Convert gpt to mbr without data loss. Converting GPT to MBR - changing the disk layout. The nuances of using third-party programs

Hello friends, today's article will be devoted to conversion hard drive. I wrote an article about the fact that. The solution to the problem turned out to be quite simple, it was necessary to convert GPT to MBR. We did this using the utility dispart Unfortunately, the disadvantage of this method is that the data on all partitions is completely destroyed. Recently I received a question: how to convert GPT to MBR without losing data? Today we will do this.

As it turned out, this transformation can be carried out, but only with the help of third-party software. In this case we need to use the software Paragon Hard Disk Manager. I want to say that the program only works in operating systems, therefore, I do not advise you to remove the OS by formatting the partition with the system. First, do the disk conversion, and then perform the operations you need, whatever you want.

Download this program you can from the official website. It is paid, but there is also trial version, which is quite enough for us. In order to download the program you need to register, a download link will be sent to your email. Install the program and launch it.

The following window opens before our eyes:

In this window we see all connected disks that are converted to GPT and MBR. As a test disk, I took a regular flash drive converted to GPT. I'll show you how to convert it to MBR. This can be done with any hard drive.

So, there are files on this disk (flash drive), and they will remain after conversion.

To perform this operation you need to press right click mouse on the disk. It is the disk, not the partition. A context window will pop up in which we select "Convert base GPT to base MBR".

A window will appear in which you need to click the button "Convert".

Once you do this, you need to apply the changes. To do this, click the button at the top of the program window "Apply".

That's all. We converted a flash drive, but this can also be done with a hard drive. The files that were on the flash drive remained safe and sound.

Good day everyone! The topic of today's article is dedicated to all those who like to tinker with their computers. First of all, this concerns issues of installing and reinstalling the operating system. As for the installation, everything is clear here, we updated the device and decided to install a new “top ten”. But sometimes there are times when you simply need to return to a proven, old system.

For example, few people now prefer to work in Windows 8. Not everyone still likes Windows 8 because of compatibility problems. And a significant part of users prefer to return to their new computer or (laptop) the usual Windows 7.

And here we can expect problems, because the factory most likely already installed a partition style that supports new capacious devices - style GPT. After all, they expected that when you bought a laptop, you would use the new operating system. And if you install “seven”, you most likely have a 2009 distribution. And then all systems worked in style MBR.

But, before explaining the options for converting a hard drive from GPT V MBR, we need to figure out a little what it is. GPT And MBR– these are the styles of partitions on your computer’s hard drive. Before our hard drive can start working, it needs to have partitions. The earliest (and therefore already outdated version of the disk) was the standard MBR. Translated from English this means “Home boot record" Until recently, we worked precisely on this standard, creating sections, expanding them, using both the system itself and special programs.

Concerning GPT(partition table with support for unique identification number) is a new style. Moreover, it is part of a system such as UEFI, which replaced the old one on new computers BIOS. We will not go into special specifications, I would like to note only one thing. All necessary service information on disk MBR stored in one place.

This can lead to boot problems if the disk sectors on which the file is written are damaged. MBR. On GPT— two or more copies are created on the disk boot sector, which are usually stored at the beginning and end. It's much more convenient and safer. detailed information about how these section styles differ from each other can be found in the article

Thus, if you install another system (or in some other cases), it may not install because the disk has a new partition style. Therefore, we have to resort to the conversion process GPT V MBR. Today we will introduce two methods:

Using standard means Windows - this is mostly done during Windows installations;
Using special programs.

How to convert a disk from GPT to MBR using Windows and the command line

The operating system allows you to convert one disk format to another. However, this only applies to those disks on which operating system Naturally not installed. You need to start by going to the control panel, where we select the “Administration” item.

Here, also at the very end, we find the “Disk Management” item. By selecting it, we will see the following window:

In Windows 10, Disk Management is accessed by right-clicking on the Start menu and selecting Disk Management.

