What happens if i delete efi partition mac. The Mac would see a blank disk.

What happens if i delete efi partition mac 8 USB key, and then switch into Disk Utility and remove the OS X partition using the GUI. Without a drive letter, it takes approximately 100 MB or 200 MB. Aug 5, 2025 · The EFI Boot on Mac is a boot-up option triggered by the efi/boot/bootx64. But before removing it, you have to verify that your system is boot capable without it. A friend asked if they could borrow it to view some movies on their MAC but returned it as it did not show up on their computer. to remove the entry from the device's NVRAM, boot into a linux and use efibootmgr run efibootmgr to see a list of efi entries, take a note of the 4 digit number near the grub Oct 13, 2021 · Instead of deleting just the newly created partition of 64G, I also mistakenly deleted the main OSX partition (by using partition manager, and then right clicking on the main MacOS partition, and selecting delete). Oct 25, 2022 · It is mandatory for UEFI boot. Use Jun 7, 2018 · This works for me, In Mac Terminal Step 1. Dec 22, 2015 · Bootcamp - deleted my mac partition accidently While installing windows onto my mac (which successfully worked) I realised that I had accidently deleted my mac partition and most likely have given the storage to the window's partition. It is not recommended to remove it except in very specific cases, and doing so may prevent the system from booting. Apr 16, 2020 · As you will see, you are not trying to delete a partition or volume, but rather you are trying to delete a folder. If your EFI/Recovery partition already existed you can skip this next command, if it did not then before you create a partition you need to shrink your current main one, first select the partition where the main OS is; ' select partition {number of partition where OS is located} ' and then shrink it by 500MB, ' shrink desired=500 '. When I right-clicked on a file I saw an option to move it to the trash. Hold Command and R keys while your Mac is starting up to start up into OS X Recovery, and open Disk Utility. Jul 18, 2023 · Want to get rid of a partition from your Windows 11 PC so you can reallocate the space to an existing partition or create a new partition? We'll walk you through multiple ways you can remove Windows 11 partitions. If you've used the Disk partition tool and seen the EFI System partition, you're likely familiar with it. Below is the output from diskutil apfs list for a 2018 mac Mini with High Sierra and Catalina installed. Will anything bad happen if i delete recovery and EFI system partitions on an ssd that doesn't even have my windows installation in it? (I'm not really sure if these partitions have anything to do with windows but i'm assuming they do) planning to install Pop_OS in it and don't know if these partitions will mess with something in my installation. After Windows Setup completes, use the Diskpart command to verify that the ESP and MSR partitions were created. Jan 17, 2024 · The hidden "EFI" partition on the Intel Macs contains the bootloader for non-Apple operating systems and apparently OCLP. Apr 17, 2025 · How to delete EFI partition in Windows 10/8/7? A great many users are unclear about it. 4. Easily Learn Can EFI partition be deleted with the help of this guide. If your main disk 0 is C: you can delete the efi system partition on the secondary disk. Diskpart shoukd be able to delete it. May 9, 2020 · I installed linux using dual-boot method by creating a partition. This post will walk through detailed steps to delete EFI partition. ly/3lrTseqmore May 29, 2020 · Post this: lsblk -o name,mountpoint,label,size,fstype,uuid,partuuid | egrep -v "^loop" and sudo efibootmgr -v If just FAT32 partitions you can delete. It's made when you format the whole disk. 10) Posted on Aug 18, 2007 11: 2 days ago · Uninstalling the bootloader Remove OpenCore either from the USB or internal drive Mount the drive's EFI partition, and delete the EFI/OC and System folders Note: Do not delete the entire EFI folder, this will likely break any existing Windows and Linux installations. The EFI System Partition (ESP) is a specific type of partition on a hard drive that is formatted with a File Allocation Table (FAT32) file system. to erase/remove EFI partition diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ MYDISK MBR disk2 Note : MyDisk is new name for your drive and disk to is the drive partition Step 3. so if you get a warning about deleting the volume you want to delete and another one, you have chosen the wrong volume. Deleting EFI partition will cause your computer to be unbootable. Subscribe for New Videos Every Week! https://bit. efi in it. When tinkering with the partitioning setup of your drive, you