Converting a GPT partition to MBR and how to fix the GPT format error when installing Windows. How to convert GPT disk to MBR without losing data? Converting disk partitions in various ways

For many users, converting GPT to MBR when Windows installation 7 is necessary procedure.

IN Lately it became not so easy to reinstall HDD, like before.

The fact is that simultaneously with the start of production, hard disks with new section style.

The difficulty is that to install such a disk, the style must be converted to the usual MBR.

This can be done quite simply in several ways.

general information

In fact, this conversion procedure can be useful in different situations. But – the most common and popular of them.

Often, having purchased a laptop with a pre-installed G8, the user wants to exchange the updated and changed OS for the familiar G7.

And he is faced with the fact that it is impossible to do this.

How are these formats different?

MBR– standard and familiar format hard drive. All users worked with it until the Windows 8 operating system was released, which became fundamentally different. Therefore, previously there were no problems with reinstallation;
GPT– a fundamentally new and unusual format for placing partition tables on a hard drive. For the first time, discs of this style appeared during the transition to new type BIOS - UEFI. The format is used on relatively new operating systems - “eight”, “ten”. Therefore, reinstalling and replacing with an older OS can be difficult.

The need for such a transformation arises at several stages of working with hard drive. But during reinstallation - most often.

The GPT format is much preferable in work. If it is present, loading occurs faster operating system, external and internal storage even very large volumes. The system works faster. However, some users still need to convert the disk format. It should be taken into account that everything positive sides GPTs will be lost.

Problem

What is the essence of the problem? On initial stages installation no difference from standard procedure the user does not detect.

He inserts a disk into the drive or inserts a memory card, and boots from them. After this, the language selection menu appears, where you can also freely select the system language.

The user then specifies the partition where he wants to install.

The standard user reaction to such a notification is to delete partitions and format the disk. But these actions do not bring results.

The essence of the problem

Decide this problem there is only one way - transformation outdated format to the new one. This is not difficult to do. No additional software or special abilities are required. The only thing you need for this is an installation disk with a new operating system.

Command line

One of the most simple ways conversion. In order to carry it out, follow the following algorithm:

Run the installer again;
Insert the installation disc;
Boot from it;
Select the system language;
When the window for selecting partitions for installing a new OS opens, hold down Shift and F10 at the same time (without selecting a partition);
This action launches the command line;
Enter the command diskpart, this utility helps to cope with many problems that arise during OS installation;
Enter the command list disk, as a result of which a list of disks will open, each of which will be assigned a number;
Remember the number of the disk you want to convert;
Now enter the command into the command line select disk#, where # is the number that tough one disk (according to the list) that will be converted;
The next step will delete all existing data on the hard drive - something to keep in mind!
Type into the command line clean command, which will completely clear the specified disk of any information;
You can save data from the disk only on an external drive, but if they are moved, for example, to disk D, this will not bring results (they will still be deleted);
Wait a while for the cleaning to complete and proceed directly to the conversion;
Dial convert mbr on the command line;
The process of converting the outdated format to the updated one will start;
Wait for the notification that the process has completed (usually it appears almost instantly).

As soon as this process was completed, the hard drive acquired its usual format. You need to exit the converter utility. To do this, type exit on the command line. It is not advisable to go out in another way, for example, by turning off the computer.

After that, connect the installation disk again. Complete the installation as usual. Now there will be no problems at the partition selection stage.

Working with the command line

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No data loss

In some cases, losing data stored on your hard drive is unacceptable. At the same time, transfer them to removable media, and then back to the computer - for a long time.

Sometimes data volumes do not allow this, or removable storage of a suitable size is not available at all.

Buy boot Live disk CD|DVD. Carefully study its assembly, since for conversion to mandatory you will need the Paragon Hard Disk Manager utility. Not every disk assembly has it, but without it it is not possible to convert partition formats;
Install on your computer boot disk or memory card. Download and run the system from it. Wait until the desktop appears in front of you;
Standard way open the Start menu and find the section there HDD Utilities and USB. Click on it and select Paragon HDM 2010 Pro from the list;
Launch the program;
After launch, a program window will open, which will display all hard drives. Select the base GPT and click on it once with the left key;
Now click on the “Hard disk” button, which is located at the top, in the header of the program window;
A small menu will open in which you need to select a section "Convert to MBR". Click on the command. After this, we confirm the process by clicking on the green checkmark in the pop-up window;
A window with parameters and settings will open conversion. You cannot change anything in it (sometimes this option is present). Just click on the button "Convert" at the bottom of the window;
The conversion process has now started. In the window that opens, you can monitor the progress of the process based on the filling of the gray bar green. The process is not as fast as in the first case. Typically, this type of conversion takes a few minutes.