Now you can begin the formatting process itself. For this we choose required disk, right-click on it. In the menu that opens, select “Delete volume”

After the volume deletion procedure has been completed, right-click again and select “Convert to MBR disk.”

After the conversion is complete, you can create the necessary partition structure on your hard drive. However, it is worth noting here that before performing these operations, you must somewhere in advance save all data, if any. This method may work when you have connected new disk and mark it. When installing Windows, we will do the same but by entering special commands

How to convert a GPT disk to MBR using the command line

The command line method is necessary first of all if, when installing Windows 7, a message appears that installing Windows on this disk is impossible due to the partition style GPT. The picture shows the message:

During Windows installation, we get to the partition selection stage. If you receive a message, click OK. Press the keys Shift + F10 and we will see the command line window in which we will work.

Enter the following command - select disk and put the number of the disk that needs to be converted, for example, select disk 0.

Attention! It is necessary to select the desired disk correctly; at the next stage, the information on it will be lost.

Now we need to completely clean the disk. To do this, enter the command clean, as a result, all partitions will be deleted. You can carry out this operation individually, deleting partitions individually or in parts using the commands detail disk, select volume And delete volume. We will now delete all partitions, i.e. clear the entire disk:

When the removal process is complete, enter last command convert mbr. After this, the disk is converted to the required system. And you can close the command prompt window and continue installing Windows.

Both considered options result in data loss, unless of course they are copied in advance. It would be possible. However, there are times when data needs to be saved. There are special programs for this, and one of them is Acronis Disk Director,

Converting a disk to MVR via Acronis Disk Director without data loss

To fully use the program, you must first create a bootable emergency flash drive, which may include it. An image of it can be downloaded. After this, we reboot our computer and specify booting from a flash drive. After downloading, the program itself will open with all the disks that are available on the computer.

A window will open where you need to confirm the operation. The process has begun.

It is not always possible to repartition a disk in this way. Try it latest versions Acronis or similar programs. On devices with factory partitioning, where there are two active disks, you will still have to delete all partitions, reinitialize and re-partition the disk.

Upon completion, we will receive a hard drive converted to the required standard, and the data will be saved on it. Powerful thing - Acronis. Besides this, there are several other similar programs that work the same way. The main thing is that you have a newer version. Very old versions do not support section styles GPT. And of course, in this way you can safely return the new section style ( GPT) back when the need arises. If you figure it out, it's not that difficult. That's basically all for today. Good luck with your computer endeavors!

In one of the previous articles in the section with instructions for Windows 10, we discussed which of these markup standards is best to use on modern computer with a modern operating system. In short, it is better to use GPT, as it is a newer and more convenient markup standard hard drives. If after reading the article you set out to convert MBR to GPT on your wonderful computer, this article is exactly what you need. Here you will find instructions on how to convert MBR to GPT without third party programs(system tools), as well as how to convert MBR to GPT without data loss.

For reference: All procedures described in this article must be performed on behalf of the Administrator. Therefore, your Account must have the appropriate rights. If there are none, you will need to enter the computer administrator password.

How to convert MBR to GPT without third party programs

To begin with, we must immediately note that changing the layout of a hard drive inside the system is only possible if it No sections in general. In other words, you need to completely delete all existing sections and then convert. This in turn equals deleting information from the disk. Make sure to back up all the data you need.

Also note that this method cannot change the markup system disk on which the operating system is installed. If you need to change the MBR to GPT of the system disk, you will have to reinstall Windows and change the partition during the installation process. This procedure is described a little below.

When backups created, proceed to the procedure:

By the way, so as not to return to the interface Disk management, you can complete the conversion procedure directly on the command line.

Enter again listdisk, and then selectdisk X. Traditionally, X is responsible for the number of the disk to be changed.
Now enter the command convertmbr. Click Enter and wait for the procedure to complete.

After this, you can mark. This procedure can be performed in the Command Line, but the interface will be much simpler and clearer Disk management.

