Commands to find the free space within the EFI and Recovery partitions

zbook · Mar 3, 2025

When troubleshooting Windows upgrade failures the failure log files may report blocks due to deficient free space.

There may deficient space errors in one or more of these partitions:

EFI
system-reserved-partition
Primary
Recovery

The deficient space for the error message we-couldn-t-update-system-reserved-partition is frequently 3 MB.

Get help with Windows upgrade and installation errors - Microsoft Support

See some of the most common upgrade and installation errors for Windows 10 and Windows 11, and what you can do to try to fix them.

support.microsoft.com

Diskpart is useful for the primary partition.

What commands can be used before an upgrade attempt to determine the free space (MB) for each of these partitions?

EFI
system-reserved-partition
Recovery

Berton · Mar 3, 2025

The Notebook I'm on now has 4 partitions and small unallocated space, DM gives space info only for 3 of the partitions. Some of the small partitions do not allow user access to them.

When needing to manipulate them I do it by booting a Linux Mint LiveUSB and using the included GPARTED program to make resize changes without losing data.

pseymour · Mar 3, 2025

You could use this to get partitions, then use the GPT types to get space information for each one.

Powershell:

Get-Partition | Format-Table -AutoSize -Property @('DiskNumber', 'Type', 'GptType', 'Guid')

Get-Partition | Where-Object { $_.GptType -eq '{c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b}' } | Get-Volume | Format-Table -AutoSize -Property @('Size', 'SizeRemaining')

zbook · Mar 3, 2025

There are scripts such as healthcheck and whynotwin 11 that can be used for screening.

However these do not check free space.

I'm looking for commands to check the partition free space before the upgrades.

zbook · Mar 3, 2025

Which numbers are for the free space for each

system-reserved-partition
Primary
Recovery

Code:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-Partition | Format-Table -AutoSize -Property @('DiskNumber', 'Type', 'GptType', 'Guid')

DiskNumber Type     GptType                                Guid
---------- ----     -------                                ----
         0 Recovery {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac} {d7da621b-1b7b-416c-bd23-49efbe24b66a}
         0 System   {c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b} {0080d238-4ff5-42f9-bf68-9b9c80f5c2a1}
         0 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae} {1e5456a1-7daf-43d9-9ac1-e014c63f4f82}
         0 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7} {16d3a9d3-9279-435b-9141-c65a6520f8d1}
         0 Recovery {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac} {f22829ed-1f6d-4638-8b3f-8602d8a2a5f8}


PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-Partition | Where-Object { $_.GptType -eq '{c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b}' } | Get-Volume | Format-Table -AutoSize -Property @('Size', 'SizeRemaining')

     Size SizeRemaining
     ---- -------------
100663296      17553408


PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

pseymour · Mar 3, 2025

This is a little better...

Powershell:

Get-Partition | Format-Table -AutoSize -Property @('DiskNumber', 'Type', 'GptType', @{Name = 'SizeRemaining'; Expr = { (Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\").SizeRemaining }}, @{Name = 'Size'; Expr = { (Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\").Size }})

Code:

DiskNumber Type     GptType                                SizeRemaining Size
---------- ----     -------                                ------------- ----
         0 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae}
         0 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7} 1866624196608 2000381014016
         1 System   {c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b} 233250816     268435456
         1 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae}
         1 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7} 900102602752  998762344448
         1 Recovery {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac} 313319424     1033891840

zbook · Mar 3, 2025

can the results be reported in specific units?

MB or GB?

pseymour · Mar 3, 2025

Powershell:

Get-Partition | Format-Table -AutoSize -Property @('DiskNumber', 'Type', 'GptType', @{Name = 'SizeRemainingGB'; Expr = { (Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\").SizeRemaining / 1GB }; FormatString = "{0:N2}"}, @{Name = 'SizeGB'; Expr = { (Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\").Size / 1GB }; FormatString = "{0:N2}"})

Code:

DiskNumber Type     GptType                                SizeRemainingGB SizeGB
---------- ----     -------                                --------------- ------
         0 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae}
         0 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7} 1,738.43        1,863.00
         1 System   {c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b} 0.22            0.25
         1 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae}
         1 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7} 838.28          930.17
         1 Recovery {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac} 0.29            0.96

garlin · Mar 3, 2025

Sorry, it's not a one-liner...