With release hard drives With the new style of GTP partitions, the topic of converting GPT to MBR has become very relevant. This procedure may be required in different situations, but most popular topic It became impossible to reinstall the operating system.

GPT- This new standard format for placing partition tables on a hard drive, appeared mainly with the beginning of the use of UEFI - BIOS.

MBR – standard format HDD, which we are all used to working with.

Often when buying a laptop or computer it costs pre-installed Windows 8, after some time, users reinstall the system to their familiar Windows 7 ( often, the reason for reinstallation is the lack of standard menu"Start"). But when installing Having inserted the disk, booted from it, selected the system language and the partition on which we will install, everything seems to be going well, but when you click on “Next”, the following message appears: Uinstalling Windows on this disk impossible. The selected disk has a GPT partition style. Completely deleting partitions and formatting the disk does not help, what should I do?

The answer to this question is quite simple, you need to convert GPT to MBR. To implement our plan, we only need .

How to convert GPT to MBR using command line

Having started the installation again, we get to the selection of partitions, where we call the command line. To do this, you need to press Shift+F10, after which the console will appear.

To convert the partition format, we will use the utility Diskpart. We have already met with her work earlier in the article:. By typing the command diskpart we will launch the utility.

Then, the team list disk open our list of disks, in which each disk will have its own number, for me it is 0. If you have several hard drives, the number may be different.

Attention, when performing the next step, all data on the hard drive will be deleted

The next step is complete cleaning our hard drive with the command clean. If you are reinstalling Windows and decide to use this method, and you have important data that needs to be saved, then I recommend sending it to external storage(flash drive or external HDD), since moving to “D:/” will not help. After waiting for the cleaning to finish, you can proceed to converting our disk.

We start the conversion with the command convert mbr, which with GPT disk but will do a regular MBR. After a moment, a message indicating the successful completion of the process will appear.

Now the disk has become the usual one that we are used to working with, all you have to do is exit the utility by writing, Exit and install the operating system you want.

Convert from GPT to MBR without data loss

After working with Windows 8 for several days, weeks, months, you decided. Having started the installation, we saw an error that it cannot be installed on a GPT disk. Yes, of course, you can use the first option and convert the disk to MBR using the command line, but all data will be destroyed. But, over the entire period of work, the “D:\” drive has accumulated quite a lot of important information for you, photographs that are dear to you, favorite music, etc., and the loss of all this will be a rather unpleasant moment. Is it possible to make a conversion while saving all the data, you ask?

There is such an option, but for this we need a bootable Live CD/DVD. I am using the LEX LIVE STARTLEX DX MEDIA 2011 disk, I chose this disk because this assembly contains a program that will be needed to convert a disk from GPT to MBR. It's called Paragon Hard Disk Manager Be careful, it is not included in every collection of Live CDs.

If you have a ready-made boot disk or flash drive Live CD, insert it into the computer and boot from it (). After waiting just a few minutes, a desktop will appear in front of us, where in the start we look for “HDD & USB Utilities” and find the program “ Paragon HDM 2010 Pro" and launch it.

In the list of hard drives we see our basic GPT disk, selecting it with 1 click, in top menu select “Hard disk”, and in the list that opens, click “Convert to basic MBR disk”.

The conversion will not start immediately; to confirm and start the process, click the green checkmark.

In the next window, simply click "Convert".

The conversion of our hard drive will begin, wait a few minutes.

After graduating hard conversion disk with GPT in MBR, paragon will notify us about this with the message that “All operations are completed.” To complete the process, close the window with the appropriate button.

That's all, all you have to do now is restart your computer and continue installing Windows, and all the files that were on the “D:\” drive will be saved. Leave your comments, with the help of which you, dear readers, will convert a hard drive from GPT to MBR.

Hello admin! How to convert GPT to MBR without data loss on a laptop with installed Windows 8.1?

