3 Free MBR to GPT Converter for Windows 11/10/8/7 (No Data Loss)
- 📖 Basics information about MBR and GPT
- 🔩 Why need a free MBR to GPT converter?
- ⚙ Three free MBR to GPT converters you can try in Windows PC
- 💡 Conclusion
- 📎 FAQs about MBR to GPT converter
When setting up a new disk on a Windows computer, you'll receive a message saying "You must initialize a disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it". This means you need to initialize the new hard drive to either MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table) before using it for data storage. The choice between MBR and GPT depends on the disk size and partitioning needs, but a free MBR to GPT converter can help you convert your disk to GPT if needed.
Basics information about MBR and GPT
MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table) are two different partition styles for hard disks. While MBR is an older style for managing partitions, GPT is the latest standard, offering greater flexibility and capabilities, such as larger disk sizes and more partitions, compared to the limitations of MBR.
① MBR disks have a size limit of 2TB, whereas GPT disks can support up to 18EB, making them ideal for larger storage needs. If an MBR disk exceeds 2TB, the excess space is shown as unallocated in Disk Management and cannot be utilized.
② On the MBR disk, you can create up to 4 primary partitions, and to create more, you need to make the 4th one an extended partition, allowing for more logical partitions. On a GPT disk, you can create up to 128 primary partitions.
③ On an MBR disk, partitioning and boot data is stored in one place, making the entire disk unusable if it's overwritten or corrupted. In contrast, a GPT disk stores multiple copies of data across the disk, making it more robust and recoverable if something goes wrong.
Why need a free MBR to GPT converter?
If you need to convert your Master Boot Record (MBR) to a Globally Unique Identifier Partition Table (GPT) in Windows 11/10/8/7, you may require an MBR to GPT converter. This is because GPT offers several advantages over MBR, including support for larger disk sizes, improved error handling, and enhanced security features.
1. To make the fullest use of a large hard drive that is over 2TB, you can use a 64-bit operating system and install a 64-bit version of your operating system. This will allow you to utilize the full capacity of the hard drive.
2. You need more than 4 primary partitions to store different types of files.
3. To resolve the error message "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks" during OS installation, you need to convert the disk to GPT. This can be done by booting from a Windows installation media, going to the 'Tools' section, and running the 'Diskpart' tool to convert the disk to GPT.
4. Microsoft requires UEFI boot mode and GPT boot disk for upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11 via the "Check for Update" method.
Three free MBR to GPT tools for Windows 11/10/8/7
For Windows users, there are three free options to convert MBR to GPT: using Disk Management, Diskpart, or a third-party partition manager tool. Each of these tools can be used to convert MBR to GPT in Windows 11/10/8/7, and the process will be explained step by step for each method.
- 1. Free convert MBR to GPT via Disk Management (Data Loss)
- 2. Free change MBR disk to GPT via Diskpart (Data Loss)
- 3. Free convert the disk to GPT via partition software (Data Safe)
1. Convert MBR to GPT free via Disk Management (Data Loss)
Disk Management is a Windows native tool for performing basic disk partition management tasks, such as formatting, creating, deleting, extending, and shrinking partitions. To convert an MBR disk to a GPT disk using this tool, you need to first delete all partitions on the target MBR disk, making it an unallocated disk space, and then complete the conversion.
To convert a disk to GPT without data loss, it's essential to back up the MBR disk first. This precautionary step ensures that all data and system information are preserved during the conversion process.
1. Right-click "My Computer/This PC" -->" Manage"-->" Disk Management".
2. To convert a disk to a different file system, right-click on each partition on the disk you want to convert and select "Delete Volume" to clean the disk. This will remove all data on the disk, so be sure to back up any important files before proceeding.
Step 3. To convert a disk to GPT, right-click on the target disk and select "Convert to GPT Disk".
To convert a Master Boot Record (MBR) disk to a Globally Unique Identifier Partition Table (GPT) disk, follow these steps: first, back up all data on the disk, then boot from a live USB or CD, and run a tool like GPT fdisk or parted to convert the disk's partition table. Follow the hints provided by the tool to complete the conversion, which should only take a short time. Once the conversion is complete, you can restore the backed-up data to the now GPT disk.
2. Free change MBR disk to GPT via Diskpart (Data Loss)
Similar to Disk Management, Diskpart is a Windows built-in tool that allows users to manage their disk partition. However, it only supports converting an empty disk to GPT, meaning you need to delete all volumes on the disk before using it to convert from MBR to GPT.
1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard, type "cmd" in the Run dialogue, and press Enter to open the Command Prompt window.
2. To launch the Diskpart tool and run necessary commands, type "diskpart" in the Command Prompt, then execute the following commands in order: "list disk", "select disk [number]", "list partition", "select partition [number]", "delete partition override" and "exit".
•list disk
•select disk #
•clean
•convert gpt
After making the changes, you can type "exit" and press Enter to close this window, and you'll see that the drive has been converted to GPT style in Disk Management.
3. Free convert disk to GPT via partition software (Data Safe)
The first two free MBR to GPT convert tools require you to delete every existing partition on the MBR disk, resulting in data loss. However, if you want to convert MBR to GPT without deleting volume and losing data, the free partition manager Qiling Disk Master Standard is a suitable option.
The software not only converts MBR to GPT but also vice versa, ensuring a successful conversion in Windows 11/10/8/7 by keeping all partitions safe on the target disk.
1. To convert an MBR disk to GPT, download and run the MBR to GPT converter. Right-click the target MBR disk and select "Convert to GPT". This will allow you to see any existing partitions, such as an NTFS partition, on the disk.
The conversion between MBR and GPT can be done easily and effectively without causing data loss, and the process can be completed shortly.
Notes:
①The Qiling Disk Master Standard only supports converting data disks between MBR and GPT styles, preserving partitions, for disks up to 2TB. For larger disks or boot disk conversions, the Professional Edition is required.
② To convert a GPT disk to MBR or vice versa without an operating system, you can create a bootable media, boot your PC from it to enter Windows PE mode, and then complete the conversion from there.
③ If you want to convert GPT to MBR or MBR to GPT in Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022, you can try Qiling Disk Master Server.
Conclusion
Compared to Windows native Disk Management and Diskpart, Qiling Disk Master Standard is a better free MBR to GPT converter, and it also handles various other difficult disk management operations such as cloning an MBR disk to GPT, migrating the OS drive to an SSD or HDD, moving apps or folders to another drive, testing hard drive speed, and more.
FAQs about MBR to GPT converter
1. Are there any risks involved in converting MBR to GPT?
While the conversion process is generally safe, there's always a slight risk of data loss if something goes wrong. To mitigate this, it's essential to back up your data before attempting any partition-style conversion. This precautionary step ensures that your valuable information is protected, even in the unlikely event of a conversion issue.
2. Is it possible to convert GPT back to MBR if needed?
It's possible to convert a GPT disk back to MBR, but this process usually involves data loss, so it's essential to have a backup of your data before attempting any conversion.
3. Is it better to use MBR or GPT?
If your hard drive is over 2TB, you should use GPT, but if it's less than 2TB and you're using a BIOS-based computer, you can use either GPT or MBR for the system disk, or MBR for data storage.
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