may accidentally delete it, resulting in your Windows computer not booting correctly. I don't know why you would have created an EFI partition when installing Linux since Linux would just use an existing "EFI" partition. (The EFI partition contains a FAT32 formatted volume labeled EFI which contains an EFI folder. UEFI is the modern replacement for BIOS. But UEFI actually uses a very long GUID type code from the partition to know which is the ESP. What is EFI booting? The EFI System Partition (ESP) is a small partition on a computer's hard drive that contains the boot loader and other essential files for the computer's operating system. If I delete this partition, will my computer turn to norlmal legacy non-UEFI boot, or it will be bricked (not boot)? If the main HD partition is backed up then deleting the EFI is a nuisance but doesn't compromise your real data. Both of my points will brick the computer but if the boot partition is deleted there's no way to get it up and running again unless you completely reformat and reinstall Windows. So what happens if I delete the partition that the boot manager is attempting to boot into as default? Aug 18, 2007 · I decided to remove linux off from my macbook and I erased the linux partition but after I removed Linux partition, it became like EFI partition. Formatting the EFI partition in Windows can lead to system crashes and difficulties with booting. The Mac would see a blank disk. If you partition manually, you'll need to create appropriate partitions. diskpart. These may include an ESP if you install in EFI mode or a BIOS Boot Partition if you install to a GPT disk in BIOS mode. If this is successful, then you can delete 200MB EFI system partition. Nov 28, 2021 · So why does cloning macOS to a drive that already has Windows delete the Windows EFI partition and anyway do I need both EFI partitions or will Windows 10, Manjaro and Catalina/Opencore bootloaders co-exist just fine on the one EFI partition? Jul 28, 2016 · After wrangling with a broken EFI partition on a Mac recently, I personally found the fastest and most foolproof method of fixing the EFI partition and to get the Mac to boot again was simply reinstalling Mac OS X onto the computer. How do I remove this? Remove Windows from your Mac using Boot Camp You must use Boot Camp Assistant to remove Windows, or a partition that was created with Boot Camp Assistant, from your Intel-based Mac. Feb 7, 2020 · Cannot remove EFI Boot on Mac After I partitioned the windows boot-up then removed the rest of it through the terminal now there’s something called “EFI boot” In my startup menu. Fir exampkeC:. There are no "EFI" partitions on Apple Silicon Macs since Apple Silicon Macs boot differently than the older Intel Macs. 63 GB partition is where macOS lives—deleting it, will delete your macOS volume and all of your files. If not get minitool partition manager free Any reason to use existing EFI partition, as opposed to deleting it and creating a new one? The Installation Guide states that if you already have an EFI system partition, then you should use that existing partition. Dec 5, 2019 · I have a 2nd drive which has an EFI System Partition of 750MB and an unused partition of 118GB. That's why I need to press Option and select the normal Mac OS. msc" in the Run dialog box or searching for it in the Start menu. If desired, create an MSR partition with create partition msr size=16. The "Delete Volume" may also gray out when you try to delete the OEM partition, recovery, or system reserved partition. You can learn how to delete partitions on SSD with the built-in Windows tools and reliable third-party software. You can then add a new partition using addPartition like this: diskutil addPartition disk0 %Apple_APFS Apr 2, 2020 · If you were to delete your EFI partition you would be unable to boot into your operating system. There are methods and commands to check, create, delete, and restore the EFI partition if any problems arise. make sure the drive is formated correctly as open core creates a small efi partition on the drive. I deleted the partition of boot camp but it's still on the startup options. If you securely erased the drive, then it really doesn't matter if macOS puts partitions or file systems on the drive. Don't take this literally; the real problem is that you booted the installer in BIOS mode. May 26, 2025 · Summary: EFI system partition is a hidden and important partition for Windows operating system. The minus option is not enabled and I can't seem to fin any other way to delete it. Mostly, don't try to delete or modify it in any way to avoid affecting the system boot. Now, open the terminal and type parted print The first partition (hence 1) is always the EFI partition. After