Code:

function DiskSize {
    param ([uint64]$Number)

    if ($Number -ge 1GB) { return ('{0:f2} GB' -f ($Number/1GB)) }
    if ($Number -ge 1MB) { return ('{0:f2} MB' -f ($Number/1MB)) }
    return ('{0:f1} KB' -f ($Number/1KB))
}

$SystemDisk = (Get-Disk | Where-Object {$_.IsSystem -eq $true}).Number
"Disk $SystemDisk (System Disk)"

Get-Partition -DiskNumber $SystemDisk |% {
    $Volume = Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\"

    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Partition = $_.PartitionNumber
        Type = $_.Type
        FileSystem = $(if ($_.Type -eq 'Reserved') { 'FAT32' } else { $Volume.FileSystemType })
        Health = $Volume.HealthStatus
        Status = $Volume.OperationalStatus
        Free = $(if ($_.Type -ne 'Reserved') { DiskSize $Volume.SizeRemaining } else { $null })
        Size = DiskSize $_.Size
    }
} | Format-Table -Property @{Label='Partition';Expression={$_.Partition};Alignment='Left'},Type,FileSystem,Health,Status,@{Label='Free';Expression={$_.Free};Alignment='Right'},@{Label='Size';Expression={$_.Size};Alignment='Right'}

Code:

Disk 0 (System Disk)

Partition Type     FileSystem Health  Status      Free      Size
--------- ----     ---------- ------  ------      ----      ----
1         System   FAT32      Healthy OK     222.54 MB 260.00 MB
2         Reserved FAT32                                16.00 MB
3         Recovery NTFS       Healthy OK     174.69 MB 700.00 MB
4         Basic    NTFS       Healthy OK      19.06 GB  53.04 GB

zbook · Mar 3, 2025

Code:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> function DiskSize {
>>     param ([uint64]$Number)
>>
>>     if ($Number -ge 1GB) { return ('{0:f2} GB' -f ($Number/1GB)) }
>>     if ($Number -ge 1MB) { return ('{0:f2} MB' -f ($Number/1MB)) }
>>     return ('{0:f1} KB' -f ($Number/1KB))
>> }
>>
>> $SystemDisk = (Get-Disk | Where-Object {$_.IsSystem -eq $true}).Number
>> "Disk $SystemDisk (System Disk)"
>>
>> Get-Partition -DiskNumber $SystemDisk |% {
>>     $Volume = Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\"
>>
>>     [PSCustomObject]@{
>>         Partition = $_.PartitionNumber
>>         Type = $_.Type
>>         FileSystem = $(if ($_.Type -eq 'Reserved') { 'FAT32' } else { $Volume.FileSystemType })
>>         Health = $Volume.HealthStatus
>>         Status = $Volume.OperationalStatus
>>         Free = $(if ($_.Type -ne 'Reserved') { DiskSize $Volume.SizeRemaining } else { $null })
>>         Size = DiskSize $_.Size
>>     }
>> } | Format-Table -Property @{Label='Partition';Expression={$_.Partition};Alignment='Left'},Type,FileSystem,Health,Status,@{Label='Free';Expression={$_.Free};Alignment='Right'},@{Label='Size';Expression={$_.Size};Alignment='Right'}
Disk 0 (System Disk)

Partition Type     FileSystem Health  Status      Free      Size
--------- ----     ---------- ------  ------      ----      ----
1         Recovery NTFS       Healthy OK     434.60 MB 450.00 MB
2         System   FAT32      Healthy OK      16.74 MB 100.00 MB
3         Reserved FAT32                                16.00 MB
4         Basic    NTFS       Healthy OK      34.64 GB 237.05 GB
5         Recovery NTFS       Healthy OK     244.52 MB 885.00 MB


PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

zbook · Mar 3, 2025

EFI 0.22 or 16.74 MB

Recovery 0.29 or 244.52 MB

garlin · Mar 3, 2025

So basically you want to check the currently active partitions (via BCD) if there's more than one created?

zbook · Mar 3, 2025

If an upgrade is attempted and fails the failure may be identified in the failure log files.

