GPT partition, What is GUID?, Compare GPT with MBR

We often use computers and hard drives without even knowing that the hard drives we are using are standard in GPT or MBR format.

GUID Partition Table or GPT uses GUID and is the standard for managing physical hard drive partition information.

GPT partition, what is GUID?

GPT partition, What is GUID?, Compare GPT with MBR Picture 1

Partition GPT, GUID, compare GPT and GUID

GPT Partition is a standard for managing physical hard drive partition information, using Globally Unique Identifiers . MBR stands for Master Boot Record and MBR contains different sectors that contain boot data. The first sector contains information about the drives and their hard drive partitions for use by the operating system. However, MBR has some limitations and many newer computers are tending to use GPT.

Some limitations of MBR and GPT

MBR only supports a maximum of 4 primary partitions (main partition), and can manage data up to 2TB. With the increasing need for data storage, GPT (GUID Partition Table) gradually replaces MBR and is used on new computer lines, solving the problem of storing data more than 2TB. MBR stores the first sector of the hard drive to store information about partitions and the location of operating system files.

In other words, the firmware and operating system rely on the first sector for the drive to function properly. If the MBR becomes corrupted, you may lose general access to the data on the drive.

In case of GPT, the drive information is replicated more than one and thus the drive still works even if the first sector fails. One GPT can support up to 128 primary partitions (main partition).

Older operating systems may not support GPT, but almost all operating systems today, only on the Windows XP 64-bit platform since Windows 8.1, support the use of GPT.

Compare GPT with MBR

Some of the biggest differences when comparing GPT with MBR.

1. MBR can support 4 primary partitions (main partitions) while GPT can support up to 128 primary partitions (main partitions).

2. If you need more than 4 partitions, you must create an Extended partition on the MBR, then create a Logical partition while GPT is not needed.

3. The first and only the first sector of MBR contains information about the hard drive, while in GPT, information about the hard drive and its partitions are replicated more than once to operate immediately. even if the first sector fails.

4. MBR cannot manage drives larger than 2TB, while GPT has no capacity limit.

5. MBR supports all operating systems (both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms), but GPT only supports Windows 64-bit platforms.

6. Only Windows 8 32-bit supports GPT booting. All previous versions such as Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP 32-bit, cannot boot from GPT.

Convert from GPT to MBR

To convert from GPT to MBR, the first step is to remove all partitions. Before removing partitions, back up all data to another drive or storage media. Alternatively, you can use 3rd party backup tools or Windows backup tools.

Open Control Panel => Administrative Tools => Computer Management , then select Disk Management .

Both drives and drive partitions display in the right pane, right-click and select delete for each drive partition you want to convert to MBR.

After the hard drive partitions have been deleted, only 1 drive remains (shown as indivisible in the Disk Management window). Right-click that drive and select Convert to MBR disk . It will take a short time before Windows converts it to MBR and then formats the drive so it can be used.

You can create partitions using the regular Shrink Disk command or 3rd party free partition management software like EASEUS Partition Tool or Aomei Partition Assistant .

In addition, you can use Aomei Partition Assistant itself to convert MBR to GPT on your hard drive without losing data on your computer. Refer to how to convert MBR to GPT using Aomei Partition Assistant software that Taimienphi has shared.

You may need to convert to MBR if you have to use a 32-bit Windows operating system application on your computer. The best solution is to use both, MBR for boot (system drive) and GPT for storage purposes.

But if you only have 1 (if it is GPT), convert it to MBR, otherwise it may not boot after installing an operating system, such as Windows 7 32-bit operating system, to the drive.

Both of these segments directly affect the installation of Windows on the computer. One of the errors that often appears is the error The selected disk has an MBR partition table when installing Windows. If you encounter this error when installing Windows, Please refer to how to fix the selected disk has an MBR partition table error to know how to fix it.

There are many different partitions on computers. In addition to GPT and GUID partitions, System Reserved is also one of the concepts that few people know. If you are interested, you can refer to the article on System Reserved partitions to learn more. know more details.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 15 June 2024