If you are still wonder how big the Windows 11 EFI partition should be, here you can find some clues. Besides, this post will also detail how to safely resize EFI partition including increasing and decreasing the capacity to make it with a proper size.
EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) system partition or ESP is a partition usually stored on the primary hard drive that is used by computers adhering to the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). When we boot a PC, files stored on the ESP will be loaded to start installing operating systems and various utilities.
Windows EFI partition is formatted with a FAT32 file system, containing several types of files and utilities such as boot loaders, data files, device drivers, system utilities, and BitLocker data, which occupy most of the Windows 11 EFI partition size.
As we mentioned above, an EFI system partition is essential since it contains important files and utilities required for Windows booting before Windows 11/10/8/7 operating system starts up successfully. Once you miss or delete the EFI partition by mistake, you cannot boot your Windows normally. So does Windows 11 need EFI partition? The answer is positive.
On GPT drives, the minimum Windows 11 EFI partition size is 100MB, but only has data worth 30MB. If the Windows EFI partition size surpassed 100MB a lot, such as 100GB, then you may don't want to waste the unused space of the EFI system partition. On the other hand, if the Windows 11 EFI partition is almost full and cannot install any new Windows updates, then enlarging the partition seems to be quite urgent. In a nutshell, adjusting the EFI partition size on Windows 11 matters a lot.
As described above, the EFI partition is necessary and the minimum size is around 100MB. If your current Windows 11 EFI partition is too small or large, you may need to resize it. To do so, you might want to try the Windows built-in Disk Management tool. However, it can only resize (shrink/extend) the NTFS partition. In other words, the FAT32 EFI partition cannot be resized via this tool.
So is there a way to resize the FAT32 (EFI) system partition? Of course! The answer is to install a third-party partition manager like AOMEI Partition Assistant standard. It is totally free and fully compatible with all editions of Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7 (32-bit & 64-bit). Compared with Disk Management, it is more powerful, allowing you to resize both FAT32 and NTFS partitions. Besides, it can also resize encrypted partition effortlessly.
Download the freeware and follow the specific steps to learn how to resize EFI partition effortlessly.
If there is unallocated space on the right or left side of the EFI partition, you can use the "Resize Partition" feature to realize Windows 11 increase EFI partition size.
Right-click the EFI system partition and select "Resize/Move Partition".
In the pop-up small window, position the mouse pointer on the right border of the partition and drag the border rightwards to extend the partition. Then click "OK".
Then it will back to the main console and you could preview the partition be extended. Click the "Apply" on the toolbar to commit the operation.
✍ Note: If there is not any unallocated space on the hard drive or the unallocated space is not adjacent, you can upgrade to the Professional edition, which comes with the "Allocate Free Space", allowing you how to directly transfer free space from one partition to another only in 3 clicks.
Shrinking the EFI partition size can release some unused space, with which you can create a new partition for saving your personal files and programs or use it to extend C drive to speed up the computer, you can follow the three steps to decrease the capacity:
Right-click the EFI system partition and select "Resize/Move Partition".
In the pop-up small window, position the mouse pointer on either border of the partition and drag the border rightwards or leftwards to shrink partition. Then click "OK".
Then it will go back to the main console, and you can preview the unallocated space beside the partition. Click the "Apply" on the toolbar to commit the operation.
Now, you should know how to safely change Windows 11 EFI partition size including increasing and decreasing the capacity. For resizing NTFS partitions, both Disk Management and AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard are good tools. However, EFI partition is formatted with FAT32, so the free AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard is more recommended. Plus, the Professional edition is featured with more functions, such as migrating OS to SSD, cloning hard drive to finish disk upgrade without reinstalling OS, converting system disk between MBR and GPT, and recovering lost partition and inside data easily.