How to Convert MBR to GPT During Windows 10 Installation

This procedure must be done not only at the moment when you purposefully change the layout of the system disk, but also when you encounter the error Installing Windows on this disk impossible. The selected disk contains an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk. In other words, when you try to install Windows on a UEFI system, you will have to change the markup from MBR to GPT. And yes, you will lose all information on this disk.

The process of converting MBR to GPT during Windows installation is essentially the same as in the case of conversion “from under Windows”. Its essence is to call the command line and enter a couple of commands. This is all done very simply:

When the Windows installation interface has loaded (or when the above error appears on the screen), press Shift+F10 to launch the command line.
In the window that appears, enter the command diskpart.
Then comes the command Listdisk to display all connected drives. Look for the drive on which you want to install the operating system. Eg, Disk 0.
Enter the command selectdissk X. Replace X with the disk number. For example, the command might look like this: select disk 3.
The following command will erase the MBR table. Enter clean and press Enter.
Now all that remains is to convert the blank disk to GPT. To do this use the command convertgpt.
After the successful conversion message, enter the command exit to exit the command line. Then continue with Windows installation in the usual way. When the computer is ready for use, you will see the utility in the interface Disk management, What system partition now uses GPT format markup.

If the disk is not partitioned and you are installing the system on an EFI computer, Windows will automatically select GPT partitioning during installation.

How to Convert MBR to GPT without Data Loss

As you probably already understood, Windows does not have built-in mechanisms that allow you to convert Master Boot Record to GPT without first completely wiping the disk. Fortunately, there are a large number free applications, which do an excellent job with this task. One of them is called AOMEI Partition Assistant.

Warning: There is always a risk of losing information on your hard drive during such procedures. It's best to always back up your important data to the cloud or other storage. And remember that only you are responsible for the safety of your information.

As you can see, the whole procedure is quite simple and is much easier to do than it might seem to a novice user or simply an inexperienced user.

Hello everyone, today I will tell you how to convert GPT to MBR in Windows.

GPT to MBR conversion may be required in different cases. A common option is an error Windows cannot be installed on this disk. The selected disk has a GPT partition style, which occurs when you try to install an x86 version of Windows 7 on a disk with a GPT partition system or on a computer without a UEFI BIOS. Although other options are possible when this may be necessary.

In order to convert GPT to MBR, you can use standard Windows tools (including during installation) or special programs designed for this purpose. In this tutorial I will show you different conversion methods. Let me tell you in advance that I do not know of a working way to change the partition style from GPT to MBR on a system hard drive without losing data.

How to convert MBR when installing Windows via command line.

This method is suitable if, as described above, you see a message stating that installing Windows 7 on this disk is impossible due to the GPT partition style. However, this same method can be used not only during installation of the operating system, but also simply when working in it (for a non-system HDD).

As a reminder, all data on your hard drive will be deleted. So, here's what you need to do to change the partition style from GPT to MBR using the command line

When installing Windows (for example, at the stage of selecting partitions, but it can also be done in another place), press the keys Shift + F10 on the keyboard, the command line will open. If you do the same on Windows OS, then the command line must be run as administrator.
Enter the command diskpart , and then - list disk to display a list of physical drives connected to your computer.
Enter the command select disk N , where N is the number of the disk that needs to be converted.
Now you can do it in two ways: enter the command clean to clear the disk completely (all partitions will be deleted), or delete partitions one by one manually using the commands detail disk, select volume And delete volume (this is the method used in the screenshot, but just enter clean will be faster).
Enter the command convert mbr , in order to convert the disk to MBR.
Use Exit to exit Diskpart, then close command line and continue installing Windows - now the error will not appear. You can also create partitions by clicking “Configure disk” in the window for selecting a partition to install.

GPT and MBR are partition styles that are slightly different from each other. Accordingly, for some purposes, the use of one of the formats may be unacceptable. Most often it is necessary to convert GPT to MBR in Windows 7, since this particular system only works with MBR. Accordingly, if you have the GPT style installed, you need to change the format in MBR.

