Review the Default Partition Configuration Created by MDT

The MDT deployment processes automatically create the necessary disk partitions to take full advantage of the features provided by the target computer and operating system. By default, MDT creates the partition configuration for BIOS-based computers as described in Table 158.

Table 158. Default Partition Configuration Created by MDT for BIOS-based Computers

Partition	File system	Size	Description
BDEDrive	NTFS	512 MB	Unencrypted partition used for starting Windows, also known as the system partition. This partition is used to initially start Windows until BitLocker is loaded and the operating system drive can be read. This partition can also be shared with the recovery partition.
OSDisk	NTFS	Remaining space	Partition on which Windows is located, also known as the operating system drive. If BitLocker is used, this is the partition that is encrypted.

By default, MDT creates the partition configuration for UEFI-based computers as described in Table 159.

Table 159. Default Partition Configuration Created by MDT for UEFI-based Computers

Partition	File system	Size	Description
EFI System	FAT32	512 MB	Unencrypted partition used for starting Windows. For more information, see Deploy to Computers with UEFI. This partition can also be shared with the recovery partition.
MSR	Unformatted	128 MB	The Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) is a partition on a data storage device that is labeled with a GUID equal to E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE. The containing storage device has to use the new GUID Partition Table (GPT) format, not the traditional master boot record (MBR) partition table format. An MSR partition is required on every GPT disk and should be created as the disk is initially partitioned. It should be located after the EFI System Partition (ESP) and any OEM service partitions, but—most importantly—the first data partition must immediately follow it.
OSDisk	NTFS	Remaining space	Partition on which Windows is located, also known as the operating system drive. If BitLocker is used, this is the partition that is encrypted.

In addition to the default MDT partition configurations, you can create custom partition configurations. For example, the default MDT partition configurations do not include other utility partitions or recovery images. For more information, see Understanding Disk Partitions.

Related Topics

Preparing Disks on Target Computers