Code:

2025-02-18 08:35:28, Info                  CONX   CFreeSystemPartitionDiskSpaceChecker: checked InsufficientSystemPartitionDiskSpace, found HardBlock.Not enough space on partition [\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolume1\] Required: 15 MB. Available: 12 MB.

This was insufficient by 3 MB.

If the partition size free spaces was able to be checked before upgrades there may be reduced upgrade failures.

So I'm looking for methods to check the free space in the four default partitions.

zbook · Mar 4, 2025

pseymour said:

Powershell:

Get-Partition | Format-Table -AutoSize -Property @('DiskNumber', 'Type', 'GptType', @{Name = 'SizeRemainingGB'; Expr = { (Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\").SizeRemaining / 1GB }; FormatString = "{0:N2}"}, @{Name = 'SizeGB'; Expr = { (Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\").Size / 1GB }; FormatString = "{0:N2}"})

Code:

DiskNumber Type     GptType                                SizeRemainingGB SizeGB
---------- ----     -------                                --------------- ------
         0 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae}
         0 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7} 1,738.43        1,863.00
         1 System   {c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b} 0.22            0.25
         1 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae}
         1 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7} 838.28          930.17
         1 Recovery {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac} 0.29            0.96

If there are thread upgrade failure I'll see if command results and failure logs are available.

For garlin I'd like to try the same but I'm wondering if OP will copy and paste the script?

garlin · Mar 4, 2025

I updated the script to allow you to define a Minimum Free (space) threshold for System, Windows and Recovery volumes. Don't see the point of checking Reserved since almost nobody tampers with it (except by accident).

Code:

$MinFree_System = 1GB
$MinFree_Windows = 100GB
$MinFree_Recovery = 1GB

function DiskSize {
    param ([uint64]$Number)

    if ($Number -ge 1GB) { return ('{0:f2} GB' -f ($Number/1GB)) }
    if ($Number -ge 1MB) { return ('{0:f2} MB' -f ($Number/1MB)) }
    return ('{0:f1} KB' -f ($Number/1KB))
}

$SystemDisk = (Get-Disk | Where-Object {$_.IsSystem -eq $true}).Number
"Disk $SystemDisk (System Disk)"

$BootVolume = (Get-WmiObject Win32_Volume | Where-Object {$_.BootVolume}).DeviceID
$RecoveryVolume = reagentc /info | Select-String 'RE location'

Get-Partition -DiskNumber $SystemDisk |% {
    $Volume = Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($_.Guid)\"

    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Partition = $_.PartitionNumber
        Type = $_.Type
        FileSystem = $(if ($_.Type -eq 'Reserved') { 'FAT32' } else { $Volume.FileSystemType })
        Health = $Volume.HealthStatus
        Status = $Volume.OperationalStatus
        Free = $(if ($_.Type -ne 'Reserved') { DiskSize $Volume.SizeRemaining } else { $null })
        Size = DiskSize $_.Size
        Active = $(switch ($_.Type) {
                'Basic' { if ($BootVolume -match $_.Guid) { '*' } }
                'Recovery' { if ($RecoveryVolume -match $_.Guid) { '*' } }
            }
        )
        Comments = $(switch ($_.Type) {
                'System' { if ($Volume.SizeRemaining -lt $MinFree_System) { "Requires $(DiskSize $MinFree_System) free to update" } }
                'Basic' { if ($BootVolume -match $_.Guid -and $Volume.SizeRemaining -lt $MinFree_Windows) { "Requires $(DiskSize $MinFree_Windows) free to update" } }
                'Recovery' { if ($Volume.SizeRemaining -lt $MinFree_Recovery) { "Requires $(DiskSize $MinFree_Recovery) free to update" } }
            }
        )
    }
} | Format-Table -Property @{Label='Partition';Expression={$_.Partition};Alignment='Right'},@{Label='Active';Expression={$_.Active};Alignment='Right'},`Type,FileSystem,`
Health,Status,@{Label='Volume Free';Expression={$_.Free};Alignment='Right'},@{Label='Volume Size';Expression={$_.Size};Alignment='Right'},Comments -AutoSize