you erase your partitions, the Ubuntu installer will create new ones if you select an automatic partitioning option. What Happens When You Delete a Partition on Windows? Jul 16, 2025 · Learn about the EFI partition's function in Windows, why it's essential, and how to manage it safely to improve your user experience. Jan 8, 2024 · Intel Macs are supposed to have a hidden EFI (aka ESP) partition. These steps do not apply to Mac computers with Apple silicon. Aug 5, 2025 · This tutorial elaborates on how to remove Windows from Mac. Aug 21, 2020 · Have you ever installed another OS such as Windows or Linux onto your Mac either to the internal or external drive? Have you ever used any third party boot managers or bootloaders such as rEFInd? You can try manually mounting the hidden EFI/ESP partition by using the following command in the Terminal app: diskutil mount disk0s1 This should mount the hidden EFI partition at "/Volumes/EFI". It's not recommended to format the EFI partition unless absolutely necessary, such as when reinstalling Windows. The efiboot entries should be using GUID/partUUID of your ESP main ESP. So I was thinking: what will happen if you delete the contents of the EFI partition? Will they be recreated when you wipe the entire disk and reinstall MacOS? 5 I found EFI partiton on my main drive. The "Delete Volume" option may gray out when trying to delete the OEM partition, recovery, or system reserved partition. Sep 28, 2025 · This article will focus on how to delete partitions on SSD in Windows 11/10. I want to remove the EFI System Partition and reformat the entire drive. This page discusses how to delete the EFI system partition on Windows, providing information on what EFI is and what happens when the partition is deleted, as well as other must-know details about the EFI system partition. (I would back them up to a USB) if Sep 28, 2025 · On this page, we gave you a direct answer to the question of what happens if you format EFI partition in Windows? Should you and how do you format EFI partition successfully. Nov 10, 2017 · 8 Bought a second hand iMac that had two partitions on the HDD. However, there are instances when users may want to delete the EFI System Partition in Windows. What is EFI System Partition? First thing first, let's define what an EFI system partition is. You can manually mount this EFI partition using the following command: diskutil mount disk0s1 Now you can use May 7, 2025 · Understanding EFI and the EFI Partition EFI is a specification that defines a software interface between an operating system and platform firmware. However, the boot camp is still in the startup options. 0. Check out the article Installing Windows to an EFI-Based Computer regarding systems that support both EFI and BIOS: If Windows Setup starts in BIOS mode on a combined EFI/BIOS system, the ESP and MSR partitions are not created. It might have worked, but instead I booted from an OS X 10. If you want to delete EFI partition, you can use convert it to a basic data partition and delete it by using Diskpart. The EFI partition contains the boot files necessary for your computer to start up. If you don't use the recovery feature of pop_os, you could remove the Recovery-E58B-06CA file. restart mac and see how it feels. ) It would be impossible for Ubuntu to have created this partition. Normal OS X users are unlikely to know the EFI exists or how to delete it as it is hidden by default in disk utility application. Disconnect both storage drives, leave only nvme drive and verify, you can boot into windows. Apr 23, 2022 · When you install Windows 11 or 10 on your PC's boot drive, the process automatically creates a partition called the EFI System Partition, which stores some critical files the computer needs to Aug 18, 2025 · The Windows EFI partition is one of those terms that often mysteriously pops up when managing hard drives or trying to install or modify modern operating systems. Whether you’re reconfiguring your hard drive, reinstalling Windows, or just reclaiming disk space, deleting the Part 1. it was created by a third party app/vendor), follow this on a Windows 7 machine. If you delete it, your system may not boot properly, and you may need to reinstall the operating system. If you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, follow the steps to erase a Mac with Apple silicon. Apr 8, 2025 · How Do I Recreate My EFI System Partition? To restore or create an EFI partition on Windows 10/11, begin by accessing DISKPART through the command prompt. There are three ways to delete the Bootcamp partition on Mac, including Boot Camp Assistant, Disk Utility, and Terminal. Now remove your drive (USB) and connect to PC Can I delete this? Is it just for bootcamp? Or is it a