Introduction
Converting the disk partition from MBR to GPT is easily carried out using the command prompt in windows with a few simple steps. Many people are using some tools to convert the disk partition of the system. The steps in this are applicable only to Windows. To make these commands as functional as needs some functions should be done using the disk management which is available in computer management. Before converting the partition from MBR to GPT there should be only 3 partitions in the disk. In this article, we will discuss converting the disk partition from MBR to GPT using the command prompt.
About GPT
GPT partition style is a newer standard for disk partitioning which defines partition structure by GUID (Globally Unique Identifiers). GPT is part of the UEFI standard, which means a UEFI-based system should be installed on a GPT disk. GPT partition style allows you to create theoretically unlimited partitions on the disk and enables you to fully use disks that are larger than 2TiB (approximately 2.2TB). Besides, GPT disks have integrated cyclic redundancy check (CRC32) checksum that is used to verify the integrity of the GPT header, which means it's much safer than MBR disks. Thus, compared with the MBR partitioning scheme, GPT is more flexible and has better compatibility with modern hardware.
About MBR
A master boot record (MBR) is a special type of boot sector at the very beginning of partitioned computer mass storage devices like fixed disks or removable drives intended for use with IBM PC-compatible systems and beyond. The concept of MBRs was publicly introduced in 1983 with PC DOS 2.0. The MBR holds the information on how the logical partitions, containing file systems, are organized on that medium. The MBR also contains executable code to function as a loader for the installed operating system—usually by passing control over to the loader's second stage, or in conjunction with each partition's volume boot record (VBR). This MBR code is usually referred to as a boot loader.
Steps to Convert
Step 1
To convert the disk partition from MBR to GPT, you need to make sure that there are only 3 or fewer partitions only available in the disk you are going to convert.
Step 2
If you want to convert the disk which is not a default disk, select the disk you want to convert first using disk partition.
Step 3
Then, run the command prompt as an administrator.
Step 4
Next, you need to run the command given below, one-by-one. It varies based on the disk.
Step 5
Before converting the disk first, you need to run the validation of the disk by running the below command.
mbr2gpt.exe /validation
Step 6
If you need to do more with that conversion, you can just run the mbr2gpt.exe. It will display the list of operations done using that conversion command.
mbr2gpt.exe
Step 7
If you need to convert the disk which is not the default disk you can just need to convert, so you can just run mbr2gpt.exe with the convert command.
Step 8
If you need to convert the disk which is containing the operating system, you need to allowfullos during the conversion process.
mbr2gpt.exe /convert /allowfullos
Step 9
After running that command, the disk partition will successfully convert into GPT.
Step 10
After that process, you need to restart the system and enter the boot mode.
Step 11
In the boot mode, you need to change the boot option from BIOS to UEFI.
Step 12
If it remains the same, your system does not recognize the Operating system, which will lead to some error.
Advantage of this Process
The main advantage of this process is that it all will be done using the command prompt and does not require the installation of any additional software on the system. Furthermore, this process does not affect the data in the system.
Conclusion
This process will help you to convert the disk partition type without any big work. Make use of this to convert your disk partition type without data loss.