How to Recover or Create EFI Partition on Windows 11

The EFI partition is missing on Windows 11

The EFI System Partition, also called ESP, stores boot files required by UEFI firmware. If it is deleted, formatted, or damaged during disk conversion or cloning, Windows 11 may fail to start and show errors such as "No bootable device" or "Boot configuration data is missing".

Before rebuilding it, stop changing partitions on the system disk. If Windows can still boot, create a system backup first because EFI repair uses commands that write to the boot area.

What is an EFI partition?

An EFI partition is usually a small FAT32 partition of about 100 MB to 300 MB. It normally has no drive letter and is marked as EFI System Partition in Disk Management. It stores Windows Boot Manager, BCD files, and startup data used by UEFI.

Before you recover or create the EFI partition

• Confirm the system disk uses GPT.
• Prepare a Windows 11 installation USB or recovery drive.
• Do not format the Windows partition.
• Back up important data if Windows is still accessible.

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Method 1. Recover EFI partition by rebuilding boot files

Use this method when the EFI partition still exists but Windows 11 cannot boot.

Step 1. Boot from a Windows 11 installation USB. On the setup screen, click Repair your computer.

Step 2. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.

Step 3. Type diskpart, press Enter, and run list disk, select disk 0, and list partition.

Step 4. Select the EFI partition, then assign a temporary drive letter:

select partition X
assign letter=S
exit

Step 5. Rebuild the boot files:

bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI

If Windows is not shown as C: in recovery mode, use dir C:, dir D:, and other drive letters to find the partition containing the Windows folder.

Step 6. Restart the PC and set Windows Boot Manager as the first boot option in BIOS/UEFI.

Method 2. Create a new EFI partition on Windows 11

Use this method only when the EFI partition is truly missing and there is unallocated space on the system disk.

Step 1. Open Command Prompt from Windows Recovery Environment.

Step 2. Run diskpart, list disk, and select disk 0.

Step 3. Create and format a 300 MB EFI partition:

create partition efi size=300
format quick fs=fat32 label="System"
assign letter=S
exit

Step 4. Copy boot files to the new EFI partition:

bcdboot C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI

Step 5. Restart and test whether Windows 11 boots normally.

Conclusion

Recovering or creating an EFI partition is possible, but it must be done carefully. Rebuild boot files when the EFI partition still exists; create a new FAT32 EFI partition only when it is missing.

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