Expand EFI System Partition ESP with a Free Tool Partition Resizer
EFI ESP partition too small? EFI just 100MB? "Are you trying to upgrade to the latest Windows 11 24H2 build but keep getting the error 'We couldn't update system reserved partition'? You're not alone. This issue, often accompanied by error codes 0xc1900201 or 0x800f0922, is increasingly common and is usually caused by a simple problem: your EFI System Partition is too small .
This small partition, created during the initial Windows installation, stores crucial boot data. It's a critical component for starting your PC and is typically a modest 100 MB in size . However, the requirements for modern Windows 11 updates have grown, and they now need roughly 300 to 500 MB of free space to install successfully . Older systems, especially those upgraded from Windows 10, often don't meet this requirement, leading to the update failure.
Beyond blocking Windows Updates, a tiny EFI partition can also cause issues with flashing your system's BIOS or setting up a multi-boot environment."
Since Windows' built-in Disk Management tool cannot extend the EFI partition, we need a more powerful, free solution . For this fix, we'll be using Partition Resizer, a free utility that allows us to safely move and resize partitions .
Partition Resizer Free (100% Free on Windows 11-XP) https://www.resize-c.com
Partition Resizer Server (Demo on Windows Server) https://www.resize-c.com/server/
The strategy is clever and straightforward:
First, if there is unallocated space on your disk, you may move it close to the EFI by moving its adjacent partition one by one using Partition Resizer, and then expand the EFI.
No unallocated space? we'll shrink a larger partition on your disk (usually any large drive) to create a small chunk of 'Unallocated Space' .
Then, we'll use Partition Resizer to effectively 'move' this unallocated space until it's sitting right next to your EFI System Partition .
Finally, we'll extend the EFI partition into this new space, giving it the room it needs for the update to proceed."
Timecodes
0:00 - Intro
0:27 - Add unallocated space close to EFI and expand EFI using Partition Resizer (C, EFI, Recovery, E, Unallocated)
2:22 - Shrink E, move Recovery and add unallocated space to EFI
4:42 - Shrink C, expand EF
6:13 - Summary
More details can be found on this page: https://www.resize-c.com/howto/case-e...
Besides resizing, moving and extending partitions without losing data, Partition Resizer can also clone, migrate OS, copy partition, convert disk or partition, format, delete, wipe partitions etc.
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