some secret partition that Disk Utility doesn't show, and bad things will happen if I delete it? I can always reinstall Mac OS X from a time machine backup, but please, someone who knows tell me if I can safely remove the EFI partition. Nov 17, 2015 · I need to remove the EFI partition on my USB because when trying to copy files from my PS4, the PS4 chooses this partition and ultimately runs out of space, instead of using the much larger space. Nov 18, 2024 · Whether your Mac partition disappeared after partitioning attempts or due to some unexpected errors, its recovery (or at least the recovery of the data stored on it) is often possible with the right approach. The EFI partition is not necessary, but deleting it can cause problems. Probably, the presense of this partition and it's contents prevent my computer from booting Linux, resided in another partition. how can I delete this EFI partition (10G) and merge it with the other partition? I've tried with iPartition but it couldn't help me. This page will talk about how to delete the EFI system partition on Windows, as well as the must-know information about the EFI system partition, including what EFI is and what happens when the partition is deleted. that,s it. To delete the EFI partition in Windows 11, open the Disk Management tool by typing "diskmgmt. If you can`t manage/remove this partition from within the Volume manager at a Vista/Win7 machine (i. The EFI partition is necessary for your Mac to boot at all, into either operating system. Since it is identified as "disk0s1", I believe the correct EFI partition is there. Apr 18, 2021 · Yes, the EFI partition came with macOS. If you delete the actual old volume that is fine, as TJ said, as long as you are sure you do not need any of that data. When you successfully install Windows OS on a GPT disk in your computer, an automatic EFI partition, also referred to as an EFI System Partition (abbreviated as ESP), is created. However, I did not trust regular Windows tools to delete the HFS+ boot partition for OS X. But since then when i press option on boot up, along with my mac os partition there is a EFI boot option. However, if you no longer need the ESP, it's technically possible to delete it, but it's not recommended unless you're sure you won't Sep 30, 2025 · Can I delete EFI partition? Deleting the EFI partition on a Windows system is generally not recommended and can render your computer unbootable. I would imagine you now only have to remove the OCLP components found with macOS itself. Feb 12, 2021 · 0 Mac OS (that is, Disk Utility. Now I want to delete this EFI partition if possible without reinstalling macos. Sep 11, 2020 · When you delete your Windows partition from your Mac manually, it leaves its EFI Boot entry. Anyways, If you still want to remove it, live boot into your computer using any OS or a tool like GParted. If you do need to format it, back up any important data first, then use the built-in Disk Management tool or third-party software to format the partition. The EFI partition is required to boot into UEFI based OS (s). In Disk Utility on your Mac, add, delete, erase, or enlarge a partition on a storage device. Jun 5, 2023 · The EFI partition isn’t well-known, but it is a very vital part of your Windows computer. This assumes you have a efi ststem partition on disk 0. It mounted successfully and I viewed its contents. 3K What happens if I delete a partition during Windows 10 installation? The good thing about deleting the partitions is that Windows 10 will create fresh, new System and Recovery partitions. If you really need to delete it, you can use diskpart in Windows, but be very careful and ensure you have a backup or recovery plan in place. in the EFI partition, under the EFI/ directory, there'll be a directory probably called grub, primeos or something similar with a file called grubx64. then redownload oclp 1. One for Mac, one for Windows. We'll explain it in detail, without complicated technical jargon that won't lead you anywhere. In this post, find out if you need the System partition and you can delete it without risking your Windows PC setup. 