{"id":59574,"date":"2023-07-21T11:43:11","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T06:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=59574"},"modified":"2024-04-26T12:02:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T06:32:51","slug":"efi-system-partition-appears-in-explorer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/efi-system-partition-appears-in-explorer\/","title":{"rendered":"[Fix] EFI System Partition Appears in Explorer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The EFI system partition, which contains your boot files and boot configuration database, is hidden by default. However, on some systems, the EFI partition may show up with a drive letter in File Explorer.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-59575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/efi-system-drive-letter.png\" alt=\"efi system partition drive letter\" width=\"736\" height=\"188\" \/><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Even though you remove the drive-letter manually using DiskPart, Windows may automatically assign a drive-letter for the EFI partition at every reboot.<\/p>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/mystery-drive-appears-system-properties\/\">Mystery Drive appears in System Properties Protection tab<\/a><\/div>\n<h2>Cause<\/h2>\n<p>This happens due to an unwanted registry value under the following registry key:<\/p>\n<pre>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\MountedDevices<\/pre>\n<p>The above registry may have a DosDevices entry (i.e., &#8220;DosDevices\\G:&#8221;, where G is your EFI drive letter) for your EFI system partition. This registry value causes the problem.<\/p>\n<h2>Resolution<\/h2>\n<p>To hide the EFI system partition and prevent the automatic drive letter assignment for the partition, follow these steps:<\/p>\n<h3>Method 1: Using Diskpart<\/h3>\n<p>Open an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/open-elevated-command-prompt-windows\/\">admin Command Prompt<\/a> and run the following commands:<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Note:<\/strong> In this example, the EFI partition shows up with the drive letter <code>G:<\/code>. The following commands are based on that scenario. If the EFI appears with a different drive letter on your computer, replace &#8220;G&#8221; in the following commands with the correct drive-letter.<\/em><\/p>\n<pre>diskpart<\/pre>\n<p>The above command will start the Diskpart environment.<\/p>\n<p>Run the following commands:<\/p>\n<pre>select volume G\n\nremove letter=G\n\nexit<\/pre>\n<p>You&#8217;re now out of the Diskpart environment.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Method 2: Using the MountVol command<\/h3>\n<p>Run these two commands from an admin Command Prompt:<\/p>\n<p><em>(where G: in this example is the EFI partition. See screenshot at the top of this page.)<\/em><\/p>\n<pre>mountvol G: \/d\n\nmountvol \/R<\/pre>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/rebuild-efi-partition-bcd-boot-files\/\">EFI system partition<\/a> should no longer show up in Explorer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The EFI system partition, which contains your boot files and boot configuration database, is hidden by default. However, on some systems, the EFI partition may show up with a drive letter in File Explorer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,869],"tags":[106,865],"class_list":["post-59574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","tag-command-prompt","tag-diskpart"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":75307,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/bcdboot-failure-initializing-library-system-volume\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":0},"title":"Bcdboot &#8220;Failure when initializing library system volume&#8221;","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When you run the Bcdboot command to copy boot files to the EFI system partition, the following error may occur: Failure when initializing library system volume. The output contains the list of Bcdboot command-line arguments. RELATED: How to Rebuild the EFI Boot Partition, BCD and Boot Files Cause The above\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"diskpart - assign efi drive letter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/efi-partition-assign-letter.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/efi-partition-assign-letter.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/efi-partition-assign-letter.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/efi-partition-assign-letter.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74860,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/create-move-efi-partition-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":1},"title":"How to Move EFI System Partition to Another Drive in Windows 10 or 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The EFI partition is created automatically when you install Windows. However, after adding a second HDD\/SSD and installing Windows on that disk, you may realize that the EFI system partition remains on the old hard disk. You wonder how to move the EFI partition from the old hard drive to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"EFI boot partition on another disk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/move-efi-partition-os-drive.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/move-efi-partition-os-drive.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/move-efi-partition-os-drive.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/move-efi-partition-os-drive.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32027,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/rebuild-efi-partition-bcd-boot-files\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":2},"title":"How to Rebuild the EFI Boot Partition, BCD and Boot Files","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The EFI boot partition is a FAT32 partition that stores the boot files and the boot configuration data (BCD) to load Windows. Sometimes, the boot partition or the BCD may get corrupted, and the boot files remain unserviceable by the Windows Setup process. In that case, rebuilding the EFI partition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"EFI partition shows as RAW","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/efi-raw-diskmgmt.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/efi-raw-diskmgmt.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/efi-raw-diskmgmt.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74838,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/fix-efi-boot-partition-guid-set-id\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":3},"title":"How to Fix the EFI Boot Partition&#8217;s ID Using DiskPart","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Each partition type is strictly identified by a GUID number. For example, the data partitions (\"Basic data partition\") are identified by the GUID ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7. The EFI partition has the GUID c12a7328-f81f-11d2-ba4b-00a0c93ec93b. However, on some systems, the EFI partition may have an incorrect ID assigned for unknown reasons. As a result,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"fix EFI partition id using diskpart's set id command.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/diskpart-fix-efi-partition-guid.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/diskpart-fix-efi-partition-guid.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/diskpart-fix-efi-partition-guid.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/diskpart-fix-efi-partition-guid.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":80550,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/backup-the-efi-system-partition\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":4},"title":"How to Backup the EFI System Partition","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The EFI partition contains the boot files and the boot configuration database (BCD). Some OEMs also store the BIOS image backups and additional tools in the EFI partition. This post explains how to back up the files in the EFI partition. Backup the EFI System Partition The EFI partition has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":78024,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/resize-efi-system-partition\/","url_meta":{"origin":59574,"position":5},"title":"How to Resize the EFI System Partition in Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: This post explains how to increase the size of the EFI partition to 250 MB without using any paid software. The EFI system partition stores the boot configuration database (BCD) and the boot files needed to boot a UEFI system. By default, the Windows setup creates a 100 MB\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"resize efi partition using aomei free version","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/resize_efi_9-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/resize_efi_9-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/resize_efi_9-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/resize_efi_9-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59574\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}