Windows 11 can't update the system reserved partition: 3 tips

When updating Windows 11 or upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11, you may encounter the error We could not update system reserved partition.

This may be accompanied by error code 0xc1900104, 0x800f0922, or 0xc1900201.

What causes the system reserved partition error?

This may be caused by a full System Reserved Partition (SRP) that can no longer be written to.

Additionally, some third-party security and antivirus applications write to the SRP and can fill it up quickly. Dual booting with Linux can also be the cause of this error.

Additionally, if you are running a new legacy installation, bypassing Windows 11 requirements, your System Reserved partition may only be 50 MB, which is too small.

What is the function of the system reserved partition?

SRP is a hidden partition in the system drive that contains important startup and system recovery information.

The data includes boot manager code and boot configuration data as well as boot files used for BitLocker drive encryption. In Windows 10, recovery environment data is also stored in this partition.

Notes Tampering with the system reserved partition may require advanced skills using the command line. Any incorrectly entered command may result in the device not booting and potential data loss.

What to do if Windows 11 cannot update the system reserved partition?

1. Find out what your partition type is

1. Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management from the list.
2. Now, right-click on your primary partition and select Properties.
3. Click on the Volume tab and you should see the partition style in the list. In this case it is GPT.

Although you can typically only install Windows 11 on a GUID Partition Table (GPT), you can do this on an MBR.

That's why we first need to check what we're dealing with, as the solutions for the two cases are slightly different.

2. Delete font files

2.1 For GUID Partition Table (GPT)

1. Click the Start button , type cmd, and select Run as administrator.
2. Type the following command to assign the drive letter Y to the system partition and press Enter: <strong>mountvol y: / s</strong>
3. Type Y: and press Enter to switch to the Y drive.
4. Navigate to the fonts folder by typing: <strong>cd EFI\Microsoft\Boot\Fonts</strong>
5. Then, use the following command Delete the font files inside and then Enter:<strong>del *.*</strong>
## If prompted to continue deleting the files, type Y.

Apparently, by removing the fonts, you should now have enough space in the SRP to proceed with the upgrade or installation.

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2.2 For MBR (BIOS)

1. Right-click the Windows button and select Disk Management from the list.
2. Right-click the System Reserved Partition, select Change Drive Letter and Path, and press Add.
3. Select Y as the drive letter and finally click OK to apply the changes.
4. Next, click the Search icon, type cmd, and click Run as administrator from the resulting overlay menu.
5. Type Y: and press Enter to switch to that drive.
6. Type the following command to change the folder to fonts: <strong>cd Boot\Fonts</strong>
7. Paste the following command to restore the fonts in the folder Access permissions for the file: <strong>takeown /d y /r /f</strong>
8. Then, save the permissions to the drive by pasting the following command and pressing Enter: <strong>icacls Y:\* /save %systemdrive%\NTFSp.txt /c /t</strong>
9. To display the name of the current user account, Please type whoami and press Enter.
10. To grant a user access, type the following command and press Enter: <strong>icacls . /grant</strong> <strong><the username you got from whoami>:F /t</the></strong>
11. Delete all files in the folder by typing the following command and pressing Enter: <strong>del *.*</strong>
12. To restore permissions, enter the following command and press Enter: <strong>icacls Y:\ /restore %systemdrive%\NTFSp.txt /c /t</strong>
13. Then, restore the access control list (ACL) to the system by typing the next command and pressing Enter: <strong>icacls . /grant system: f /t</strong>
14. EnterFinally, give ownership of the drive back to the system by pasting the following command and pressing Run: <strong>icacls Y: /setowner “SYSTEM” /t /c</strong>

The system reserved partition should now have more free space. You can confirm this by checking the Disk Management console and then you should proceed to delete the drive letter.

To remove the Y drive letter, right-click the System Reserved Partition in the Disk Management tool and select Change Drive Letter and Path as you did in Solve as done in the program.

But this time, select the Y: drive, then select Remove and click OK to save the changes.

Restart your computer (if necessary) and continue with the upgrade or update. The error that we cannot update the system reserved partition should be gone.

Read more about this topic

• System Reserved Partition Not Showing Up in Disk Management
• Fix System Reserved Partition Not Showing Up on SSD Issue 4 Solutions
• Easy Ways to Repair System Reserved Partition on Wrong Drive

3. Use third-party software to extend System Reserved Partition

If you feel The above method is daunting, then third-party tools like Gadget Partition Wizard and AOMEI's Diskpart can help you solve the problem.

Tools like this utilize a graphical interface and near one-click operation to perform various repairs.

In particular, the Mini Tool Partition Wizard clearly displays the partition style and other related properties of each partition.

Whether it is a GPT or MBR disk, the software includes intuitive tools to help you expand or shrink partitions. Be sure to follow their documentation.

Notes On some third-party partition management tools, GPT disks may appear as EFI System Partition (ESP).

In short, these tools help you shrink your main C: drive and extend the system reserved partition using the resulting unallocated space.

As a last resort, you may want to consider performing a clean installation of the affected version of Windows.

Essentially, a clean installation resets the hard drive and creates a new system reserved partition outside of the main system drive. Remember to back up all data before doing a fresh installation.

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