Quite often, when installing a new “OS” on an “empty” computer or as an additional owner of a large volume of hard drives, they encounter a problem when the system displays a message stating that it is impossible to install the OS in the selected partition, because the disk partition style is used as one of the attributes GPT. What is this term and how to solve such a problem, and now will be considered. So let's get started.
What is the GPT partition style ?
To begin with, we will determine what kind of term it is. In fact, there is nothing complicated in his understanding.
If it is indicated that the disks selected for the installation of the operating system have the GPT partition style, this only means that they have an attribute that allows working with volumes of more than 2 TB, and there is a new partition table. In the presence of standard MBR partitions, the OS itself simply does not recognize a larger volume, and hard disk partitioning is strictly limited to only four virtual partitions. To get around these limitations, the GPT partition style is applied. But here there are pitfalls.
The style of the GPT partitions, the initial conditions for installing the OS in them
To ensure the correct installation of the operating system when the selected drive has the GPT partition style, at least two initial conditions are necessary:
- a computer with UEFI BIOS support;
- 64-bit Windows OS version 7 and higher.
Provided that UEFI support is available, Windows is installed in the GPT partition without any problems. If the motherboard does not have such support, even if you try to install the 32-bit system in such a section, an error warning will be issued. You can work around the problem by converting the partition to a standard MBR, which will be discussed below.
Bug Fixes
So, if the installation error still appeared, you can use several methods to fix this problem. Among all the options, there are two main ones:
- Configuring the initial UEFI BIOS settings to prepare the system for installing the OS in the GPT section;
- conversion of the GPT partition style to MBR at the stage of OS installation;
- disk preparation in the settings of the existing operating system.
Using the UEFI BIOS and System GUI Settings
The first option assumes that we have the GPT partition style, the initial conditions are met, and the installation of the new OS will be performed on it.
First, at the start of the computer system, you need to enter the UEFI BIOS settings (for this, special keys or their combinations are used). If your computer or laptop already has Windows 8 or its version 8.1 installed, you can use the universal Charms panel.
In the BIOS settings, you should set the following parameters:
- UEFI boot instead of CSM (BIOS Setup or BIOS Features section);
- SATA hard drive mode with AHCI parameter instead of IDE (Peripherals section);
- Disabling Secure Boot (exclusively for Windows 7 and below).
After a reboot, an error installing the system from optical media will no longer appear. However, if you plan to install from a bootable flash drive, it is recommended that you rewrite it so that it supports UEFI.
GPT Partition Style: Convert to MBR on OS Installation
As for the conversion, it can be done at the stage of installation of the system. You can change the GPT partition style to standard MBR using the command line, which at the initial stage is called via Shift + F10 (for some laptops, Shift + Fn + F10).
In the console that appears, you should sequentially register the following commands with pressing the enter key after each of them (without the punctuation marks indicated in the list):
- diskpart
- list disk;
- select disk X (X is the letter assigned to the disk or partition);
- clean;
- convert mbr;
- create partition primary;
- active
- format fs = ntfs quick;
- assign;
- exit.
Upon completion of the commands, it will be possible to proceed with the reinstallation of the same 32-bit operating system into the converted partition without any problems. Keep in mind that during the conversion process, all data in the selected section will be destroyed.
Convert to MBR in the installed system
If the computer already has an installed OS, conversion to MBR can also be performed. There are two tools for this: the graphical interface of the system and the command line.
In the first case, right-clicking on the computer icon brings up the context menu where the control line is selected, after which the transition to the disk management section is performed . Right-clicking on the selected GPT-disk or section opens a submenu in which the "Convert to MBR-disk" command is used.
Note: first on the disk that you plan to convert, you need to delete all partitions (for this, use the delete volume command in the context menu, called by right-clicking on the selected disk).
In the second case, the command console (cmd) is called up from the Run menu (Win + R), after which the following commands are sequentially written into it (as before, without any punctuation with pressing the enter key after each of them):
- diskpart
- list disk;
- select disk X (assigned drive letter);
- clean;
- convert mbr.
Upon completion of all team processes, you can install a new operating system. And the error message will no longer appear because the GPT section style attribute is missing as such.
Convert to MBR without data loss
To simplify your work and not use too abstruse Windows tools, you can give preference to third-party powerful utilities.
Most experts and experts in this field agree that the most suitable are software packages like the Minitool Partition Wizard, Acronis Disk Director and the like. Conversion technologies are very similar, but working with such utilities is much easier. It is believed that even a novice user will deal with them.
Total
It remains to be noted that if there is support for the initial conditions, it is better to use a GPT disk, having made some simple settings in the UEFI BIOS. In all other cases, conversion to MBR is indispensable. And if you are installing Windows for the first time, it’s better to immediately change the partition. In case of reinstalling or replacing the OS, the second method is also suitable.
And one more detail. When buying or installing a new hard disk with a capacity of more than 2 TB, it is recommended that you first make sure that the entire computer system meets the initial parameters, and that the motherboard supports UEFI. Only in this case, its correct operation is guaranteed. And this applies not only to the installation of the OS, but also the subsequent storage of user information on it.