UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions

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Create custom partition layouts for your hard deejay drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and other drives when deploying Windows to Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)–based devices.

Annotation

If y'all use a custom partitioning layout on Windows 10 or Windows 11 for desktop editions (Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Didactics), update the push-button recovery script so the recovery tools can recreate the custom sectionalisation layout when needed.

Partition Requirements

When you deploy Windows to a UEFI-based device, you must format the hard drive that includes the Windows partition by using a GUID division table (GPT) file organization. Boosted drives may utilise either the GPT or the master kick record (MBR) file format.

A GPT drive may take up to 128 partitions.

Each segmentation can have a maximum of 18 exabytes (~eighteen.8 million terabytes) of space.

System sectionalization

The device must comprise a arrangement partition. On GPT drives, this is known as the EFI Organisation Segmentation, or the ESP. This partition is commonly stored on the primary difficult drive. The device boots to this partition.

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

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

Notation

For Advanced Format 4K Native drives (iv-KB-per-sector) drives, the minimum size is 260 MB, due to a limitation of the FAT32 file format. The minimum partition size of FAT32 drives is calculated as sector size (4KB) x 65527 = 256 MB.

Advanced Format 512e drives are not affected by this limitation, considering their emulated sector size is 512 bytes. 512 bytes x 65527 = 32 MB, which is less than the 100 MB minimum size for this partition.

Microsoft reserved segmentation (MSR)

In Windows 10, the size of the MSR is 16 MB.

Add an MSR to each GPT bulldoze to assist with partition management. The MSR is a reserved sectionalization that does not receive a sectionalization ID. It cannot store user information.

Other utility partitions

Any other utility partitions not managed past Windows must be located earlier the Windows, data, and recovery image partitions. This allows end users to perform actions such every bit resizing the Windows partition without affecting system utilities.

Protect stop users from accidentally modifying utility partitions past identifying them using a GPT aspect. This prevents these partitions from actualization in File Explorer.

To set partitions every bit utility partitions

  • When you're deploying Windows by using DiskPart, utilise the attributes volume ready GPT_ATTRIBUTE_PLATFORM_REQUIRED command after y'all create the partitioning to place the partition as a utility partition. For more information, see the MSDN topic: PARTITION_INFORMATION_GPT construction.

To verify that arrangement and utility partitions exist

  1. Click Start, correct-click This PC, and and then click Manage. The Computer Direction window opens.
  2. Click Disk Management. The list of available drives and partitions appears.
  3. In the list of drives and partitions, confirm that the system and utility partitions are present and are non assigned a drive letter of the alphabet.

Windows partitioning

  • The division must have at least 20 gigabytes (GB) of drive space for 64-bit versions, or 16 GB for 32-bit versions.
  • The Windows partition must exist formatted using the NTFS file format.
  • The Windows partition must have 16 GB of free infinite after the user has completed the Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) and Automatic Maintenance has completed.

Recovery tools partition

This partition must exist at least 300 MB.

The Windows Recovery Surroundings (Windows RE) tools require additional complimentary infinite:

  • A minimum of 52 MB is required but 250 MB is recommended, to accomodate future updates, especially with custom partition layouts.

When calculating free space, note:

  • The recovery paradigm, winre.wim, is typically between 250-300MB, depending on what drivers, languages, and customizations you lot add.
  • The file system itself tin accept upwards additional space. For example, NTFS may reserve five-15MB or more on a 750MB partitioning.

This sectionalisation must utilise the Type ID: DE94BBA4-06D1-4D40-A16A-BFD50179D6AC.

The recovery tools should exist in a separate partition than the Windows partition to support automatic failover and to support booting partitions encrypted with Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Nosotros recommend that you place this sectionalisation immediately afterward the Windows partition. This allows Windows to modify and recreate the division later if future updates require a larger recovery prototype.

Data partitions

The recommended division layout for Windows 10 does not include data partitions. All the same, if information partitions are required, they should exist placed afterward the Windows RE segmentation. This allows hereafter updates to Windows RE to abound the Windows RE partition by shrinking the Windows partitioning.

This layout makes it more difficult for stop users to remove the data partition and merge the space with the Windows partition. To do and then, the Windows RE partition must exist moved to the end of the unused infinite reclaimed from the information partition, so that the Windows partition can exist extended.

Windows 10 does not include functionality or utility to facilitate this process. All the same, manufacturers tin develop and provide such a utility if PCs are shipped with information partitions.

Partition layout

The default sectionalisation layout for UEFI-based PCs is: a system partition, an MSR, a Windows division, and a recovery tools partition.

diagram of default partition layout: system, msr, windows, and recovery

This layout lets y'all employ Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption through both Windows and through the Windows Recovery Environment.

Sample files: configure drive partitions by using Windows PE and DiskPart scripts

For image-based deployment, boot the PC to Windows PE, so use the DiskPart tool to create the partition structures on your destination PCs.

Note

In these DiskPart examples, the partitions are assigned the letters: Organization=S, Windows=W, and Recovery=R. The MSR partition does not receive a drive alphabetic character.

Change the Windows drive letter of the alphabet to a letter that's near the end of the alphabet, such every bit W, to avoid drive letter of the alphabet conflicts. Do not use X, because this bulldoze letter is reserved for Windows PE. Afterward the device reboots, the Windows partition is assigned the letter of the alphabet C, and the other partitions don't receive bulldoze letters.

If yous reboot, Windows PE reassigns disk letters alphabetically, starting with the alphabetic character C, without regard to the configuration in Windows Setup. This configuration can change based on the presence of different drives, such as USB wink drives.

The following steps depict how to partition your hard drives and prepare to utilise images. You tin can use the lawmaking in the sections that follow to complete these steps.

To partition difficult drives and set to apply images

  1. Copy and salve the CreatePartitions-UEFI.txt file to a USB wink bulldoze.

  2. Employ Windows PE to boot the destination PC.

  3. Make clean and partition the bulldoze. In this case, F is the letter of the USB flash drive.

              DiskPart /s F:\CreatePartitions-UEFI.txt
  1. If you lot use a custom partition layout on Windows x for desktop editions, update the push button-push button recovery script so the recovery tools can recreate the custom partition layout when needed.

Important

To avoid bare metal recovery boot problems due to sectionalization size, manufacturers should allow the blank metal recovery feature'south automobile generation script to create the partition used for the recovery WIM. If manufacturer'due south want to use a custom DISKPART script to create partitions, the recommended minimum segmentation size is 990MB with a minimum of 250MB of gratuitous infinite.

Next steps

Use a deployment script to employ the Windows images on the newly created partitions. For more information, see Capture and Apply Windows, Organisation, and Recovery Partitions.

Sample scripts

Configure BIOS/MBR-Based Hard Drive Partitions

BitLocker Drive Encryption

WinPE: Install on a Hard Drive (Flat Boot or Not-RAM)

The Windows and GPT FAQ