Convert mbr without data loss. What are MBR and GPT

When might it be necessary to convert GPT to MBR? The most likely situation is to display an error message like this:

This can happen when you try to install Windows system 7 with x86 architecture onto a logical disk with partitions under the GPT system. Sometimes the reason may be the lack of UEFI BIOS on the PC.

There are also standard utilities Windows (including those running during installation) and special software from third parties to solve this common problem. In this guide we will try to explain as clearly as possible options for changing GPT to MBR. It’s also worth knowing that it doesn’t exist effective way GPT to MBR conversion on logical drive with the system, without possible loss of information on it.

This option is feasible if you have already received the dialog box described above about incompatible GPT partition styles. The obvious advantage of this method is that it can be used not only when installing a “clean” system, but also while working in it (only if hard drive not systemic).

Attention! All information contained on the HDD will be erased! Knowing this in advance, you can follow this sequence:

• By time new installation Windows (at the stage of being able to select volumes for installation) you need to hold down Shift buttons+ F10 to open window command line.
• Type the command diskpart, after that - list disk. These steps will make it possible to display a list of all physical disks on this computer
• Run a new command - select disk N, letter N in in this case number of the disk that will be converted.
• Next, you are given two options to choose from: score the team clean, for complete disk cleanup (deleting all partitions) or the option to delete specific partitions selectively using commands select volume, detail disk, and delete volume(the picture shows exactly this moment). The first option is preferable due to speed and simplicity.
• After deleting partitions, enter convert mbr on the command line - this will change the style of the disk partition to MBR.
• When finished, type Exit to exit Diskpart, close the command prompt window and you can continue with the current installation of the system - the error about partition styles will no longer bother you! You will also have the opportunity to create new partitions - just click “set up disk” in the partition setup window.

This option is only suitable for non-system harsh physical disk. To do this, you need a valid operating system (Windows 7, 8, 8.1).

From the desktop, hold down the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and enter diskmgmt.msc in the input field and go to the system disk management routine.

In the Disk Management view that opens, you need to find the disk that requires conversion. It is necessary to delete absolutely all partitions on it. This is done by right-clicking on the required partition and selecting the “Delete Volume” option. This procedure must be performed for each section. hard drive!

At the end of the above described manipulations, you need to click on the disk name item using the right button and in the context list click the option “ Convert to MBR disk».

As a result, you will have the opportunity to develop the required volume structure on the HDD yourself.

Specialized paid utilities for changing GPT and MBR partitions with the ability to save all data on logical volumes.

In addition to the above-described “native” options provided in the system itself, for any conversion of GPT partitions to MBR and MBR to GPT, there are programs from third-party manufacturers - Minitool Partition Wizard and Acronis Disk Director. The only disadvantage of this software is that they are paid.

There is another one free analogue programs with similar capabilities - Aomei Partition Assistant. But this program cannot be recommended by our experts. To ensure 100% data retention when updating section styles, especially if the information is on HDD disk important, we strongly recommend contacting our service center "

MBR and GPT are a hard disk partition table. GPT more new and is gradually replacing MBR. In these entries data is stored about hard drive partitions. Information about the beginning and end of the sections is recorded here, so the system knows where each sector belongs.

The main difference between these systems is that MBR has limitation per disk volume. Maximum you can work with a volume of up to 2 TB, while GPT does not have such a limitation. There are a number of other restrictions, but they are not so significant.

Which is better mbr or GPT

If you ask yourself what is better, then there is no clear answer. All depends, what you plan to use the media for. Important role in the choice will play volume Winchester, installed operating system, and availability UEFI.

In the latter case, it is worth noting that if on a PC absent UEFI support, then it is better to give preference to mbr. Also, only Windows XP can work with this system, so if you plan to install this particular OS, then you should not choose GPT.

At the same time for newer systems advantage It's worth paying attention to GPT as a modern technology.

How to convert a partition during system installation

There are several conversion options. One of them is changing the table during the installation phase of the OC.

To do this you need to get into command line during installation. The easiest way to do this is by clicking ShiftAndF10 at the time of selecting a partition to install the OS.

Now we need to use the command diskpart, and after that list disk to see a list of all available physical media.

When the disk is found, enter select disk X. X is the disk number that we saw as a result of executing the previous command.

We use the command clean, which will completely clear the hard drive. You can also delete partitions manually by sequentially entering detail disk, select volume And delete volume.

Both methods are correct, but the first one will be faster.

All that remains is to launch convert mbr and the hard drive conversion process will start.

