Can i delete the drive which contain microsoft and EFI named folder with FAT32 partition type

Question

I have one partition which can be accessed through windows explorer which contains Microsoft and EFI folder

I am now confused that can I delete the partition and I can't delete it from the windows partition manager. I have another partition also which is labelled as system and active

Answer 1

This is the EFI system partition (ESP). You must not delete it or your system will no longer boot, requiring boot repairs. Luckily, Windows prevents you from modifying this partition if everything is working correctly.

Usually the ESP is not assigned a drive letter on Windows. How it got one on your system, who knows. First, you should try rebooting.

Then, you may also try mountvol e: /d from Command Prompt or PowerShell, both as Admin and without.

Lastly, you can also try with diskpart, though I’ve never seen that work.

1. Run diskpart (it’s a command-line tool)
2. Use list volume to find the FAT32 ESP, you need the number
3. Use select volume X where X is the number you found
4. Use remove letter=e

There’s also the possibility of using the registry, but we won’t look at that unless absolutely necessary.