How to Resize EFI System Partition on Windows 11/10/8/7
EFI System Partition Too Small
"How do you make the EFI partition on your system bigger without losing data? My EFI is 99MB large, and I need it to be at least 200MB so that I can install Mac on this PC. I already have Windows 11/10 installed. The built-in Windows 11/10 Disk Management tool won't allow me to operate on the EFI partition because the extend volume option is grayed out."
The EFI system partition (ESP) is a partition on a data storage device, usually an HDD or SSD that is used by computers adhering to the Unified Extensive Firmware (UEFI). ESP contains the bootloaders or kernel images for all installed operating systems, so users are not allowed to operate on such a partition easily. However, sometimes resizing EFI partition is demanded. Now it's significant to have a partition manager program that can help realize the goal, meanwhile, with a simple solution.
Download Qiling Partition Master to Extend or Shrink EFI Partition
To meet the huge demand of being able to resize EFI partition freely in the Windows operating system, Qiling Partition Master is lately optimized and the new version now fully supports operation on EFI system partition. Click to learn in detail about the newest partition magic software that gives you the best experience to deal with your hard drive partitions, including the EFI partition, system partition, system reserved partition, and OEM partition.
How to resize EFI partition with Qiling Partition Master
Make sure that the EFI partition is on a GPT disk. If not, convert MBR disk to GTP disk before any further operation. After that, you can resize your partition by shrinking or extending it. The guide below will show you how to resize or move a partition, and you can apply the steps to resize your EFI partition on a GPT disk.
Step 1: On Qiling Partition Master, click the target GPT partition and choose "Resize/Move".
Step 2: Resize the GPT drive.
#1. To Extend Partition:
Drag the GPT partition handle into the unallocated space. Click "Proceed" to confirm.
#2. To Shrink Partition
Drag the handle of the GPT partition to shrink its size. Click "Proceed" to confirm.
How to Identify EFI Partition in Windows 11/10
By resizing the EFI system partition with Qiling Partition Master, you easily solve the problem of EFI system partition too small to hold important boot files or Windows installation. Though it's possible to manage the EFI partition size by either shrinking, moving, or extending, do you know how to identify the EFI partition in Windows 11/10?
If you have a basic understanding of BIOS and UEFI (EFI), you'll surely know how to check, find and determine whether you are using it or not.
Method 1. As a practical matter, EFI partitions are found on GPT formatted drives and are used to boot the operating system. Although the UEFI spec and the GPT partitioning scheme are independent of one another, Windows requires that you use them together. You cannot boot Windows from an MBR formatted disk on a UEFI system, and you cannot boot from a GPT disk on a legacy BIOS system. That's how you should know how your system is configured.
Method 2. Go and check in the system information window. Type MSInfo32in the Run box and open the window. Find the "BIOS Mode". If your PC uses BIOS, it will display Legacy. If it is using UEFI so it will display UEFI.
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