Right now the minimum space thresholds are set as too large, to better demonstrate the free space checks. Adjust the first 3 variables as needed.

Code:

Disk 0 (System Disk)

Partition Active Type     FileSystem Health  Status Volume Free Volume Size Comments                         
--------- ------ ----     ---------- ------  ------ ----------- ----------- --------                         
        1        System   FAT32      Healthy OK       222.54 MB   260.00 MB Requires 1.00 GB free to update  
        2        Reserved FAT32                                    16.00 MB                                  
        3      * Recovery NTFS       Healthy OK       174.69 MB   700.00 MB Requires 1.00 GB free to update  
        4      * Basic    NTFS       Healthy OK        18.97 GB    53.04 GB Requires 100.00 GB free to update

hdmi · Mar 5, 2025

Powershell:

[console]::WindowWidth=180;[console]::WindowHeight=40;[console]::BufferWidth=[console]::WindowWidth

$Kernel32=Add-Type -Name 'Kernel32' -Namespace '' -PassThru -MemberDefinition @"
  [DllImport("kernel32")]
  public static extern int QueryDosDevice(string name, System.Text.StringBuilder path, int pathMaxLength);
"@
$GetDevicePath={
  $DevicePath=New-Object System.Text.StringBuilder(255)
  $Kernel32::QueryDosDevice($_.UniqueId.TrimStart('\\?\').TrimEnd('\'),$DevicePath,$DevicePath.Capacity)|Out-Null
  $DevicePath}
$v=(Get-Volume|select UniqueId,FileSystemLabel,@{n='DevicePath';e=$GetDevicePath},SizeRemaining)
$arr1=
  @{n='DevicePath ==> Guid';e={}},
  @{n='AccessPaths';e={}},
  @{n='Offset';e={}},
  @{n='Size (B)';e={}},
  @{n='Size';e={}},
  @{n='D';e={}},
  @{n='P';e={}},
  @{n='Type';e={}},
  @{n='L';e={}},
  @{n='VolLabel';e={}}
$arr4=@()+$arr1
$arr1[0]=@{n='DevicePath ==> Guid';e={"  $($d) ==>"}}
$arr4[1]=@{n='AccessPaths';e={$b}}
$arr2=
  @{n='DevicePath ==> Guid';e={if($p.Guid -eq $null){'none'}else{$p.Guid}}},
  @{n='AccessPaths';e={}},
  @{n='Offset';e={$p.Offset}},
  @{n='Size (B)';e={$p.Size}},
  @{n='Size';e={
    $decimalPlaces=2
    $scaledSize=switch($p.Size){
      {$_ -ge 1pb}{$_/1pb;$suffix='PB';break}
      {$_ -ge 1tb}{$_/1tb;$suffix='TB';break}
      {$_ -ge 1gb}{$_/1gb;$suffix='GB';break}
      {$_ -ge 1mb}{$_/1mb;$suffix='MB';break}
      {$_ -ge 1kb}{$_/1kb;$suffix='KB';break}
      default{$_;$suffix='B';$decimalPlaces=0}}
    "{0:N${decimalPlaces}} $suffix" -f $scaledSize}},
  @{n='D';e={$p.DiskNumber}},
  @{n='P';e={$p.PartitionNumber}},
  @{n='Type';e={$p.Type}},
  @{n='L';e={$p.DriveLetter}},
  @{n='VolLabel';e={}}
$arr3=@()+$arr2
$arr2[1]=@{n='AccessPaths';e={$a[0]}}
$arr2[9]=@{n='VolLabel';e={$l}}
(Get-Partition|%{
  $a=$_.AccessPaths;$d='';$l='';$p=$_
  $a|%{$av=$_;$v|%{if($_.UniqueId -eq $av){$l=$_.FileSystemLabel;$d=$_.DevicePath;$f=$_.SizeRemaining}}}