My laptop has Windows 8.1 installed on the drive (C:), and there is also a drive (D:) with personal files and I want to completely convert the hard drive from GPT to MBR without losing data, but so that Windows 8.1 boots, activation does not fail, and all programs remain functional, then I will install a second one Windows system 7.

How can this be accomplished? I understand that the question is very difficult, since I did not find a detailed answer on the Internet, just guesses.

Hello friends! My name is Vladimir and in today’s article I will show you how to convert GPT to MBR without losing data on a laptop with Windows 8.1 installed (nothing will happen to the operating system and your data). But that's what I said in simple words, to put it in technical language, it should sound like this: today we are with you convert the hard disk partition table standard GPT to MBR.

Why do many users disable the UEFI interface on their laptops and convert the hard drive to MBR? I believe that this is only for installing Windows 7, because Windows 7 will not be installed on a new laptop with a GPT disk. But if you disable UEFI, Windows 8.1 will not boot and to install Windows 7 you will have to delete everything from the hard drive, including Win 8.1 itself. Today’s article offers a universal way out of the situation. We will convert your laptop hard drive from GPT to MBR without deleting data, and we will restore Windows 8.1 booting!

Note: The question is really difficult and the article is given to you primarily for your information! Just in case, before starting work, I recommend that all users (including experienced ones) play it safe and create a complete backup copy laptop hard drive in the program or, or create (best), since hidden section with the program to roll back to the store state after converting the hard drive from GPT to MBR will not work.
If you need the old Windows 7 on your laptop with a UEFI BIOS, then you can do it easier, install it on .

So we have new laptop Acer (UEFI BIOS) with pre-installed factory Windows 8.1.

In Disk Management, all partitions of the hard disk are visible, including hidden ones (the third hidden MSR section 128 MB required for GPT disks - not visible in Disk Management, but we will see it in Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15).

The drive (C:) has Windows 8.1 installed, and the drive (D:) contains a lot of personal information.

The hard drive is converted to a GUID partition table, abbr. GPT

You can also see this on the command line by typing the following commands:

diskpart

lis dis

A GPT hard drive always has an asterisk next to it.

By using bootable flash drive Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15convert a hard drive from GPT to MBR without data loss

First we need a bootable USB flash drive with Paragon program Hard Disk Manager 15, this is the program that converts a hard drive from GPT to MBR without data loss, but after Windows conversion 8.1 will not boot and the system boot will have to be restored, we will do all this in today’s article.

We connect the bootable USB flash drive to the laptop and reboot, enter the BIOS, here we immediately disable UEFI and enable Legacy (I created a normal bootable flash drive with the Paragon program, not UEFI),

Reboot and enter the laptop boot menu, select the flash drive with the Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15 program to boot

In the main program window we see the laptop’s hard drive, all partitions are visible, including hidden ones (the third hidden partition MSR 128 MB, required for GPT disks, is now visible). Click on the small arrow to display disks and partitions in a more convenient list.

To avoid creating an Additional partition on your hard drive with logical drives, we delete all hidden partitions on the laptop (you don’t have to delete anything at all, read the information at the end of the article), leaving only the partition with Windows 8.1 installed, to which the program assigned the letter (E:) (formerly C:) and the partition with our files,to which the program assigned the letter (F:)(former D:) .

Right-click on the first hidden section and select “Delete”

Check the box “Do not request a volume label next time” "and press the button" Yes " .

The first hidden section has been removed.

Right-click on the second hidden section and select “Delete”

Click on the “Yes” button.

Click "Yes".

The second hidden section has been removed.

Right-click on the third hidden section and select “Delete”

Click on the “Yes” button.

"You are going to destroy system partition. The system may not boot. Do you really want to perform the operation?"

Click "Yes".

The third hidden section has been removed.

Right-click on the fourth hidden section and select “Delete”. This section contains the laptop's factory settings.

" Yes "

It's time Convert GPT to MBR without data loss.

Right-click on the laptop hard drive and select “ Convert Basic GPT to Basic MBR disk» .

Click "Convert"

" Yes "

Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15 works in deferred operation mode, click “Apply” and the program will begin to carry out all the operations we have specified.

GPT conversion to MBR without data loss completed successfully!

