Is It Safe to Delete the OEM (Reserved) Partition?

Oliver updated on Nov 29, 2023 to Disk Management Questions Answered | How-to Articles

I have never seen an OEM partition on my Windows 8 computer. Now I have upgraded my PC to Windows 10, it suddenly appears. When I try to format my drive, it tells me that there is an OEM (Reserved) partition. So, is it safe to delete the OEM partition, and how do I do that? Appreciate any help!

Yes, it is safe to delete the OEM (reserved) partition. But you won't be able to perform factory resetting on your PC when there's a system failure.

The OEM reserved partition is a functional partition designed by the manufacturer of your computer. It is used to save recovery tools and help you reset the computer to factory settings.

However, if you insist on deleting this partition, you'd better prepare a bootable Windows USB drive or DVD so that you can also perform certain recovery features or Windows installation when the computer fails.

Once you have prepared the device, you can now remove the OEM partition. Since Disk Management doesn't support deleting the OEM partition and Diskpart is a little difficult for beginners, I recommend you use EaseUS Partition Master Free to remove partitions. Its free feature can help you delete the OEM reserved partition easily and safely.

Here are the steps to delete the partition:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master and go to "Partition Manager,"

Step 2. Right-click on the OEM partition and hit "Delete,"

Step 3. Confirm the message, and click "Execute xx Task" and "Apply" to start the process.

If you want to execute the task with Diskpart, make sure you follow the guide below step by step to avoid incorrect operations that might cause problems.

Step 1. Press "Windows" + "R" and input diskpart in the run dialogue box.

Step 2. Enter the following commands to remove the OEM partition:

  • list disk
  • select disk n ("n" stands for the target disk number.)
  • list partition
  • select partition n ("n" stands for the OEM partition number.)
  • delete partition override

Step 3. Once it's successfully done, type in exit to close the windows.

Some users may be confused since it's hard to determine which one is the OEM partition on the partition list in Diskpart. Thus, the simplest way is to use EaseUS Partition Master with a friendly interface.

Further reading: How to Delete OEM Partition in Windows 11/10/8/7 [2023 Updated]