  if($d -eq ''){
    $DevicePath=New-Object System.Text.StringBuilder(255)
    $a|%{if($_){$Kernel32::QueryDosDevice($_.TrimStart('\\?\').TrimEnd('\'),$DevicePath,$DevicePath.Capacity)|Out-Null;$d=$DevicePath}}
  }

  if($d -ne '') {$p|select $arr1}
  if($a.Count -gt 0){$p|select $arr2} else {$p|select $arr3}
  if($a.Count -gt 1){$i=2;$a|select -Skip 1|%{$b=$_;$p|select $arr4;$i++}}
  $decimalPlaces=2
  $scaledSize=switch($f){
    {$_ -ge 1pb}{$_/1pb;$suffix='PB';break}
    {$_ -ge 1tb}{$_/1tb;$suffix='TB';break}
    {$_ -ge 1gb}{$_/1gb;$suffix='GB';break}
    {$_ -ge 1mb}{$_/1mb;$suffix='MB';break}
    {$_ -ge 1kb}{$_/1kb;$suffix='KB';break}
    {$_ -eq $null}{$null;$suffix='N/A ';break}
    default{$_;$suffix='B';$decimalPlaces=0}}
  "  Free space: {0} ({1:N${decimalPlaces}} $suffix)`r`n" -f $f,$scaledSize
}|ft -Wrap -Auto|Out-String -Width 4095).TrimEnd()|Tee-Object "$((Get-Location).Path)\list partitions.txt"

zbook · Mar 5, 2025

Results today:

hdmi

Code:

DevicePath ==> Guid                    AccessPaths                                       Offset       Size (B)     Size      D P Type     L VolLabel
-------------------                    -----------                                       ------       --------     ----      - - ----     - --------
  \Device\HarddiskVolume1 ==>
{d7da621b-1b7b-416c-bd23-49efbe24b66a} P:\                                               1048576      471859200    450.00 MB 0 1 Recovery P Recovery
                                       \\?\Volume{d7da621b-1b7b-416c-bd23-49efbe24b66a}\
  Free space: 455708672 (434.60 MB)

  \Device\HarddiskVolume2 ==>
{0080d238-4ff5-42f9-bf68-9b9c80f5c2a1} \\?\Volume{0080d238-4ff5-42f9-bf68-9b9c80f5c2a1}\ 472907776    104857600    100.00 MB 0 2 System
  Free space: 455708672 (434.60 MB)

{1e5456a1-7daf-43d9-9ac1-e014c63f4f82}                                                   577765376    16777216     16.00 MB  0 3 Reserved
  Free space: 455708672 (434.60 MB)

  \Device\HarddiskVolume4 ==>
{16d3a9d3-9279-435b-9141-c65a6520f8d1} C:\                                               594542592    254535772672 237.05 GB 0 4 Basic    C
                                       \\?\Volume{16d3a9d3-9279-435b-9141-c65a6520f8d1}\
  Free space: 38682079232 (36.03 GB)

  \Device\HarddiskVolume5 ==>
{f22829ed-1f6d-4638-8b3f-8602d8a2a5f8} Q:\                                               255131123712 927989760    885.00 MB 0 5 Recovery Q
                                       \\?\Volume{f22829ed-1f6d-4638-8b3f-8602d8a2a5f8}\
  Free space: 256401408 (244.52 MB)

pseymour

Code:

DiskNumber Type     GptType                                SizeRemainingGB SizeGB
---------- ----     -------                                --------------- ------
         0 Recovery {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac}            0.42   0.44
         0 System   {c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b}            0.00   0.00
         0 Reserved {e3c9e316-0b5c-4db8-817d-f92df00215ae}            0.00   0.00
         0 Basic    {ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7}           36.02 237.05
         0 Recovery {de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac}            0.24   0.86

garlin

Code:

Disk 0 (System Disk)
REAGENTC.EXE: Operation failed: 5

REAGENTC.EXE: An error has occurred.