The problem manifests itself as follows: during the installation of Windows 7, more precisely before starting the installation, after determining the language and partition, a message is displayed that the procedure is not available because “The selected disk has a GPT partition style.” A common problem occurs when the laptop has pre-installed Windows 8 and there is a desire to replace it with seven.

MBR itself is a universal style on which all systems can be installed. GPT is a more modern standard that has not yet gained sufficient popularity, but it imposes some restrictions. Perhaps, over time, inverse transformations will be used more often.

There are 3 key options, which can help convert a GPT disk to MBR and vice versa, if such a need arises:

Using programs, we will look at the example of MiniTool Partition Wizard;
The standard option is via the console, can be performed from the OS installation window;
When using Disk Management, you need access to the system.

It should be noted that the built-in tools do not allow you to convert GPT to MBR without losing data. This implies cleaning the HDD. The main functional advantage of utilities is data storage. There are simply no clear recommendations regarding the choice of method; it depends on the situation.

Data Preserving Conversion

The only one affordable way, which can be used so that you don’t have to delete everything - this is software. For the most part, the applications are paid, which also leaves an unpleasant imprint, but there are several free solutions. One of the best programs of this nature is MiniTool Partition Wizard. It has full functionality and costs nothing.

Modern hard drives (HDDs) are becoming more spacious and less expensive, and many people believe that it is better to buy one large drive - 2 - 3 - 4 terabytes - than several small ones. But not everyone realizes what difficulties they will encounter when installing an operating system on such a disk. The fact is that disks larger than 2 TiB use a non-standard, new type of data organization - the GPT partition table. It contains “surprises” that await the inexperienced user.

The main differences between GPT (new) and MBR (old) disks

Disk partitioning according to the MBR standard cannot address space exceeding 2.2 TiB, and for GPT disks there are no restrictions (or rather, their limit is an astronomical number by our standards - 8.6 billion TiB).
Only 64-bit versions of Windows, starting with Windows Vista x64, can be installed on GPT disks. Windows XP 64-bit and all x86 versions since Vista can write to and read data from GPT partitions, but cannot boot from them. Windows XP x86 and higher versions do not support the GPT platform.
The GPT partition table is part of the UEFI interface - the new BIOS, so to speak. Computers with traditional BIOSes do not support the GPT structure.

But this does not mean that modern, capacious GPT hard drives cannot be used the old fashioned way - on computers without UEFI or for installing 32-bit systems. You can: to do this, the GPT partition table just needs to be converted to MBR. Part of the volume - that which is beyond 2.2 TiB - will be inaccessible, but nothing can be done about it.

Convert partition table from GPT to MBR

Work with hard drive up to 2 TiB

When installing Windows 7 x86 (32-bit) on a GPT disk, an error message appears clearly indicating the reason:

If your hard drive is less than 2 TiB, a full format and deleting all partitions will solve the problem. This can be done through the “Disk Setup” option included in the distribution package.

When, during the installation of Windows 7, you get to the selection of the partition where to install the system, and you see an error message, click the “Disk Setup” button.

Select each section, starting from the bottom, and delete by clicking the button of the same name. You should end up with one total unallocated space equal to the size of the entire hard drive.

Now you need to create each partition again. To do this, click the “Create” button, set the desired partition size and click “Apply”. Repeat the operation as many times as you want to obtain partitions. The system will ask you to allocate an area for its needs (boot partition 100 mb), it is advisable to agree.

Formatting of newly created partitions is done by clicking the “Format” button. After these steps, the GPT hard disk partition table will be converted to an MBR suitable for installing the 32-bit version of Windows 7. Further installation passes without any problems.

Working with a hard drive larger than 2 TiB

To create an MBR on disks of such large capacity, you will need a utility DiskPart, which is part of the seven distribution kit. It starts and works via the command line.

Having reached the choice of installation location, launch the command line by pressing “Shift” + “F10” on the keyboard. In the black window that opens, enter: diskpart and press Enter.
Next command: list disk- to view all hard drives installed on your computer.
Select the disk on which you will create the MBR. If he is alone, enter the command select disk 0, if there are several, substitute zero serial number the disk you need.
Next, delete all data and all markings from the selected HDD with the command clean.
Team convert mbr converts GPT table to MBR.
To close the console, enter: exit.