0 and try again U Aug 17, 2021 · Aug 17, 2021, 10:28 AM Hi Roshanjacob I am Dave, I will help you with this. Apr 30, 2025 · This post explains the EFI system partition on Windows startup disk, you will know what the EFI partition is used for, and it also answers whether you can delete the EFI system partition. However, I've noticed that most walkthroughs/tutorials prefer to delete any such existing EFI partition and instead create a new one. Feb 9, 2023 · I had the same problem on a macbook pro late 2011 8,1 I installed ventura with opencore and and had the same result you had , so I had a dosdude catalina usb stick it has a copy of disk utility on it and I used it to do a complete format including the efi partition and it got rid of opencore, I reinstalled catalina and used the option on the stick to run in a time machine backup, it will also Jan 28, 2020 · Remove Or Delete EFi Or erase Problem System Partitions On USB PCIE SSD Or HDD Mike's unboxing, reviews and how to 147K subscribers 2. macbook white 2. Open the EFI disk that appeared, and delete the EFI/OC and System folders. It may best for the long term to resize the partition. Follow the detailed guidance to delete and create EFI partition if you need. app) will warn you if you try to delete half of a volume group. . In this guide, I’ll walk you through three reliable methods to recover deleted or lost partitions on your Mac so that you have multiple options to choose from based on your specific To mound your boot disk's EFI, enter "B" when prompted to do something by the Terminal. Jan 31, 2025 · Use Disk Utility to erase an Intel-based Mac How to erase (format) the built-in startup disk of an Intel-based Mac. It wouldn't actually delete it, but it would make it all very difficult to find again. Jul 9, 2019 · Whenever you use Disk Utility to "erase" a drive it always partitions and formats it. I will mention that you can backup your entire EFI partition to a spare USB flash drive, so you can restore files later. To wipe the partition table from the drive on a Mac, you can use the Terminal command line utility "dd" to zero out the first section of the Oct 19, 2017 · Then I thought of mounting the EFI partition. All went well until I tried to remove the BOOTCAMP partition. Jan 4, 2022 · You can't really delete it like you could delete a partition. But have you ever wondered if you actually need it, and can you safely delete it without affecting your Windows PC setup? In this post, we'll explore the answers to these questions and determine if the EFI System Partition is essential or if you can get rid of it. 2. Using disk utility I erased the BOOTCAMP partition and formatted it to MacOS Extended (Journaled). Mar 29, 2024 · This passage will explain what is EFI System partition (ESP) and whether it is OK to be deleted. Nov 7, 2017 · If you want to remove the partition and not create a new one for disk0 partition 4, here's the command: diskutil eraseVolume free free disk0s4 The "free free" instructs eraseVolume to delete the partition without creating a new one. Let's get rid of that, shall we? When Recovery Assistant erases a Mac, this happens behind the scenes (for technical readers): Intel-based Macs: The internal disk is repartitioned and formatted (erased), or all partitions and containers except the EFI partition are deleted. just check your new structure diskutil list EFI partition is gone!! Step 4. Thanks! Oct 6, 2015 · Yes and yes. May 13, 2021 · i use an app called clover, use that to mount your high sierra partition, remove the oc folder from the efi, unmount partition, now delete everything oclp related. To do so would have required Ubuntu to have moved the entire APFS partition to create the space. How to Delete the EFI System Partition in Windows: A Step-by-Step Guide The EFI System Partition (ESP) is an essential part of the system, responsible for booting the operating system. efi files: deleting the EFI partition (thus those files too) will break the boot process? 🔔 Download Free AOMEI Partition Assistant Now 👉 https://www. If you have a T2 mac, you can get the same result in less steps by just booting into online recovery (Command-Option/Alt-R), using Disk Utility to erase your disk, and then reinstall. aomeitech. You really only can have one ESP with boot, esp flags per device. Can you delete partition from BIOS? Usually, you can delete partition successfully via Disk Management in Windows 11/10/8/7. Removing it or reformatting would remove all the existing pointers to where everything else is. Can I delete the EFI System Partition? Right-click the EFI system partition and select “Delete Partition”. May 24, 2019 · How to delete EFI system partition from Seagate 2TB external HD I have a Seagate 2TB external Hard Drive almost completely full of movies/videos. Yes, if you are clean installing Windows 10 from a bootable USB, you must delete the EFI partition, the C drive partition and the Recovery Partition Those partitions will mere into one Unallocated space, select that and click 'Next' to begin the installation. But if you need to remove a partition more quickly and safely, you can delete the partition from BIOS. you should be good. In the pop-out small window, you can choose “Delete partition quickly without wiping data” or “Delete partition and wipe data on it”. May 12, 2023 · In this post, we will tell whether you can