i have an error message 'We couldn't update the system reserved partiion" how to fix?

Question

I have an error message 'We couldn't update the system reserved partition." How to fix?

Answer 1

Hi,

Following up on your issue, I would like to know if you have tried the provided steps and whether your issue has been resolved.

Answer 2

Please try these steps:

Open Command Prompt as admin. Execute these commands one-by-one:

• mountvol Y: /s
• cd /d Y:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\Fonts
• del *.ttf

Close Command Prompt.

Re-try running the upgrade and it should work now.

Answer 3

Hi ,

I'm Dyari. Thanks for reaching out. I will be happy to assist you in this regard.

If the steps provided by the Q&A Assist do not work for you, use a free partitioning tool like AOMEI and extend the EFI System Partition.

Please feel free to ask if you need further assistance.

Answer 4

The error “We couldn’t update the system reserved partition” occurs because the System Reserved Partition (SRP) is full. To complete the upgrade or update, free space must be created on the SRP, then run the update again.

High‑level steps:

1. Determine partition style (GPT vs MBR)
   1. Press Windows key + R, type diskmgmt.msc, press Enter.
   2. In Disk Management, press-and-hold or right-click the disk (for example, Disk 0) that contains the System Reserved Partition, then select Properties.
   3. Select the Volumes tab.
   4. Check Partition style:
      • GUID Partition Table (GPT), or
      • Master Boot Record (MBR).
2. Free space on SRP (follow the method that matches OS + partition style)

The documentation describes different procedures depending on Windows version and partition style. All methods are advanced and use command line; a mistake can cause the PC not to boot, so a full backup is strongly recommended before proceeding.

Key points from the documented methods:

• For MBR systems (Windows 7/8/8.1/10):
  • Temporarily assign a drive letter (for example, Y:) to the System Reserved or Recovery partition in Disk Management.
  • Take ownership and adjust permissions using takeown and icacls so files can be modified.
  • Either:
    • Delete unneeded language folders from the Boot folder on the SRP (for example, en-US, de-DE, etc.), and
    • Optionally truncate the NTFS log if it is large (Windows 7 MBR method), or
    • Move the Windows Recovery Environment image (winre.wim) to an external NTFS drive and repoint Windows RE there (Windows 8/8.1 MBR method).
  • When finished, restore permissions/ownership if required and remove the temporary drive letter in Disk Management.
• For GPT systems (Windows 7/8/8.1):
  • Use mountvol y: /s to mount the EFI System Partition as Y:.
  • Restart Explorer in elevated mode (taskkill /im explorer.exe /f then explorer.exe).
  • In File Explorer, open Y:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\.
  • Delete unneeded language folders (e.g., en-US, de-DE) and optionally unused fonts under Y:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\Fonts.
  • Reboot to unmount the partition and return Explorer to normal.
• For Windows 10 with MBR (additional steps):
  • After cleaning up files, use icacls . /grant system:f /t and icacls Y: /setowner "SYSTEM" /t /c to restore ownership to SYSTEM.
  • Confirm in Disk Management that the SRP shows more free space, then remove the temporary drive letter.

3. Required free space

• For an upgrade to Windows 10: free at least 15 MB on the SRP.
• For a Windows 10 update: free at least 13 MB on the SRP.

4. Retry the update

After freeing the required space on the System Reserved Partition, run Windows Update or the upgrade assistant again. The error should no longer appear once the SRP has sufficient free space.

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References:

• “We couldn’t update system reserved partition” error installing Windows 10