Then you can proceed to installing Windows 7.

Preparing a disk for installing Windows 7 using third-party programs: partitioning, formatting, etc.

Partition and format the HDD before Windows installation 7 can also be done using third-party programs, such as “Acronis Disk Director”, “Paragon Partition Manager”, etc. There are enough applications for these purposes, but these two are familiar to many and are the best in their class, so we will use them consider.

Acronis Disk Director

Powerful disk management tool. Available in two versions - for working in the Windows environment and as a boot image. The second allows you to repartition, format, delete, move and restore volumes, and transfer data from partition to partition without booting into Windows.

The principle of using Acronis Disk Director is intuitive - each of its options has a clear, unambiguous definition. Interface - English and Russian.

In order to divide the HDD into partitions and format it in any of the proposed file systems (their list is quite extensive), select “Create partitions” and follow the wizard’s instructions.

Acronis Disk Director has one very useful function- Partition recovery wizard. It allows you to restore deleted volumes to disk with all their data. Unless, of course, the information was overwritten.

Paragon Partition Manager

Another full-featured set of disk management tools. Represents boot image, with which you can do a lot of things: split disks into volumes, format them in different file systems, do boot menus, create installation packages for OS distributions (not only Windows), manage system boot loaders, etc.

As for partition management functions, Paragon Partition Manager allows you to create, delete, divide, copy, restore, merge, make backup copies and transfer them to external media. You can even transfer everything to another contents of hard disk. In addition to the above, the application has network functions, making it possible to create a connection with other computers on the local network.

Despite the English-language interface, Partition Manager is quite easy to manage. Most options launch a built-in wizard that guides the user through all stages of the selected operation. It doesn’t take much time to master the program, and the result of what is done is always good.

Partition management, formatting and other operations through the disk manager

You can also redistribute disk space from under a running system through “Disk Management” - a native tool of Windows 7. The tool is located in the “Computer Management” set.

Launch Control Panel and open the Administrative Tools application. From the list of administrative tools, select Computer Management.

Next select “Disk Management”.

You will see a “map” of hard drives and other storage devices installed on your computer - flash drives, memory cards, etc., if they are connected.

If the disks are divided into parts, each partition, otherwise called a volume, will be displayed on the map with its letter, size and type designation: primary or logical. At the top is a table of properties for each volume. Here you can see which of them your system boots from - the boot partition has the “Active” attribute.

The active partition in Windows 7 is a 100 MB partition at the very beginning of the hard drive (MBR standard). It does not have a letter and does not appear in Explorer.

Right-clicking on one of the partitions on the disk map opens a list of available commands: what operations can be performed on this volume.

So, on logical partition D of our only hard drive, you can do the following:

open (via Explorer);
change letter;
change the disk path;
format;
expand;
squeeze; squeeze
delete;
view properties;
read the help.

If you remove a volume letter, it will not show up in Windows Explorer like the others hidden sections. Such as SYSTEM - where is it located Windows boot loader 7, and RECOVERY section(recovery). This protects the files stored there from accidental damage and deletion.

The “format” command will destroy all information, the “expand” and “shrink” commands are intended to control the size of the partition. “Delete” will accordingly turn the selected area of the hard drive into unallocated space.

In short, working with the disk manager is not difficult, but it requires attention and caution from the user.

Correct operation of the software depends directly on the hardware installed on the PC. If the HDD partition tables do not meet the developer's requirements, then the OS will not be installed. This is where knowledge of methods for converting hard drives from GPT style to MBR and vice versa will come to the rescue.

GPT is a new format for hard drives, used in conjunction with UEFI - BIOS.

MBR is a familiar standard HDD format.

