How to convert the hard drive from MBR to GPT without formatting
No matter how many hard disks are connected to your computer, they all need one thing to work properly, which is the “Partition Table,” as it helps the operating system find the files it needs during installation of Windows or any other operating system, as well as when booting . .
Currently, there are two different ways to store this partition information on hard disks: MBR, which is based on the Master Boot Record, and GPT, which is based on the GUID Partition Table.
Each method has a different working mechanism, so we suggest that you review the topic of the difference between MBR and GPT to understand the difference first.
Sometimes, it is necessary to convert the disk from MBR to GPT or vice versa from GPT to MBR depending on the age of the hard disk and the operating system that you want to install on the computer.
Fortunately, you do not need to change the entire hard drive and buy a GPT hard drive - you can switch between GPT and MBR programmatically, but you will need to format the entire hard drive.
In fact, even formatting the hard drive is not something necessary to do because now there are tools that can change the partition table and convert the disk from mbr to gpt without formatting or vice versa and the best
art is how easy it is to do it and completely free. In this article, let us take a look at converting the hard drive from MBR to GPT without formatting, but first you have to know what options the Windows system offers you to do something like this so that you do not need programs.
First: Convert the hard drive from MBR to GPT without software
As most users of the Windows operating system know, it includes a default tool for managing storage disks connected to the computer called “Disk Management”.
This tool offers many very useful options, one of which is converting the hard drive from Dynamic to Basic without formatting, and it also allows converting the disk from MBR to GPT or vice versa
, but you will first need to format the disk on which you want to apply this step, and also have it not divided into multiple partitions. Keep in mind that this method cannot convert disks associated with the Windows operating system;
This means that it cannot convert the internal hard disk on which Windows is installed and is currently being used, but you can convert any other “external” hard disk connected to the computer.
All you have to do first is run the Disk Management tool by pressing the Windows key followed by the letter R on the keyboard until the Run window appears on the screen.
Now type the command “ diskmgmt.msc ” in this window, then press the Enter button to open the tool immediately.
You will see a list of all the storage drives and their partitions currently connected to your computer.
As we mentioned, before converting to GPT you must delete all files from this disk and delete all partitions by right-clicking on each partition and choosing “Delete Volume” from the menu that will appear.
After that, right-click on the disk itself and choose “Convert to GPT Disk” from the menu [as shown in the image above]. After a few minutes, the hard drive will be converted from MBR to GPT without any software
If you are installing the Windows operating system on your device, and during the installation process, specifically specifying the partition in which the system files will be stored, you receive the following error message:
Windows cannot be installed to this disk . The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI system, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.
This message indicates that the hard disk on which you are trying to install the system is running the MBR partition table, while your computer or motherboard is running the UEFI Bios system, and therefore the disk must be converted to GPT so that you can install the copy of Windows.
Fortunately, you can convert the hard drive from MBR to GPT through this screen via a simple trick, but it will format the entire hard drive, so it is only useful if you have bought a new laptop or a new hard drive and are trying to install a copy of Windows on it for the first time, so that it does not Any of your data is stored on it.
The trick is to use the DISKPART command line via CMD. When you see this error while installing a copy of Windows, press the Shift key followed by the F10 button until the Command Prompt window appears.
In the window you will type the command "diskpart" and press Enter. Then type the command "list disk" and press Enter to display a list of all storage disks connected to the computer.
If there is more than one hard disk connected, you must distinguish the number of the disk on which you want to install Windows by size. Then type the command " select disk _ If the number is one, enter “select disk 1” and press Enter.
After that, type the “ Clean ” command to completely format the selected hard drive. Now you can type the last command "convert gpt" which will convert the disk from MBR to GPT.
After that, close the command prompt window and complete the installation process, as you will not see any error while specifying the partition on which the system files will be stored.
Sometimes the opposite happens, i.e. your computer is modern and running the UEFI BIOS system and your hard drive is running GPT, but when you try to install a copy of Windows, you see a message containing the following text:
Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style.
This message appears because the copy of Windows is not formatted to run on a GPT hard disk, but rather an MBR.
In this case, you will not need to convert the disk to MBR in order to be able to install the copy of Windows - rather, you can solve the problem by re- burning the copy of Windows to a flash drive using the Rufus program .
All you have to do after running this program is select the flash drive from the top, then choose GPT from the Partition scheme list [as shown in the picture], and then press the Start button to burn the copy.
Then you will be able to install Windows on the GPT hard disk without any problems.
Second: Convert the disk from MBR to GPT without formatting
Let us now move to the most important parts of this article, which is converting the hard drive from MBR to GPT without formatting . You can do this really and easily, even if the hard drive you want to convert to GPT is the internal hard drive on which the Windows system is installed.
There are many external programs that perform this task, all of which are similar in use. However, I will prefer MiniTool Partition Wizard because the process is quick and completely secure.
What you have to do is install the program on your computer and run it, and when the hard disk connected to the computer and its partitions appear on the screen, select it and click on Disk from the toolbar at the top, then from the drop-down menu click on the “Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk” option. A confirmation message will appear, so click Ok
So far, the hard disk has not been converted to GPT, but you will need to click the Apply button in the left corner of the program in order for the changes to be applied.
Windows will restart, and then the MiniTool Partition Wizard screen will appear, showing you the progress of the conversion process.
After completion, it will boot into the operating system immediately. Thus, the hard drive has been converted from MBR to GPT without formatting.
Now your hard disk is running the modern GPT partition system; Giving you additional control over how you use your hard drive.
But if booting to the operating system fails after you convert the disk from MBR to GPT, remember that you must go to the BIOS settings and select the boot mode to UEFI instead of Legacy BIOS.
- If you cannot access your device to install the program, you can connect the hard disk to another computer and do these same steps on the other device, then transfer the hard disk to your device again after completion.
Convert the hard disk from GPT to MBR and vice versa with 4DDiG without losing files.
If you want a wonderful and smooth alternative to deal with, you can of course rely on the 4DDiG Partition Manager program , as it is considered one of the best programs specialized in dealing with the hard disk, especially the process of converting the hard disk from MBR to GPT, as well as vice versa, converting from GPT to MBR, and all of this without formatting or any loss. For data.
If you want to upgrade to Windows 11 and the obstacle facing you is converting the disk, then of course you can rely on this program provided by the famous 4DDiG company, and you can browse their website to learn more about the features of this program.
