What is the difference between MBR and GPT disks?
Nowadays, many users search for the answer “How to achieve MBR lossless conversion to GPT disk without losing data” on technology blogs and forums. So why convert MBR to GPT? What is the difference between MBR disks and GPT disks? Here are the main differences between them:
MBR GPT
Partition capacity 2TB 9.4ZB (1ZB=1 billion TB)
Number of partitions: 4 primary partitions (or 3 primary partitions+unlimited number of logical partitions) 128 primary partitions
Firmware Interface BIOS UEFI
Operating system Windows 7 or earlier, such as newer systems such as Windows 95/98/XP/2000, such as Windows 11/10/8.1/8
Perhaps because they want to upgrade the Win11 system, or perhaps because they want to fully utilize the disk space of large hard drives with a capacity of 2TB or more, people may want to complete the task of converting hard drives from MBR to GPT. So the question is, will the data on the target hard drive be lost during the MBR to GPT disk conversion process? The answer varies from person to person, depending on which method you choose.
The recommended way to convert MBR lossless to GPT disk!
As is well known, the command prompts and disk management tools built-in in Windows systems can only convert MBR to GPT after deleting partitions on the target disk. It is obvious that you will lose the stored data inside the hard disk, so you cannot achieve the task of MBR lossless conversion of GPT partitions.
Is there a way to easily convert disk partition formats without losing any data? The answer is yes, Aomei Partition Assistant is a practical tool that meets your requirements. It can help you easily and quickly complete partition conversion tasks within 3 steps without deleting partitions, and has strong compatibility, running stably on both Windows PC and Windows Server operating systems.
Quickly go to the download center to download or click the button below to download and install the Aomei Partition Assistant, and then follow our demonstration tutorial to learn the method of MBR lossless conversion to GPT disk partition form!
Download for free now
Win 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Please carefully review these precautions before proceeding with the operation:
① MBR corresponds to traditional boot mode, GPT corresponds to secure boot mode (UEFI). If you are converting a system hard drive, you need to modify the corresponding boot mode in the BIOS after the conversion, otherwise the system will not be able to start.
② If you want to convert the system hard disk, please create a startup USB drive in advance to guide the computer into the recovery environment. Otherwise, the system cannot convert the system hard disk in a normal operating system for its own protection.
③ If you are afraid of data loss, you can backup files before conversion for double protection, which is safer.
Step 1. Open the Aomei Partition Assistant, right-click on the hard drive you want to convert in the main interface, and then select “Convert to GPT Hard Drive”.
Convert to GPT hard drive
Step 2. Click “OK” in the pop-up window, read the prompts, and then click “Yes”.
Confirm prompt pop-up
Step 3. Return to the main interface, click the “Submit” button in the upper left corner to preview the upcoming task, confirm it is correct, and then click “Execute” to start converting MBR to GPT disk.
Convert MBR to GPT disk
There are two other ways for MBR to convert GPT disks!
The previous content was about using the Aomei Partition Assistant to complete the MBR lossless to GPT task without losing data. Next, we will also show you two ways to use built-in tools in Windows systems for disk conversion. Although they cannot convert MBR to GPT disks without loss, they are also a feasible disk conversion solution. You can backup the disk in advance or use it to convert blank hard drives.
Method 1: Use a command prompt to convert MBR to GPT
As one of the built-in tools in Windows, the command prompt is a common choice for converting disks. With its help, you can easily convert MBR to GPT by executing a few short lines of commands.
Step 2. In the Windows installation interface, press Shift+F10 to open the command prompt.
Step 3. Please enter the following commands in sequence and press Enter once after each command line to execute.
Diskpart
List disk
Select disk # (# refers to the hard drive number you want to convert)
Clean
Convert GPT
Convert to gpt format using command prompt
Method 2: Use disk management tools to convert MBR to GPT
The disk management tool is also a very practical system built-in tool, which can help us complete a series of basic disk partition management tasks, such as expanding volumes, compressing volumes, deleting volumes, creating new simple volumes, formatting hard drives, etc. Of course, converting disk partition formats is no exception.
But it has limitations, you need to delete all partitions on the target hard drive in advance, otherwise you will find that converting to a GPT disk is grayed out.
Convert GPT gray
conclusion
To help everyone achieve the goal of MBR lossless conversion to GPT disks more easily, we recommend using a partition assistant to convert disk partition formats. If you want to use built-in tools in the Windows system for conversion, we also provide two good methods for you, but you need to do data backup work in advance to ensure data security and not loss. The specific method you choose depends on your own needs.
In addition to helping us convert MBR lossless GPT partitions, the Partition Assistant also integrates many interesting practical features, such as lossless partition size adjustment, system migration to new hard drives, formatting hard drives, disk overwrite random numbers, rebuilding master boot records, etc. It has many functions and practical applications. Download and use it now!