Partition Active Type     FileSystem Health  Status Volume Free Volume Size Comments
--------- ------ ----     ---------- ------  ------ ----------- ----------- --------
        1        Recovery NTFS       Healthy OK       434.60 MB   450.00 MB Requires 1.00 GB free to update
        2        System                                  0.0 KB   100.00 MB Requires 1.00 GB free to update
        3        Reserved FAT32                                    16.00 MB
        4      * Basic    NTFS       Healthy OK        36.02 GB   237.05 GB Requires 100.00 GB free to update
        5        Recovery NTFS       Healthy OK       244.52 MB   885.00 MB Requires 1.00 GB free to update

Winuser · Mar 5, 2025

zbook said:
When troubleshooting Windows upgrade failures the failure log files may report blocks due to deficient free space.

There may deficient space errors in one or more of these partitions:

EFI
system-reserved-partition
Primary
Recovery

The deficient space for the error message we-couldn-t-update-system-reserved-partition is frequently 3 MB.

Get help with Windows upgrade and installation errors - Microsoft Support

See some of the most common upgrade and installation errors for Windows 10 and Windows 11, and what you can do to try to fix them.

support.microsoft.com

Diskpart is useful for the primary partition.

What commands can be used before an upgrade attempt to determine the free space (MB) for each of these partitions?

EFI
system-reserved-partition
Recovery

I cheat and use MiniTool Partition Wizard. I'm at the stage in my life that I prefer to do it the easy way.

zbook · Mar 5, 2025

After a failed upgrade the typical computer user has no idea what caused the failure and needs troubleshooting help.

Collecting applicable hidden log files can be done.

Interpreting them can be and often is challenging.

The free space checking before an upgrade attempt is very common on C:.

Free space in the EFI and Recovery partitions are rarely checked.

These are typically checked after upgrade failures.

If these can be easily checked before upgrading then there could be fewer upgrade failures.

Desired free space before an upgrade attempt:
Primary partition: at least 20 GB; prefer > 25 - 30 GB
EFI partition: at least 15 MB; prefer > 20 - 25 MB
Recovery partition: 100MB; prefer > 200 MB

Using MiniTool Partition Wizard assumes that you've interpreted the error code and / or message or upgrade failure logs and you know how to relocate and widen partitions when there is no nearby unallocated space.

The above is to be preemptive. This way a computer user can open a thread before an upgrade and ask for help perhaps with MiniTool Partition Wizard.
They wouldn't have to find help to find and interpret failed upgrade log files.

garlin · Mar 5, 2025

Error 5 will happen when you're not running as Admin.

Code:

C:\Users\GARLIN>reagentc /info
This command can only be executed from an elevated command prompt.

REAGENTC.EXE: Operation failed: 5

REAGENTC.EXE: An error has occurred.

Code:

if (-not ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] 'Administrator')) {
    Start-Process powershell -ArgumentList "-nop -ep bypass -NoLogo -NoExit -f $($MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path)" -Verb RunAs
    exit 0
}

$MinFree_System = 20MB
$MinFree_Windows = 25GB
$MinFree_Recovery = 200MB

function DiskSize {
    param ([uint64]$Number)

    if ($Number -ge 1TB) { return ('{0:f2} TB' -f ($Number / 1TB)) }
    if ($Number -ge 1GB) { return ('{0:f2} GB' -f ($Number / 1GB)) }
    if ($Number -ge 1MB) { return ('{0:f1} MB' -f ($Number / 1MB)) }
    return ('{0:f1} KB' -f ($Number / 1KB))
}

