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Search Close GO Software & Apps &gt; File Types 109 109 people found this article helpful <h1> What Is an EFI File?</h1> <h2> EFI files are UEFI boot loaders, and here&#39;s how they work</h2> By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years&#39; of professional technology experience. He&#39;s been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Search Close GO Software & Apps > File Types 109 109 people found this article helpful

What Is an EFI File?

EFI files are UEFI boot loaders, and here's how they work

By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Scarlett Brown 1 minutes ago
lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 16, 2022 Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Reviewed by Jerr...
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Sofia Garcia 1 minutes ago
This article explains what an EFI file is used for and how to open one if you need to.

What Is ...

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lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 16, 2022 Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years&#39; experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email File Types File Types Apps Windows MS Office Linux Google Drive Backup & Utilities Design Cryptocurrency <h3> What to Know</h3> An EFI file is an Extensible Firmware Interface file.Open one with EFI Developer Kit.
Madison Singh Member
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lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 16, 2022 Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email File Types File Types Apps Windows MS Office Linux Google Drive Backup & Utilities Design Cryptocurrency

What to Know

An EFI file is an Extensible Firmware Interface file.Open one with EFI Developer Kit.
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Harper Kim 9 minutes ago
This article explains what an EFI file is used for and how to open one if you need to.

What Is ...

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Joseph Kim 3 minutes ago
They are boot loader executables, exist on UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) based comput...
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This article explains what an EFI file is used for and how to open one if you need to. <h2> What Is an EFI File </h2> A file with the EFI file extension is an Extensible Firmware Interface file.
Jack Thompson Member
access_time 8 minutes ago
This article explains what an EFI file is used for and how to open one if you need to.

What Is an EFI File

A file with the EFI file extension is an Extensible Firmware Interface file.
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Kevin Wang 5 minutes ago
They are boot loader executables, exist on UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) based comput...
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Andrew Wilson 2 minutes ago

Where Is the EFI File in Windows

On a system with an installed operating system, the boo...
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They are boot loader executables, exist on UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) based computer systems, and contain data on how the boot process should proceed. Alfred Pasieka / Getty Images EFI files can be opened with EFI Developer Kit, but frankly, unless you're a hardware developer, there's little use in "opening" one.
Brandon Kumar Member
access_time 5 minutes ago
They are boot loader executables, exist on UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) based computer systems, and contain data on how the boot process should proceed. Alfred Pasieka / Getty Images EFI files can be opened with EFI Developer Kit, but frankly, unless you're a hardware developer, there's little use in "opening" one.
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Mason Rodriguez 1 minutes ago

Where Is the EFI File in Windows

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<h2> Where Is the EFI File in Windows </h2> On a system with an installed operating system, the boot manager that exists as part of the motherboard UEFI firmware will have an EFI file location stored in the BootOrder variable. This might actually be another boot manager if you have an installed multi-boot tool, but is usually just the EFI boot loader for your operating system.
Amelia Singh Moderator
access_time 18 minutes ago

Where Is the EFI File in Windows

On a system with an installed operating system, the boot manager that exists as part of the motherboard UEFI firmware will have an EFI file location stored in the BootOrder variable. This might actually be another boot manager if you have an installed multi-boot tool, but is usually just the EFI boot loader for your operating system.
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William Brown 17 minutes ago
Most of the time, this file is stored on a special EFI system partition. This partition is typically...
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David Cohen 15 minutes ago
On a UEFI system with Windows 10 installed, for example, the EFI file will be located at one of the ...
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Most of the time, this file is stored on a special EFI system partition. This partition is typically hidden and doesn't have a drive letter.
Madison Singh Member
access_time 7 minutes ago
Most of the time, this file is stored on a special EFI system partition. This partition is typically hidden and doesn't have a drive letter.
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On a UEFI system with Windows 10 installed, for example, the EFI file will be located at one of the following locations, on that hidden partition:<br> \EFI\boot\bootx64.efi \EFI\boot\bootia32.efi You'll see the bootx64.efi file if you have a 64-bit version of Windows installed or the bootia32.efi file if you're using a 32-bit version. See 64-bit &amp; 32-bit: What's the Difference? for more on this if you're not sure.
Jack Thompson Member
access_time 40 minutes ago
On a UEFI system with Windows 10 installed, for example, the EFI file will be located at one of the following locations, on that hidden partition:
\EFI\boot\bootx64.efi \EFI\boot\bootia32.efi You'll see the bootx64.efi file if you have a 64-bit version of Windows installed or the bootia32.efi file if you're using a 32-bit version. See 64-bit & 32-bit: What's the Difference? for more on this if you're not sure.
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Elijah Patel 38 minutes ago
On some Windows computers, the winload.efi file acts as the boot loader and is usually stored within...
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Elijah Patel 27 minutes ago
For example, on a Windows 10 installation DVD or ISO image, the following two files exist, which you...
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On some Windows computers, the winload.efi file acts as the boot loader and is usually stored within the System32 folder:<br> C:\Windows\System32\Boot\winload.efi If your system drive is something other than C or Windows is installed to a folder other than Windows, then the exact path on your computer will differ respectively, of course. On a system without an installed operating system, with a blank BootOrder variable, the motherboard's boot manager looks in predefined places for an EFI file, like on discs in optical drives and on other connected media. This occurs because, if that field is empty, you don't have a working OS installed and so you're likely going to install one next.
Mia Anderson Member
access_time 27 minutes ago
On some Windows computers, the winload.efi file acts as the boot loader and is usually stored within the System32 folder:
C:\Windows\System32\Boot\winload.efi If your system drive is something other than C or Windows is installed to a folder other than Windows, then the exact path on your computer will differ respectively, of course. On a system without an installed operating system, with a blank BootOrder variable, the motherboard's boot manager looks in predefined places for an EFI file, like on discs in optical drives and on other connected media. This occurs because, if that field is empty, you don't have a working OS installed and so you're likely going to install one next.
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Sophia Chen 19 minutes ago
For example, on a Windows 10 installation DVD or ISO image, the following two files exist, which you...
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Jack Thompson 16 minutes ago
This is because the install disc contains both architecture types as installation options.