Now we enter Exit, reboot and continue with the installation.

Convert GPT to MBR

For such a transformation you can use standard Windows features, namely Disk Management.

How to convert MBR to GPT

This procedure is also carried out very Just. All actions completely identical as described above. The only exception is that you need to select the item convert in GPT, which will appear when you right-click on the unallocated space.

Conversion without data loss

Even though standard means systems allow conversion only with the removal of all existing data, there are a number of programs that can help in the transformation, while saving all information. These include Acronis Disk Director And Minitool Path Wizard. Both programs, unfortunately paid.

However, there is one proven application that covers free of charge – Aoemi Partition Assistant. The program has all the functions of paid analogues. Can fully work with disks, perform various conversions and repartition media, etc.

Often when installing Windows, when selecting a target disk, you may come across a message like “The selected disk contains an MBR partition table. IN EFI systems Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk."

Example of MBR error when installing Windows

The Internet is full of advice, ranging from the strange “you need to press esc very often at a certain stage of installation,” to quite passable, but not always applicable.

Let's try to figure out what can be done in this situation, how best to proceed, and in general the reasons for this error.

Reasons for the error

A long time ago when hard drives were small (less than a terabyte) and used a BIOS, they used something called a master boot record (MBR). Any operating system Windows family firmly settled in this entry in order to successfully load. This recording was located in a specific area of ​​the hard drive, and accordingly was limited in size. Over time, the BIOS was replaced by the UEFI system. And the screws got bigger. And bright minds realized that MBR is very outdated and that its volume is small. What if a cunning user wants to install ten operating systems on his multi-terabyte screw? That's how they came up with a replacement for MBR - GPT. And new versions of Windows (starting from 8 for sure) require that the hard drive, if the computer does not have BIOS or UEFI, be formatted in GPT - just in case.

what to do?

Option one is to enable a special boot mode - Legacy. This mode will let the Windows installer know that this computer is compatible with older systems and can use the MBR. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say how to enable this mode in a specific BIOS - every developer hides it as best he can. Here is one example:

Minus this method— if at some point the installer stops responding to Legacy mode, then the method will stop working.

What to do if the previous method cannot be used? The obvious answer is to convert the disk to GPT format. Windows Installer provides this option, but - all data on the disk will be destroyed. There is also a third method - but more on that later.

So, you are ready to convert the disk to GPT, erasing all data. Here are the steps for this:

1. IN Windows installer we reach the disk partitioning stage
2. Click Shift+f10. The console will open (black window with white letters).
3. Enter the following commands sequentially (after each line, press Enter and wait for a new prompt to enter a command):
   1. diskpart list disk select disk clean convert gpt exit
4. At the select disk stage, you need to enter the number of your disk, which is exactly what the list disk command shows. Most likely the disk number is 0. But if you boot from a flash drive, the number may be different.
5. That's it, the disk is formatted

This is all great, but not everyone wants to destroy all the data on their disk. In this case, a wonderful utility will help us. Naturally, for it to work you need a downloadable working copy of windows. You can install old XP for this purpose, you can use some kind of assembly that allows you to run programs. In general, the sequence of actions is as follows:

1. Download the utility and unpack it into an accessible place. windows place(for working Windows - anywhere, for an installer with running programs - most likely on a flash drive with the installer)
2. We get to any place by any means Windows console. In a working copy, this can be done with the “cmd” command in the “Run” window.
3. Go to the folder with unpacked gptgen (for those who do not know how to use the console, google the CD command).
4. Run the following command gptgen.exe -w \\.\\physicaldrive0

Naturally, instead of the zero at the end, you need to substitute the number of the disk that needs to be distilled. How to find out the disk number is described above. Most likely you will still need to confirm the conversion, but the program will kindly ask you for this. All! The disk is converted, the data is in place. The only thing is that it will most likely fly off windows boot loader. But you can either restore it, if necessary, or install it new windows, for which actually all this was started.

On computers and laptops of previous generations, the installation of Windows 7, as a rule, went smoothly and without special problems. In relatively new devices, especially with pre-installed Windows version When reinstalling, you can often get an error “Installation to disk is not possible. The selected disk has a GPT partition style". Next, we will look at how to convert GPT to MBR right during the installation of Windows.

How to convert GPT to MBR when installing windows 7?

Converting GPT to MBR is done using standard Windows tools(even at the time of installation). If necessary, you can convert the disk back, even without losing data, but we'll talk about that another time. Now let's figure out how working with the command line allows you to quickly convert our disk from GPT to MBR in 6 simple steps.