Create a hidden System Reserved partition (Reserved by the system, volume 300 MB) with files Windows boot 8.1 and make it active

Friends, now all we have to do is create a hidden active System Reserved partition in the program (Reserved by the system, volume 300 MB) with Windows 8.1 download files. By the way, you can do this on the command line by booting from the installation Windows disk 8.1, but in this article we are working with Paragon Hard Disk Manager 15.

Right-click on the unallocated area of the hard drive and select “Create Partition”.

The program shows the unallocated space from which we can create a partition.

We take the delimiter from the right edge and compress the unallocated space, creating a 300 MB partition at the very beginning of the hard drive. File system let's take NTFS.

Click "Yes"

Making the section active.

Right-click on the newly created partition (F:) and select “Make the section active.”

“Are you sure you want to make this section active?”

Click "Apply"

Click “Yes” and the program starts working.

An active hidden System Reserved partition has been created on the laptop’s hard drive (Reserved by the system, volume 300 MB) and now we will copy the Windows 8.1 download files to it.

Creating a boot configuration for Windows 8.1

In the initial system installation window, open the command line keyboard shortcut Shift+F10.

Enter the following commands on the command line:

diskpart

lis vol (displays all partitions of the hard drive)

exit

We see that the recovery environment has assigned a drive letter (F:) to the partition with Windows 8.1 installed, so we enter the following command

bcdboot F:\Windows (create a boot configuration for Windows 8.1)

Reboot and enter Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 booted perfectly on MBR disk. Nothing happened with activation. All programs work.

Disk properties. The hard drive has a Master Boot Record (MBR).

Disk management

Article on this topic:

In order for programs to have access to disk space drive, it is not enough to simply physically connect it to the motherboard. Required condition is to preliminary perform the so-called breakdown and create a certain surface structure. Currently, there are two available standards (hereinafter we will talk about systems Windows family) - Master Boot Record (MBR, main boot record) and Extensible Firmware Interface (GPT, extensible firmware interface). Regardless of the name, they determine the method of data about the beginning and end of each section, service records, etc.

Comparing “bosom enemies”

The MBR standard has been used since the days of DOS, so it has been studied far and wide. Everyone can work with drives with a similar format. existing applications, that is, compatibility is 100%. The prerequisites for creating something new were some limitations inherent in MBR. In particular:

It is possible to work with drives with a capacity of no more than 2 TB;

When partitioning, you can create only 4 main/main partitions, and the rest of the space has to be given to extended and;

Since information about partitions and the boot record are recorded in one place, in some cases they may be damaged and require restoration.

All this was successfully overcome in GPT. In addition, the developers have provided a mechanism that allows special effort convert GPT to MBR and vice versa. In theory this task can be solved in a couple of clicks of the manipulator. However, in practice there are a number of nuances that force you to carefully consider the feasibility this decision. Before you figure out how to convert an MBR partition to GPT and vice versa, it is important to remember that to ensure functionality last option partition tables require support from other components computer system. So, instead of BIOS, more should be used new UEFI(that is, only new motherboards are suitable), and the operating system simply must be able to work with such a breakdown. If we talk about the Windows family, then this is the 64-bit eighth version. Previous Wins 7 and Vista, although they see such disks, we are not talking about full support.

Need for transformation

Each user has his own reasons that force him to convert the drive to one or another structure. The question “how to convert MBR to GPT” is most often of interest to curious users who, having read information about supposedly increased performance new system, they decide to do something like this. This is perhaps the most common reason.

Well, those who are interested in how to convert GPT to MBR are, as a rule, owners of new laptops who have decided that their specific case such a forced transition is untimely. It is worth noting that to get by “ little blood"and a GPT disk can not always be converted to MBR while preserving all the data recorded on it. Therefore, before such an operation, all information of any value to the user must be copied to another intermediate medium.

Operating system installation

If you try to install a 32-bit on a GPT partition, you will receive a message stating that such an operation is impossible. There is no way around this limitation. This means that the GPT disk must be converted to MBR. This problem can be solved in several ways. One of the simplest involves using the built-in capabilities of the Windows system itself.

There are two options. The first one is to convert new drive at the stage of installing the operating system. To do this, during installation, on the partition selection screen, you need to press the combination Shift+F10 and type diskpart in the line that appears. Next, in order to convert a GPT disk to MBR, you should use the list disk command. A list of partitions and media is displayed. After carefully studying it, you need to specify select disk X (where X is the number in the list). After this, all that remains is to delete the partitions and recreate the structure, alternately using the clean and convert mbr commands. Actually, on new computers whose hard drives are not “cluttered” with information, it is very easy to get confused about how to convert GPT to MBR, since you can experiment with peace of mind: you won’t be able to “break” anything in this way.