delete EFI system partition safely and what will happen if you delete the healthy EFI system partition in Windows 10, 8, 7 computer. so to clear that, in disk utility choose view> show all devices and format the whole drive not just the partition, then reset the mac nvram and you should lose all open core leftovers. Nov 29, 2020 · 200MB EFI system partition on Disk 0 seems to be redundant. Sep 28, 2025 · If you have seen the EFI System partition when using the Disk partition tool, then I am sure you have noticed the EFI System Partition. If you don't have Windows/Linux on your Mac, you can just clear everything out of the main disk folder. efi file stored in the EFI partition after you install and delete other operating systems on your Mac, especially Windows OS. If a hacker has access level to Mac computer then deleting the EFI is the least of your worries Quick Guide on How To Delete EFI Partition in macOS. select /dev Feb 24, 2019 · I had created a new high sierra partition on my mac and then deleted it. ) and I was doubtful mainly due to *. If your EFI partition is not showing up, or if you accidentally deleted the EFI partition, read on to understand how you can fix it to restore your Windows Dec 22, 2008 · yes, I want to erase the entire disk (and never re-install Winz. First, to try to recover it, try to repair the partition map. Two computer Dont's: Don't interrupt Windows updates And Don't, in under any circumstances delete EFI partition unless you want to brick your PC. If you have to delete EFI partition in special scenarios, ensure to clone and make a full/bootable backup for the system disk with Donemax Disk Clone. Also, it has the "boot" flag. See here for an example on how to mount (opens new window) How To Delete EFI System Partition In Windows. The unlabeled, 45. Delete this directory and nothing else. Nov 27, 2024 · A few days ago, I ran windows 10 on boot camp assistant on my old mac. It's a crucial component for booting up the computer, especially for UEFI-based systems. May 25, 2017 · If this happens, and if you leave existing partitions in place or prepare GUID Partition Table (GPT) partitions before installing, the installer will complain about the presence of GPT partitions. I don't know what it is and want to know if there is a way to get rid of it as I am planning to install windows through bootcamp and don't want anything messing it up. It definitely sounds like your EFI partition is on the small size for what pop_os wants. If you've ever wondered what it's for, if it can be deleted, how it's created, or what risks it poses, this article is for you. 0ghz, Mac OS X (10. Note that you might have to change your boot preferences. Sep 7, 2025 · What happens if you accidentally delete the EFI partition? Deleting the EFI partition on a disk that your system depends on causes the computer cannot start Windows. In Windows 10, 8, and 7, you can delete the EFI system partition, but it's not recommended. Oct 24, 2012 · If you have an EFI-System partition on a harddrive and you want to access it from WinXP (x86) - you may fail. But when I click around ther Sep 20, 2025 · In this article, we guide you through the process of restoring an accidentally deleted EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) boot partition in a UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) system on Windows. Struggling with extra partitions on your Mac? This video dives into Nov 3, 2013 · The EFI partition is used to store firmware updates, so they can be installed the next time you start up your Mac. I deleted Macintosh HD, reinstalled MacOS, and gave my old mac to my brother. Jul 12, 2025 · The EFI partition is essential for Windows boot and stability on modern UEFI and GPT computers. In the Disk Management window, right-click on the EFI partition and select "Delete Volume. May 10, 2020 · You don't. type command to get list of partitions diskutil list Step 2. com/articles/efimore Aug 26, 2018 · I did think of just deleting the Ubuntu partition. It also appears you have Windows installed, as those screenshots are from Windows, not Ubuntu. Use the command select disk followed by creating the EFI partition with create partition efi size=100 format quick fs=fat32 label="System" assign letter="S". com/llyy/downlo 🔔 Related Reference How-To Article 👉 https://www. But the issue is at the moment is I think it's trying to boot into that partition every time I reboot the Mac. Aug 6, 2021 · What Is The EFI Partition in Windows 10? We say Windows 10, but EFI partitions have been a part of previous versions of Windows and are also a part of other operating systems (OS), like Linux and macOS. e. ehyps tsiy sytllt oyevlte xxl cxidhi htmhk mfoh ytbbpdyo htej qbdpps eef kzzdc dyzwp inc