Convert GPT to MBR during OS installation

1. At the stage of selecting a disk for installing windows, press the key combination Shift + F10;
2. This will open a command prompt window. To display all connected hard drives, run special utility team diskpart ;
3. Next we enter list disk and all connected hard drives will be displayed on the screen;
4. Now you need to select the disk to convert using the command select disk N. Here N is the disk number from the list displayed above. It is easy to determine by size. This list may also display your flash drive with which you are going to install Windows. But we choose the hard drive. That is, on the team select disk N instead of N we put the number opposite the desired disk;
5. The next action will be the command clean. Attention! This command removes everything sections of hard disk. Accordingly, all the data from the entire hard drive. Therefore, save everything important in advance to a flash drive, hard drive, cloud, etc.;
6. And finally, the GPT to MBR conversion command itself - convert mbr.
7. That's it. Enter twice exit to stop working with the utility diskpart and exit the command line.

how to convert a disk from GPT to MBR when installing windows 7

In one of the previous articles in the section with instructions for Windows 10, we discussed which of these markup standards is best to use on modern computer with a modern operating system. In short, it is better to use GPT, as it is a newer and more convenient markup standard hard drives. If after reading the article you set out to convert MBR to GPT on your wonderful computer, this article is exactly what you need. Here you will find instructions on how to convert MBR to GPT without third party programs(system tools), as well as how to convert MBR to GPT without data loss.

For reference: All procedures described in this article must be performed on behalf of the Administrator. Therefore, your account must have the appropriate rights. If there are none, you will need to enter the computer administrator password.

How to convert MBR to GPT without third party programs

To begin with, we must immediately note that changing the layout of a hard drive inside the system is only possible if it No sections in general. In other words, you need to completely remove everything existing sections and then convert. This in turn equals deleting information from the disk. Take care to create backup copy all the data you need.

Also note that this method cannot change the markup system disk on which the operating system is installed. If you need to change the MBR to GPT system disk, you will have to reinstall Windows and change the partition during the installation process. This procedure is described a little below.

Once the backups are created, proceed with the procedure:

By the way, so as not to return to the interface Disk Management, you can complete the conversion procedure directly on the command line.

1. Enter again listdisk and then selectdisk X. Traditionally, X is responsible for the number of the disk to be changed.
2. Now enter the command convertmbr. Click Enter and wait for the procedure to complete.

After this, you can mark. This procedure can be performed in the Command Line, but the interface will be much simpler and clearer Disk Management.

How to Convert MBR to GPT During Windows 10 Installation

This procedure must be done not only at the moment when you purposefully change the layout of the system disk, but also when you encounter the error Installing Windows on this disk impossible. The selected disk contains an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk. In other words, when you try to install Windows on a UEFI system, you will have to change the markup from MBR to GPT. And yes, you will lose all information on this disk.

Process MBR conversions to GPT during Windows installation is actually the same as in the case of conversion “from under Windows”. Its essence is to call the command line and enter a couple of commands. This is all done very simply:

1. When the Windows installation interface has loaded (or when the above error appears on the screen), press Shift+F10 to launch the command line.
2. In the window that appears, enter the command diskpart.
3. Then comes the command Listdisk to display all connected drives. Look for the drive you want to install on operating system. For example, Disk 0.
4. Enter the command selectdissk X. Replace X with the disk number. For example, the command might look like this: select disk 3.
5. The following command will erase the MBR table. Enter clean and press Enter.
6. Now all that remains is to convert the blank disk to GPT. To do this use the command convertgpt.
7. After the successful conversion message, enter the command exit to exit the command line. Then continue Windows installation in the usual way. When the computer is ready for use, you will see the utility in the interface Disk Management, What system partition now uses GPT format markup.

If the disk is not partitioned and you are installing the system on an EFI computer, Windows will automatically select GPT partitioning during installation.

How to Convert MBR to GPT without Data Loss

As you probably already understood, Windows does not have built-in mechanisms that allow you to convert Master Boot Record to GPT without first complete cleaning disk. Fortunately, there is large number free applications, which do an excellent job with this task. One of them is called AOMEI Partition Assistant.

Warning: There is always a risk of losing information on your hard drive during such procedures. It's best to always back up your important data to the cloud or other storage. And remember that only you are responsible for the safety of your information.

As you can see, the whole procedure is quite simple and is much easier to do than it might seem to a novice user or simply an inexperienced user.