Built-in command line mechanism

In some cases, it is necessary to perform a partial conversion of GPT partitions to MBR. For example, if several hard drives are simultaneously connected to the motherboard (laptop), one of which has an operating system installed and running Windows versions Vista-8.1, then the user has the opportunity to convert non- system drives into one structure or another.

This method is ideal for those who are looking for an answer to the question “how to convert GPT to MBR”, having several hard drives on hand. This mechanism is analogous to the one you specified, with the only difference being that it requires a running operating system. That is why we emphasized that conversion is available only for those hard drives from which the operating system does not boot. So, on the desktop you need to press Win + R and type diskmgmt.msc in the line that appears on the screen. A utility will launch to manage all disks. Here, using the cursor, you need to select the desired partition on the drive and select “Delete volume” through the right-click menu. The operation must be performed for each letter. It is important not to make a mistake with the disk, so you need to check at least the capacity. Next, there is nothing complicated about how to convert GPT to MBR: you need to right-click on the selected hard drive in the list and select the appropriate command that converts to a disk with MBR partitioning.

The nuances of using third-party programs

Of course, converting GPT partitions to MBR is not limited to the above methods. There are much more “flexible” and convenient software tools. For example, the same Acronis DD, Paragon HDM, Minitool PW, etc. The peculiarity of working with them is the need to load the operating system from another hard drive, the so-called “Liv SD-DVD”, or a prepared flash drive that has the corresponding program. Since most often the need to convert basic GPT to MBR arises among owners of new laptops, Live DVDs are in demand. You must first download this on another computer ISO image from the Internet and burn it to a CD, making the latter bootable. Then the laptop needs to boot from this Live DVD, run the partitioning program and perform the conversion operation. At all, similar disks often turn out to be very useful if, for example, you need to “cure” your computer from viruses or restore information.

Flash drive or disk

The downloaded Liv DVD/SD image can be written not only to a CD. Cost of flash drives USB interface is constantly decreasing, so you may well consider purchasing a low-cost, low-volume model designed specifically for emergency or recovery loading. Write down ISO file and you can make the flash drive bootable using Rufus programs. After launching, you need to select the device and click on the CD icon, which opens the explorer to indicate the location of the ISO. No additional changes are required. All that remains is to press “start” and wait for the flash drive to be prepared.

How to boot from prepared media

If the “Live DVD” was recorded correctly, then you need to insert it into the drive and immediately after turning on the computer, frequently press F12, which leads to the display of the boot source selection menu. Sometimes this function can be assigned to F8. Usually, a hint for this hot key always appears on the screen. The ideal option is to open the instructions for the board.

You can also select the boot source in the BIOS itself (UEFI). To do this, after turning on the power, press the Delete button, and then in the settings find the item that allows you to select First Boot Device(main or first boot device). Regardless of which method is used, you need to select CDROM or USB-Flash (if a flash drive is used instead of a disk).

Famous Paragon

People who had the opportunity to partition disks in those days when a 40 GB hard drive seemed huge are probably familiar with the Paragon Partition Magic program. Its capabilities made it possible to do a lot with the drive. A lot has changed since then, and the application has evolved into Paragon Hard Disc Manager (PHDM). And not at the expense of functionality. It can be used to easily convert GPT to MBR. Paragon performs this operation so that all data on the drive remains safe. A great opportunity! However, it is recommended to avoid conversion if possible and perform the breakdown from scratch. This ancient rule is still true today. So, after launching the application, a panel with disks will be displayed. The target one is called “base GPT”, the model is usually unknown. Having selected this line with the cursor, you need to select “Convert to MBR” in the “Hard Disk” menu. After that on the left top corner Click the green checkmark to start the process. The time until completion will also be displayed here. The data is saved. Note that in some combinations of “drive + configuration” motherboard» Using Paragon to solve this problem is impossible. It is also worth considering that PHDM version 15 at the time of writing will cost the buyer almost 3 thousand rubles.

