[SOLVED] Accidental big EFI File System Partition

Status
Not open for further replies.

icyulkn

Reputable
BANNED
Mar 4, 2019
115
4
4,595
Can anyone please tell me how to delete the 258 GB ESI System Partition only without ruining my system so I can format it and get my 258 GB back (please see link to image). If you can't see it, there is also a second 100 MB ESI System Partition to the left of it. I don't know how it happened, but I have 3 Windows Boot devices to choose from in my BIOS. My C: drive has Windows on it (please see image). Any help is appreciated.

Image of my Disk Management in settings: Disk Management Image
 
Solution
Now I have no idea how to do a backup with this mess using Acronis. I think System means don't delete but I might be wrong. Any ideas with this info man?
What would I do?

Using Macrium (my tool of choice), make a full drive image. And know how to recover.
Then, delete that 258GB partition.
Does the system boot up? (probably)
If so, good.
If not, reconstitute from the backup image.

Then, delete the small partition.
Does it boot up? Probably not.

Always have a fallback option.


What would I really do, given all the other issues?
Full wipe and reinstall.

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Biting the bullet and doing it correctly once, is better than suffering through months of it being wrong. As you've apparently been doing.

 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
So you're telling me it can't be done?
I'm saying that there are multiple issues, which could all be solved at once.

Can you shrink that partition? Probably.
Do you have a 100% known good backup, in case that procedure goes wrong?
Minitool Partition Wizard, or even commandline diskpart function can do this.

Then, your multiple options in the BIOS.


What else is wrong in there?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
My system runs great. I have a 9900k that I delidded and everything.

I have two System Partiton EFI's. Does this imply one of them isn't needed?
Possibly.
But that could only be determined by deleting one, and then watching it boot or fail.

I would suspect that the leftmost partition on Disk 0 is the one needed. The 258GB one can go.
However...delete the wrong one, and no boot for you.
 

icyulkn

Reputable
BANNED
Mar 4, 2019
115
4
4,595
Partition 3
Type : c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b
Hidden : Yes
Required: No
Attrib : 0000000000000000
Offset in Bytes: 122683392

The thing is it says the other EFI isn't "required" also. Can that be true?
 

icyulkn

Reputable
BANNED
Mar 4, 2019
115
4
4,595
  • open a command prompt with admin privileges (approve UAC if demanded)
  • start diskpart -> diskpart
  • select your disk with efi partions -> sel disk 1 (if disk 1 is the correct disk)
  • list your available partitions -> list part
  • if partition 2 that is the efi partition -> sel part 2
  • detail part
    Partition 2
    Type : c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b
    Hidden : Yes
    Required: No
    Attrib : 0X8000000000000000
    Offset in Bytes: 524288000

Now when the Required: property is set to No, you know that is the EFI partition you can delete. The other EFI partition will have the Required: property set to Yes. Do not delete that partition.


more info about the Required property, scroll to: gpt attributes on this page.
 

icyulkn

Reputable
BANNED
Mar 4, 2019
115
4
4,595
C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /enum active

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume7
path \EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {3aa23d7a-bdcd-11ea-ab6a-a113392b22db}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.efi
description Windows 10
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {3aa23d7c-bdcd-11ea-ab6a-a113392b22db}
displaymessageoverride Recovery
recoveryenabled Yes
isolatedcontext Yes
allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {3aa23d7a-bdcd-11ea-ab6a-a113392b22db}
nx OptIn
bootmenupolicy Standard
 

icyulkn

Reputable
BANNED
Mar 4, 2019
115
4
4,595
I think I found it :( It says System next to the 258 GB one


Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 C NTFS Partition 695 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 1 FAT32 Partition 505 MB Healthy
* Volume 2 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 3 FAT32 Partition 258 GB Healthy System
Volume 4 Recovery NTFS Partition 499 MB Healthy
Volume 5 E NTFS Partition 118 GB Healthy
Volume 6 F SSD 850 Pro NTFS Partition 476 GB Healthy
Volume 7 ACRONIS HM FAT32 Partition 2048 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 8 G 3.0TB NTFS Partition 2792 GB Healthy
Volume 9 D New Volume NTFS Partition 223 GB Healthy
Volume 10 H ESD-USB FAT32 Removable 32 GB Healthy
 
Status
Not open for further replies.