I recently got a new Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD and set it up with a GPT partition table in Windows 10. I created one partition on the drive, which is 931.5GiB in size and formatted as NTFS. In Windows, everything appeared fine and there was only one partition on the drive.
However, when I switched to my Linux distribution and ran the command lsblk, I noticed that there were actually two partitions on the drive:
sdc 8:32 0 931,5G 0 disk
├─sdc1 8:33 0 16M 0 part
└─sdc2 8:34 0 931,5G 0 part
I’m curious as to why Windows created a 16MiB Microsoft Reserved Partition before the main partition I made. I am using this drive as a data drive and not as an operating system drive, so I’m not sure what the purpose of this partition is.
Is it safe to remove the Microsoft Reserved Partition and try to recreate the main partition without it? If so, how can I do this?
3 Answers
What is a GPT Partition Table?
A GUID Partition Table (GPT) is a partitioning scheme that is used to define the partition layout of a storage device. GPT is an improvement over the older Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning scheme, which has a number of limitations, including a maximum partition size of 2TB.
GPT is a newer partitioning scheme that is designed to work with modern hardware and operating systems. It allows for larger partition sizes and more partitions per disk than MBR, and it also includes a backup partition table to help protect against data loss.
Creating a GPT Partition in Windows 10
To create a GPT partition in Windows 10, you can use the built-in Disk Management tool. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Open the Disk Management tool by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting “Disk Management” from the menu.
2. Locate the disk that you want to partition and right-click on it.
3. Select “Convert to GPT Disk” from the menu.
4. Click “OK” to confirm that you want to convert the disk to GPT.
5. Right-click on the unallocated space on the disk and select “New Simple Volume” from the menu.
6. Follow the prompts in the New Simple Volume Wizard to create a new partition on the disk.
When you create a new partition using the Disk Management tool, Windows will automatically create a Microsoft Reserved Partition at the beginning of the disk. This partition is used by Windows for boot files and other system files.
Understanding the Microsoft Reserved Partition
The Microsoft Reserved Partition is a small partition that is created by Windows at the beginning of a GPT disk. It is typically 16MB in size and is used by Windows for boot files and other system files.
The Microsoft Reserved Partition is not visible in Windows Explorer and does not have a drive letter assigned to it. It is hidden from the user and is used internally by Windows.
If you try to delete the Microsoft Reserved Partition, you may encounter issues with booting your system. It is not recommended to delete this partition unless you know what you are doing.
Removing the Microsoft Reserved Partition
If you want to remove the Microsoft Reserved Partition from your GPT disk, you can do so using the DiskPart command-line tool. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator.
2. Type “diskpart” and press Enter to open the DiskPart tool.
3. Type “list disk” and press Enter to display a list of all the disks on your system.
4. Type “select disk X” (where X is the number of the disk that you want to modify) and press Enter.
5. Type “list partition” and press Enter to display a list of all the partitions on the selected disk.
6. Type “select partition Y” (where Y is the number of the Microsoft Reserved Partition) and press Enter.
7. Type “delete partition override” and press Enter to delete the partition.
Once you have deleted the Microsoft Reserved Partition, you can create a new partition on the disk using the Disk Management tool.
Creating a New Partition without the Microsoft Reserved Partition
If you want to create a new partition on your GPT disk without the Microsoft Reserved Partition, you can do so using the DiskPart command-line tool. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator.
2. Type “diskpart” and press Enter to open the DiskPart tool.
3. Type “list disk” and press Enter to display a list of all the disks on your system.
4. Type “select disk X” (where X is the number of the disk that you want to modify) and press Enter.
5. Type “clean” and press Enter to erase all data on the disk.
6. Type “convert gpt” and press Enter to convert the disk to GPT.
7. Type “create partition primary size=Y” (where Y is the size of the partition that you want to create) and press Enter.
8. Type “format fs=ntfs quick” and press Enter to format the partition as NTFS.
Once you have created the new partition, you can use the Disk Management tool to assign a drive letter to it and use it for storing data.
Conclusion
GPT is a modern partitioning scheme that is designed to work with modern hardware and operating systems. It allows for larger partition sizes and more partitions per disk than MBR, and it also includes a backup partition table to help protect against data loss.
When you create a new partition on a GPT disk in Windows, a Microsoft Reserved Partition is automatically created at the beginning of the disk. This partition is used by Windows for boot files and other system files.
If you want to remove the Microsoft Reserved Partition, you can do so using the DiskPart command-line tool. However, it is not recommended to do so unless you know what you are doing.
If you want to create a new partition on a GPT disk without the Microsoft Reserved Partition, you can do so using the DiskPart command-line tool. This will erase all data on the disk, so be sure to back up any important data before proceeding.
The Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) is a small partition that is created by Windows when you create a GPT partition table on a drive. It is used to store boot-related files and is required for Windows to boot from the drive. It is usually not visible in Windows, but you can see it when you view the drive from another operating system such as Linux.
It is generally not recommended to remove the MSR, as it is necessary for the proper functioning of the drive. However, if you are sure you don’t need the MSR and want to remove it, you can do so by deleting the partition in the Disk Management utility in Windows. To do this:
- Press the Windows key + X and select “Disk Management” from the menu.
- Right-click on the MSR partition and select “Delete Volume.”
- Confirm that you want to delete the volume.
Keep in mind that deleting the MSR will also delete any boot-related files that are stored on it, so you may need to reinstall the operating system if you want to use the drive as an operating system drive in the future.
To summarize, the Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) is a small partition that is created by Windows when you create a GPT partition table on a drive. It is used to store boot-related files and is required for Windows to boot from the drive. It is generally not recommended to remove the MSR, as it is necessary for the proper functioning of the drive.
However, if you are sure you don’t need the MSR and want to remove it, you can do so by deleting the partition in the Disk Management utility in Windows.
Keep in mind that deleting the MSR will also delete any boot-related files that are stored on it, so you may need to reinstall the operating system if you want to use the drive as an operating system drive in the future.
This question was asked and answered on the Microsoft forums:
The Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) is only used on UEFI systems that use the GPT disk structure.
It is created to reserve a portion of the disk space for potential future use by the Windows operating system. This partition does not contain any useful data or user data, but is assigned for potentially remapping damaged sectors.
However, modern disks are able to handle remapping damaged sectors themselves, so this part of the answer may be incorrect or refer to outdated code in the Windows installer. The more likely answer is “for some future use”, as there is currently no need for it.
Even though the size of the partition is quite small, I would not recommend removing it. This is because it is the first partition on the disk and deleting it would change the partition numbering, which could cause problems.
In summary, the Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) is a small partition on a UEFI system with a GPT disk structure that is reserved for potential future use by the Windows operating system. It does not contain any useful data and is not necessary for the functioning of the system.
While it is possible to remove the partition, it is generally not recommended as it could cause problems with partition numbering.