It is not Lenovo related. The reason Windows setup creates an EFI System Partition is because most UEFI computers require a FAT file system partition to boot in UEFI mode from (that is what the UEFI specification calls for). It is not practical for the Windows 10 OS (or Windows 8) to run in a FAT32 partition, so a separate, small, FAT32 EFI System Partition is created to contain the boot files.
Sorry, but you are wrong on that. HP and Dell will tell you that if you send in your laptop or Desktop for repair, and it does NOT have the original contents on it, the warrant will be void and your computer will be shipped back to you. It happened to me and has happened to several people that I know. That's why I mentioned about making a backup of the Recovery Image, just in case something does happen, you can use those disks/USB to restore it back to it's original factory default and they won't know any difference.
Many Dell computers were sent to warranty service in my work and all has reinstalled windows. There were no complaints from warranty service guys about that and computers were fixed.
So yo think in order to be covered under warranty, the computer must have the exact factory software load it came off the shelf with. Nothing more, nothing less. Utter nonsense. My daughter's Asus laptop suffered a hardware failure that caused the screen to flicker. I had upgraded the computer by installing an SSD, and the HDD was wiped and used for a data drive. When I sent it back to Asus, it had only the original HDD in it - completely blank. Asus fixed the hardware problem - which was completely unrelated to any software installed on the computer - and restored a factory image to the HDD, covered under warranty.
In order to refuse to repair a hardware failure under warranty, the manufacturer would have to prove that the user caused the hardware failure by doing something such as overclocking. Replacing the factory software load with a clean install of Windows 10 could not be proven to cause a hardware failure, therefore the failure of the manufacturer to cover a hardware defect under warranty for that reason alone would never stand up in court. Also, all computers all sold with the expectation that the user will add their own software to it. So to say that altering the factory software load of a computer voids the warranty is utter nonsense.
This is from HP warranty terms:
"This Limited Warranty does not apply to
expendable or consumable parts and does not
extend to any product from which the serial
number has been removed or that has been
damaged or rendered defective (a) as a result of
accident, misuse, abuse, contamination,
improper or inadequate maintenance or
calibration, or other external causes; (b) by
operation outside the usage parameters stated in
the user documentation that shipped with the
product (c) by software, interfacing, parts, or
supplies not supplied by HP
In order to refuse Warranty service, HP would have to prove that the replacement software caused the damage to the hardware. Now, if HP restores the factory load of software on the computer, and the problem goes away.... that's an entirely different situation.
Can I ask you again. How exactly would you have done a Clean Install of Windows 10 on a new laptop like my Lenovo S340?
Would you have created a USB to boot from and just from the initial screens in the Windows 10 setup have deleted all partitions showing into one single Unallocated Space and put Windows 10 on that? Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I'm getting from what you guy are saying here, that it would have left the OEM recover partition but created a new EFI System Partition.
Create USB flash drive using Microsoft Media Creation tool. Boot computer from it. Go through the setup screens until you can select the custom install option. On the next screen after picking custom install, delete every partition until you are left with one big unallocated space. Highlight it and click next. Let Windows Setup set up the drive the way it wants to.
If you have not yet deleted the OEM recovery partition you can 'factory reset' using the NOVO button.
Introduction to NOVO button - ideaPad laptops - US
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