Wher...

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For example, on a Windows 10 installation DVD or ISO image, the following two files exist, which your computer's UEFI boot manager will quickly locate:<br> D:\efi\boot\bootx64.efi D:\efi\boot\bootia32.efi Like with the Windows installation drive and path from above, the drive here will be different depending on the media source. In this case, D is the letter assigned to my optical drive. Additionally, as you may have noticed, both 64-bit and 32-bit EFI boot loaders are included on the installation media.
David Cohen Member
access_time 10 minutes ago
For example, on a Windows 10 installation DVD or ISO image, the following two files exist, which your computer's UEFI boot manager will quickly locate:
D:\efi\boot\bootx64.efi D:\efi\boot\bootia32.efi Like with the Windows installation drive and path from above, the drive here will be different depending on the media source. In this case, D is the letter assigned to my optical drive. Additionally, as you may have noticed, both 64-bit and 32-bit EFI boot loaders are included on the installation media.
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Alexander Wang 7 minutes ago
This is because the install disc contains both architecture types as installation options.

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This is because the install disc contains both architecture types as installation options. <h2> Where Is the File in Other Operating Systems </h2> Here are some of the default EFI file locations for some non-Windows operating systems: macOS uses this file as its boot loader, but not in all situations: \System\Library\CoreServices\boot.efi The EFI boot loader for Linux will differ depending on the distribution you have installed, but here are a few: \EFI\SuSE\elilo.efi \EFI\RedHat\elilo.efi \EFI\ubuntu\elilo.efi You get the idea.
Thomas Anderson Member
access_time 11 minutes ago
This is because the install disc contains both architecture types as installation options.

Where Is the File in Other Operating Systems

Here are some of the default EFI file locations for some non-Windows operating systems: macOS uses this file as its boot loader, but not in all situations: \System\Library\CoreServices\boot.efi The EFI boot loader for Linux will differ depending on the distribution you have installed, but here are a few: \EFI\SuSE\elilo.efi \EFI\RedHat\elilo.efi \EFI\ubuntu\elilo.efi You get the idea.
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Madison Singh 6 minutes ago

Still Can' t Open or Use the File

Take note that there are some file types that are s...
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<h2> Still Can&#39 t Open or Use the File </h2> Take note that there are some file types that are spelled very much like &#34;.EFI&#34; that you might actually have and can, therefore, open with a regular software program. This is most likely the case if you&#39;ve simply misread the file extension. For example, you might really have an EFX eFax Fax Document file that has nothing to do with Extensible Firmware Interface files and is instead a document that opens with a fax service.
Zoe Mueller Member
access_time 60 minutes ago

Still Can' t Open or Use the File

Take note that there are some file types that are spelled very much like ".EFI" that you might actually have and can, therefore, open with a regular software program. This is most likely the case if you've simply misread the file extension. For example, you might really have an EFX eFax Fax Document file that has nothing to do with Extensible Firmware Interface files and is instead a document that opens with a fax service.
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Natalie Lopez 59 minutes ago
Or maybe your file uses the .EFL file extension and is an External Format Language file or an Encryp...
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Mason Rodriguez 1 minutes ago
Instead, double-check the file extension for your file and research the program that can open it or ...
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Or maybe your file uses the .EFL file extension and is an External Format Language file or an Encryptafile Encrypted file. If you&#39;re sure that you can open the file you have, then it&#39;s most likely not in the same format that&#39;s described on this page.
Harper Kim Member
access_time 65 minutes ago
Or maybe your file uses the .EFL file extension and is an External Format Language file or an Encryptafile Encrypted file. If you're sure that you can open the file you have, then it's most likely not in the same format that's described on this page.
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Instead, double-check the file extension for your file and research the program that can open it or convert it to a new format. You might even try uploading it to a file converter service like Zamzar to see if it will recognize the file type and suggest a conversion format. FAQ What is file: \efi\microsoft\boot\bcd?
Victoria Lopez Member
access_time 42 minutes ago
Instead, double-check the file extension for your file and research the program that can open it or convert it to a new format. You might even try uploading it to a file converter service like Zamzar to see if it will recognize the file type and suggest a conversion format. FAQ What is file: \efi\microsoft\boot\bcd?
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Natalie Lopez 14 minutes ago
This file is the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file for your Windows operating system. If you see an...
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Ryan Garcia 21 minutes ago
What is the file system format needed for /boot/efi? The EFI system partition should be in FAT32 Fil...
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This file is the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file for your Windows operating system. If you see an error message associated with it that prevents you from booting your PC, you likely need to rebuild the BCD file. On Windows 11/10, access Advanced Startup Options &gt; Troubleshoot &gt; Advanced options and run the bootrec command.
Isabella Johnson Member
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This file is the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file for your Windows operating system. If you see an error message associated with it that prevents you from booting your PC, you likely need to rebuild the BCD file. On Windows 11/10, access Advanced Startup Options > Troubleshoot > Advanced options and run the bootrec command.
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What is the file system format needed for /boot/efi? The EFI system partition should be in FAT32 File Allocation Table (FAT) file system format. Was this page helpful?
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What is the file system format needed for /boot/efi? The EFI system partition should be in FAT32 File Allocation Table (FAT) file system format. Was this page helpful?
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