Convert GPT to MBR

There are often cases when a regular system reinstallation does not work. When defining a HDD for “filling” Windows, the information appears: “Installation on this disk is not possible. The selected disk has a GPT partition style,” after which the process stops. The reason is that there is no possibility or there is a UEFI BIOS.

There are several solutions for changing the HDD image from GPT to MBR. Let's look at the three most common variations of GPT to MBR conversion.

Via command line

If installed, there is no risk of losing information. Therefore, we cope with the task using a line of commands:

Advice! Thanks to the application discussed, they create partitions on the screw. Note create partition primary size=n will allocate n MB to the system partition. Note format fs=ntfs label=”System” quick reformats the device to NTFS, active– activates the device.

Using Windows Disk Management

This method is used exclusively for physical non-system hard drives and converts GPT to MBR without losing data on other HDDs:

Advice! The “Delete volume” operation must be performed with each partition of a non-system HDD.

No data loss

There are several programs to solve the problem of converting GPT to MBR without data loss:

Paragon Hard Disk Manager and others.

Let's look, for example, at the latest version of “Paragon HDM 2010 Pro”:

After launching the application in the dialog box, select the edited one with one click GPT disk, at the top of the window click “ HDD" In the contextual one - “Convert to basic MBR disk”, confirm the actions taken by clicking on the green checkmark.
In the window that appears, click “Convert”.
At the end of the process of transition from GPT to MBR, Paragon will display the “All operations completed” window. After this, close the program.

The GPT hard disk partition style offers more benefits than the legacy MBR standard, both to the commercial sector, which uses equipment to store huge amounts of data, and to ordinary users. The advantages of GPT disks for ordinary people are better performance and a greater likelihood of recovering accidentally or accidentally destroyed data. If your computer's motherboard supports BIOS operation UEFI (a prerequisite for working with GPT disks), but for some reason the hard disk with the generated partition structure and stored data has the MBR partition style, everything can be changed. Not without harm to the operating system, but with preservation of the disk structure and files on non-system partitions. Windows will still have to be reinstalled. Of course, there is a way to do without reinstalling Windows, but it is complicated by the process of restoring the ability of the current operating system to boot. After all, you will have to manually create a recovery partition and an encrypted EFI partition (used instead of the “System Reserved” boot partition on the MBR disk), and then restore the UEFI system bootloader. When you reinstall Windows, all these issues will be resolved automatically. Plus, we will get a clean operating system without old operating errors.

So, below we’ll look at how to install Windows on a disk converted from MBR to GPT without losing data on non-system partitions. But first, let's talk about how Windows is installed on a GPT disk with the loss of markup and stored data.

1. Installing Windows on a GPT disk with data loss

Preserving the partition structure and data of an MBR disk does not always make sense. For example, when connecting a hard drive purchased on the secondary market. What to do in this case? Since BIOS UEFI only works with GPT disks, it is therefore necessary that this firmware operating mode is active, and the Windows installation process is carried out from a UEFI bootable USB flash drive. We will return to these points when we consider how to install Windows on a GPT disk without losing data and partitions. But if the hard drive was initially initialized as MBR, then during the Windows installation process with the BIOS UEFI interface enabled, we will receive the following notification.

What can I do to make it possible to install Windows on a GPT disk? You need to completely delete all partitions on your hard drive...

And install the operating system on unallocated disk space. Or, using the “Create” button, create several partitions on the disk in order to indicate only one of them as the installation location for the system, and use the rest as file storage.

During the Windows installation process, the hard drive will be automatically converted to GPT.

This is a way to install Windows on a GPT disk, losing the partition structure and stored data. But what if the MBR disk is filled with information, and there is a lot of it? Even if there is somewhere to temporarily transfer important data - to another hard drive or removable media, with large volumes, the procedure for transferring files back and forth will take time. If there is nowhere to temporarily place the data, there is only one way out - converting the disk from MBR to GPT and then reinstalling Windows on the system partition.

