- EFI partitions are usually one of those hidden places in Windows operating systems that most of us have heard of, but never really get to see on our computer.
- Warning from the beginning that it is better not to put your hand, and leave the EFI partitions as you find them inside your computer, we review the different strategies and platforms that exist to identify them
If you've ever heard of EFI in your operating system, or an ESP partition, you have to know that we mean basically the same thing. It is a key element in Microsoft environments, which you should know in detail to avoid problems. Thus, in this article we review what an EFI partition is and how you can identify it in the latest versions of Windows, both Windows 10 and Windows 11 ..
What is the EFI partition itself?
In principle, EFI stands for Extensible Firmware Interface, and refers to a key partition in any system of storage devices , such as hard drives or SSDs, as it is used by a corresponding computer system with UEFI, or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface.
Thus, when you start your computer, the UEFI firmware loads the file stored in EFI to start the operating system. It also has many of the main system utilities, such as driver files, etc..
Beyond that, we are talking about a minimal partition. One of just 100 MB of weight, which is formatted with FAT32 technology, and in which, as we said, the necessary apps for Windows environments are stored.
We have even taught you how to install Windows 10 from a USB with UEFI support..
Due to its relevance, the EFI partition is completely hidden. This, in order to avoid that any user can come across it and, in the absence of knowledge, end up deleting or altering it, causing damage to your PC .
How to identify the EFI partition on your computer?
With the Windows Disk Management tool
The Disk Management tool is a Windows management tool used to rename, size, partition, and format disks. Or, eventually, to identify these partitions.
- Press Windows + R to open the Run window
- Type Diskmgmt.msc and hit the Enter key
- Disk Management will open as such, and there you can identify the EFI partitions
With Diskpart
DiskPart is a command line disk partition utility that, like the previous one, is designed to create, delete and modify partitions on your hard drives or USB, so that they are discoverable by the computer.
- In the Windows search box, type Diskpart
- Click on Diskpart to run this tool
- Type "list volume" and then press Enter
- You will automatically see all available partitions
- Find the partition labeled EFI and formatted FAT32
With third party services
The last solution in these cases is to use a third-party software or service to help us a little.
Although there are several good ones, such as Paragon Partition Manager or Partition Manager EFI System, we believe that the best option right now is GParted , a free-to-use software for partition manipulation, which will allow you to manage the partitions of your disk in an intuitive way, even if you have no knowledge about it .
Should I delete the EFI partition?
As mentioned above, you should never delete the EFI partition , unless you have an extremely strong reason or reason for wanting to do so and, just as importantly, you know what you are doing.
We have already made it clear that this is where your operating system stores all boot files, so if you delete this partition, you run the risk of rendering the operating system unusable .
Therefore, it is essential that before intervening, you make sure you have another way to install it at hand.
Have you been able to identify the EFI partitions of your PC with these tips and tricks?