System Default UEFI/GPT Hard Drive Partition Layout Description for Windows 10 and 11

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brink
  • Start date Published: Start date Updated Updated:

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This tutorial will explain each partition of the default partition layout created when you clean install Windows 10 or Windows 11 on a blank hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drives (SSD).

When you clean install Windows 10/11 to a blank unallocated disk with UEFI, the disk is formatted using a GUID partition table (GPT) file system.

The default partition layout for UEFI-based PCs is: an EFI System Partition, an MSR, a Windows partition, and a Recovery Partition.

dep-win-partitions-uefi.png


This layout lets you use Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption or Device Encryption through both Windows and through the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

Reference:
learn.microsoft.com

UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions

UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions
learn.microsoft.com

EXAMPLE: Default partition layout for UEFI-based PCs shown in Windows Setup and Disk Management

Clean_install_Windows_11_partitions.png
Disk_0_partitions_Disk_Management.png




 EFI System Partition

The EFI System Partition (ESP) is usually stored on the primary hard drive (ex: "Disk 0:") without a drive letter.

The device boots to this partition.

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

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



 Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR)

learn.microsoft.com

Windows and GPT FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Windows and GPT.
learn.microsoft.com

The MSR is a reserved partition to help with partition management.

The MSR does not receive a partition ID, so it does not appear in Disk Management and cannot store user data.

The size of the MSR is 16 MB.



 Windows Partition

This is the primary partition that Windows is installed on.

The partition must have at least 20 gigabytes (GB) of drive space for 64-bit versions, or 16 GB for 32-bit versions.

The Windows partition is formatted using the NTFS file format.

The Windows partition must have 16 GB of free space after the user has completed the Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) from Windows Setup (clean install) and Automatic Maintenance has completed.



 Recovery Partition

learn.microsoft.com

Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)

Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)
learn.microsoft.com

The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a recovery environment with tools that can repair common causes of unbootable operating systems.

If you do not have a "Recover Partition", then you can do a repair install of Windows to restore it.


WinRE includes these tools:
Advanced startup enables you to perform these actions:
  • Start recovery (aka: Windows RE or WinRE), troubleshooting, and diagnostic tools.
  • Boot from a disk (ex: USB or DVD) or device (UEFI only)
  • Access the PC's UEFI firmware
  • Restore Windows from a system image
  • Choose default operating system to boot to on PC if multiple operating systems are installed

That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
Very useful tutorial. ^^

This will come in handy, many, many, many times.
It seems that a lot of folks still expect partitions like there were on Windows 7.


P.S. I love the "Related Tutorials" and the bottom of all the tutorials. They come in really handy as well. :-)
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.3624 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦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 5002)
    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 15 years?
is possible install windows 11 24h2 on refs partition

u4tmDC3.gif



After installed, look at the surprise

eeCNPKl.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Iot Enterprise LTSC 24h2 26100.3476
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    xeon E5-2697v2
    Motherboard
    rampage iv extreme
    Memory
    32gb 8x4gb ddr3 1333 mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 570 poit of view
    Sound Card
    realtek HD (ALC898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    samsung b2030
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    2tb hd 5400 rpm
    3tb hd 5400 rpm
    1tb nvme pcie 3.0
    PSU
    hx850w
    Keyboard
    mtek
    Internet Speed
    500/250 gpon
    Browser
    firefox 136.0.1
    Antivirus
    none
- Setup requires a minimum of 54 GB for the Windows partition. It's false that a "BypassStorageCheck" exists to override this limitation.

- Recovery partition should be a minimum of 700 MB (if reserved, since it's optional). A better size is at least 800 MB to avoid WinRE patching errors.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Hi, since I clean installed 24H2 I see that the 100mb system partition and the 16gb MSR partition aren't at the beginning of the disk like they used to be.
I must say, I have a partition for data on this disk, but still, I've always clean installed windows by deleting all other partitions apart for the data one (= system, msr, os, WinRE), and then creating a new partition in that resulting unallocated space, and the installation tool automatically created 3 partitions with the layout shown in this guide: system, msr, and another one where I then installed windows.
But now nope, system and msr are placed after the data partition at the end of the disk.

Now, I am not 100% sure, but it COULD be that this happened not since I have 24H2 but since I left some unallocated space at the end of the disc for overprovisioning.

Anyway, is this bad and if yes how do I solve it without having to renounce to OP?
They can't be moved with partition tools, at least not with Macrorit.


Other question, in another SSD apparently I deleted the MSR partition by mistake. I know how to create it again but I'm unsure about the size.
Some people say 16MB since Windows 10, but some people say 16MB under 16GB total disk size, 128MB if the disk is bigger than 16GB (which is like saying "128MB period").
Can you tell me more?
My disks are 1 and 2 TB.

Thnx
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LG Gram 17Z90Q
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1260P, 2100 Mhz
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T500 1TB + 2TB
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    Cable, 1000Mbit/s
The MSR partition used to be 128 MB back in days of Windows 8. It is only 16MB since Windows 10 - size of drive is irrelevant.

Re. clean installing - wipe all non data partitions.

To rearrange order, easiest way is to image backup PC partitions, then restore them in correct order.

However, this is not essential.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
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