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To create a larger EFI System Partition (ESP) during a fresh Windows 11 Pro installation, boot the installer in UEFI mode and use DiskPart at the first Setup screen. Create the ESP with an explicit size before creating the Microsoft Reserved (MSR) and Windows partitions. A 300 MB ESP is a conservative choice, though Microsoft’s published minimum-size guidance differs for some drive types.
Choose an ESP size before you start
Microsoft’s UEFI/GPT partition requirements specify a minimum ESP size of 200 MB for 512 native and 512e drives, and 300 MB for 4K native drives. However, Microsoft’s sample scripts page, updated in May 2026, recommends 300 MB across all three drive types. The guidance therefore conflicts for 512 native and 512e media; 300 MB is a reasonable conservative choice for a fresh installation, not an uncontested universal minimum.
You can choose 512 MB or 1,024 MB (1 GB) if you deliberately want more room. Those are size choices, not requirements. DiskPart accepts the ESP size in megabytes; Microsoft’s create partition efi reference documents the parameter and includes a 1,000 MB syntax example.
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Create the partitions in Windows Setup
This procedure creates a new layout by erasing the selected disk. The clean command removes that disk’s partition information. Verify the target disk by its model and capacity before proceeding; disconnect other drives if practical. Do not run these commands on a disk containing data or partitions you need. Microsoft describes this DiskPart route in its Windows Setup instructions for MBR and GPT.
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- Boot the Windows 11 installer in UEFI mode and proceed to the first Windows Setup screen.
- Press Shift+F10 to open Command Prompt, then enter
diskpartandlist disk. - Identify the intended installation disk by its size and model. Select it with
select disk <target disk number>, replacing the placeholder with the correct disk number. - Only if you intend to erase the entire selected disk, run
clean. This deletes its partition information. Then runconvert gpt. - Create and format the ESP, then create the MSR and Windows partition. For a 300 MB ESP, enter:
create partition efi size=300
format quick fs=fat32 label="System"
create partition msr size=16
create partition primary
exitTo use a different ESP size, replace 300 with the desired size in megabytes—for example, 512 or 1024. The ESP must be FAT32. The MSR is 16 MB in Microsoft’s documented layout; it is reserved space, not user storage. See Microsoft’s create partition msr reference.
- Close Command Prompt. In Setup, refresh the disk list if needed, then select the newly created primary partition as the Windows installation target and continue.
What the partition layout does
For a UEFI installation, the Windows boot disk should use GPT. Microsoft’s documented order is the ESP, MSR, Windows partition, then recovery partition. The ESP holds boot files; it is not a place for ordinary files or Windows Recovery Environment tools. The MSR is reserved. Windows Setup may create additional partitions during installation, including recovery-related partitions.
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If you need to preserve existing partitions
Do not use the clean-install sequence above: clean erases the selected disk’s partition information. This procedure is for deliberately creating a blank disk layout, not resizing an existing ESP in place. If you need to keep data or existing partitions, stop and use a backup-aware partitioning plan instead.
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