$SystemDisk = (Get-Disk | Where-Object {$_.IsSystem -eq $true}).Number
$WinRE_Location = reagentc /info | Select-String 'RE location'

if ($WinRE_Location -match '(.+)(harddisk)(\d+)(\\)(partition)(\d+)(.+)') {
    $WinRE_Disk = $Matches[3]
    $WinRE_Partition = $Matches[6]
}

foreach ($Disk in (Get-Disk).Number) {
    "Disk ${Disk}:"
    $BootVolume = (Get-WmiObject Win32_Volume | Where-Object {$_.BootVolume}).DeviceID

    Get-Partition -DiskNumber $Disk | foreach {
        $Partition = $_.PartitionNumber
        $DriveLetter = $_.DriveLetter
        $GUID = $_.Guid

        $Volume = Get-Volume -UniqueId "\\?\Volume$($GUID)\"

        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Partition = $Partition
            Type = $_.Type
            Drive = $(if ($DriveLetter -match '[A-Z]') { $DriveLetter + ':' } else { $null })
            FileSystem = $(if ($_.Type -eq 'Reserved') { 'FAT32' } else { $Volume.FileSystemType })
            Health = $Volume.HealthStatus
            Status = $Volume.OperationalStatus
            Free = $(if ($_.Type -ne 'Reserved') { DiskSize $Volume.SizeRemaining } else { $null })
            Size = DiskSize $_.Size
            Active = $(
                switch ($_.Type) {
                    'System' { if ($Disk -eq $SystemDisk) {'*'} }
                    'Basic' { if ($BootVolume -match $GUID) {'*'} }
                    'Recovery' { if (($WinRE_Disk -eq $SystemDisk) -and ($Partition -eq $WinRE_Partition)) {'*'} }
                }
            )
            Comments = $(
                switch ($_.Type) {
                    'System' { if ($Volume.SizeRemaining -lt $MinFree_System) {
                            "Requires $(DiskSize $MinFree_System) free to update"
                        }
                    }
                    'Basic' { if (($BootVolume -match $GUID) -and ($Volume.SizeRemaining -lt $MinFree_Windows)) {
                            "Requires $(DiskSize $MinFree_Windows) free to update"
                        }
                    }
                    'Recovery' { if (($WinRE_Disk -eq $SystemDisk) -and ($Partition -eq $WinRE_Partition) -and ($Volume.SizeRemaining -lt $MinFree_Recovery)) {
                            "Requires $(DiskSize $MinFree_Recovery) free to update"
                        }
                    }
                }
            )
        }
    } | Format-Table -Property @{Label='Partition';Expression={$_.Partition};Alignment='Right'},@{Label='Drive';Expression={$_.Drive};Alignment='Right'},`
            Type,FileSystem,@{Label='Active';Expression={$_.Active}},Health,Status,@{Label='Volume Free';Expression={$_.Free};Alignment='Right'},`
            @{Label='Volume Size';Expression={$_.Size};Alignment='Right'},Comments -AutoSize
}

Code:

Disk 0:

Partition Drive Type     FileSystem Active Health  Status Volume Free Volume Size Comments                        
--------- ----- ----     ---------- ------ ------  ------ ----------- ----------- --------                        
        1       System   FAT32      *      Healthy OK        222.5 MB    260.0 MB                                 
        2       Reserved FAT32                                            16.0 MB                                 
        3       Recovery NTFS       *      Healthy OK        174.7 MB    700.0 MB Requires 200.0 MB free to update
        4    C: Basic    NTFS       *      Healthy OK        19.80 GB    52.30 GB Requires 25.00 GB free to update
        5    E: Basic    NTFS              Healthy OK        345.6 MB    359.0 MB                                 
        6       Recovery NTFS              Healthy OK        386.2 MB    400.0 MB                                 


Disk 1:

Partition Drive Type     FileSystem Active Health  Status Volume Free Volume Size Comments
--------- ----- ----     ---------- ------ ------  ------ ----------- ----------- --------
        1       Reserved FAT32                                            16.0 MB         
        2    F: Basic    NTFS              Healthy OK         1.56 GB     1.98 GB

Commands to find the free space within the EFI and Recovery partitions

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