year old build transferred to my new build last month with 25H2. It is probably only 30% full.

1765405167072.webp
 

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