2. Preparatory stage

Before you begin the conversion process, you need to check a few things and prepare your working tools. Need to:

Make sure that the BIOS actually supports the UEFI interface;
Write down bootable USB flash drive UEFI with the installation process of 64-bit Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 (done using the Rufus program or the utility for downloading the distribution kit for versions of the system 8.1 and 10 Media Creation Tool);
Save important data of the current Windows, in particular, files in user profile folders, export settings significant programs, extract the license keys and perform other actions as before the normal process of reinstalling the operating system;
Download from the official website and install on your computer (in current Windows on an MBR disk) the AOMEI Partition Assistant program, with the help of which the process of converting a hard drive from MBR to GPT will be carried out. The program can be downloaded in the free Standard Edition; among other functionality, it provides the ability to convert disk partition styles.

3. Converting a disk from MBR to GPT

Having carried out all the above steps and prepared necessary tools, launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. In our case, in the program window we will see two computer hard drives: one of them has already successfully completed the conversion procedure from MBR to GPT, and the other, an MBR disk, has yet to undergo it.

On the MBR disk, call the context menu, select the “Convert to GPT disk” command, then in the confirmation window for starting the operation, click “OK”.

A software window will appear with advice before starting the operation to make sure that the motherboard supports the BIOS UEFI operating mode. This window also tells you that if convertible disk is bootable and has an operating system installed on it, the latter will no longer be able to boot after the operation is completed. This is why it is important to take seriously preparatory stage operations and perform all the actions recommended in the previous paragraph of the article. Click “Yes”.

At the top left of the window, click the “Apply” button.

Clicking “Yes” is the point of no return, the current Windows will no longer be able to boot as the hard drive will be converted to GPT upon completion of the operation. This will notify you about the completion of the operation: program window, in which the only possible action is to click “Ok”.

Before clicking “Ok”, check whether the UEFI bootable USB flash drive with the Windows installation process is connected. After clicking “Ok” the computer will reboot.

4. BIOS UEFI setup

The next time you start your computer, you must immediately enter the BIOS to set the UEFI operating mode. In the BIOS of the Asus motherboard, this is done as follows. In the main menu, press either the “ Additional settings", or the F7 key.

By clicking “Ok” we confirm entering the advanced mode. Go to the “Download” tab, then select the “CSM” section (it must be enabled, that is, the value “Enabled” should appear opposite it). In the “Boot device parameters” column, set the value to “UEFI and Legacy UpROM” - a compatibility mode in which booting in both UEFI and Legacy modes is possible. Then use the “Back” button to exit the section settings.

If you are installing Windows 7 on your computer, you must also disable Secure Boot - go to the “Secure Boot” section and in the “OS Type” column set the value to “Other OS”. And go up a level with the “Back” button.

In the list of boot devices, select the UEFI bootable USB flash drive.

We save entered into BIOS changes: Press the F10 key and select “Yes”.

In the BIOS of other motherboards, the settings will be different. But their essence will be reduced to the same thing as described for motherboard Asus:

Setting the UEFI operating mode (or compatibility mode, if supported, as in the example discussed);
Shutdown secure boot for operating systems that do not comply with UEFI standard certificates;
Setting boot priority from a UEFI flash drive;
Saving settings.

5. Installing Windows on a GPT disk

After saving the BIOS UEFI settings, the computer will boot from the USB flash drive. We go through the initial stages of the installation process and will linger a little on choosing the installation location. In order for the data on non-system disk partitions to remain safe and sound, you need to delete only two partitions that on the MBR disk were responsible for starting Windows - the first boot partition with a capacity of 350 or 500 MB (depending on Windows versions) and the second partition on which the operating system itself was installed. To avoid mistakes, especially if there are several hard drives connected to the computer, it is better to focus on the size of the partitions. In our example, the disk just converted from MBR to GPT is identified by the Windows installation process as Disk 0. We first delete the first partition using the “Delete” button.

Correct work software depends directly on the equipment installed on the PC. If the HDD partition tables do not meet the developer's requirements, then the OS will not be installed. This is where knowledge of methods for converting hard drives from GPT style to MBR and vice versa will come to the rescue.