Updated from W10 to W11 Pro: partition 'problems' is now available
Updated from W10 to W11 Pro: partition 'problems' is now available
I changed from Windows 10 Home to Windows 11 Home, then to Windows 11 Pro. I saw less NVMe space and noticed Windows made a new 1000 MB partition labeled "healthy." Using EaseUS I removed the extra 1 GB partition. Later I merged it with my C drive. Now I have a new drive named Z, which is 260 MB and acts as a system partition with EFI and Boot folders. Originally, after OEM setup, Drive 0 was NVMe and Drive 1 was HDD. After Windows 11, this changed. I’m wondering if I can hide drive Z? It seems unavailable in Disk Management or EaseUS tools. When I try to hide it by right-clicking, everything turns gray and no option appears. Could be because it’s a system partition.
I’m updating this with extra details. There’s a Windows issue causing this problem. More guidance is available at the provided link. I’m not sure if the registry adjustment is permanent or not—Sections B, C, & D. The steps involve: A) Execute command prompt with admin rights, list volume numbers, select "Z" for your EFI drive, then remove it by letter. B) After Windows Explorer shows the drive only briefly, you’ll need to edit the registry. C) In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices, locate the EFI partition entry and delete it. D) To secure your settings, right-click the registry value (e.g., "DosDevices\Z:") and export the key, saving it to your desktop. After restarting, verify the changes; if you erase the wrong entry, restore the backup and retry.
The EFI partition was probably removed rather than simply unmounted. It guides the BIOS on where to start by referencing Windows files for execution on the device. It seems the BCD encountered problems initially. You might consider using a recovery disk to repair it, though reinstalling from USB is likely the safest option.