"Immortal" analogue

There are still ongoing debates about which is better - Paragon or its twin brother Acronis. Both programs have similar capabilities, so which one to use depends on the preferences of the computer owner. true only if test period use or “pirated” copies. The licensed version of Acronis-12 costs 1,600 rubles. With this program you can easily convert GPT to MBR. Acronis Disc Director, like Paragon, performs conversion without deleting user data from the hard drive. After launch, the window displays the detected drives. The one you are looking for will be designated as “base GPT”. You need to click on it right click mouse and select the item that, after confirmation, starts the conversion process to MBR. It's that simple. In principle, the algorithm of actions is almost the same as for Paragon.

Free alternative

An excellent analogue to the above programs is MiniTool Partition Wizard Professional. Although the ninth version costs almost $40, it is now available for free as part of a promotion. We will not compare the functionality of the applications, since they all cope perfectly with the described task - converting GPT to MBR. After the main program window appears, you need to select the desired GPT disk and perform the conversion through the menu.

Configuration

A prerequisite for using a GPT-partitioned disk is UEFI system(evolutionary development of BIOS). By default, its settings are made for a GPT disk. For the conversion to MBR to be successful, you need to go to UEFI settings(Delete button), select the Boot section, and in the Mode sub-item set the Legacy mode. It should also be banned use of Security Boot.

Nowadays, most laptops and computers are sold with the Windows 8 operating system pre-installed. But not all users like it. Many people remove the new operating system and install it instead familiar Windows 7.

However, during the installation process, the following message appears: “Windows cannot be installed on this drive. The selected disk has a GPT partition style."

The thing is that new computers have hard drives with a GPT partition table, instead of the usual MBR. This is a new standard developed by Intel, which is part of the UEFI BIOS. Unlike MBR tables, which supported drives with a capacity of no more than 2 TB, the GPT partition table supports hard drives with a much larger capacity.

But, despite all the advantages, sometimes you need to install an operating system on a disk with an MBR partition table. Let's look at how you can convert your hard drive from GPT to MBR.

During Windows installation

Delete all partitions

ATTENTION!!! All information stored on the hard drive will be deleted.

During installation of the operating system, in the window where you need to select the partition to install, click on the button "Disk Setup". Then delete everything and create them again. If the volume of your hard drive is less than 2.2 TB, then new disk will be created with an MBR partition table.

Converting via the command line

This method also implies complete removal data from all sections. That is, if you had partitions C:, D:, E:, then the information will be deleted not only from C: on which the system was installed, but also from D: and E:.

In the window where you need to select a partition to install the operating system, press Shift+F10.

A window will open command line. We will convert GPT to MBR using special utility, built into Windows. Enter diskpart command and press “Enter”.

The list disk command will open a list from which you can select the one you need. Please note that if the disk has a GPT partition table, it will have a “*” next to it.

The select disk 0 command will allow you to select required disk. Here, instead of “0”, there should be the number of your hard drive, which was determined by the previous command - it can be 0, 1, or 2, depending on how many of them are installed on the computer.

The clean command will completely clear it - remove all partitions and information from them.

The convert mbr command converts hard drive to MBR.

Type exit once to exit. console utility DiskPart, and exit again to close the command prompt.

Now on the hard MBR partition table, you can continue installing the operating system.

Conversion without data loss

If you do not want to lose the information that is on the hard drive, but convert it to MBR as needed, then we will use the Paragon Hard Disk Manager program. You can download it from the official website. The only thing is that this program is paid. Of course there is Demo version, but the GPT to MBR converter is not active in it. Therefore, you only need to install the full version.

We launch the program on the computer using a Live CD or bootable USB flash drive. Then select with the mouse the hard one that needs to be converted. Here you can see what partition table is on it.

If such a list does not open for you, find the item in the program window "List of disks and partitions" and click on the small black arrow opposite it.

Right-click on the one you want and select "Convert basic GPT to basic MBR disk".

In the next window, click on the button "Convert".

To apply the changes, click on the green checkmark in the upper left corner.

A confirmation window will pop up, click “Yes”.

After the process is completed, click “Close”.

Now the name in the list will change - "Basic MBR hard drive".

We open the disk through Explorer and see that all the files remain in place.

Conversion on a computer with two hard drives

Let's consider this option. The computer has two hard drives, divided into partitions. Your main OS is on the first, you want to install on the second new system. In this case, you can convert GPT to MBR using Windows itself, or using Paragon Hard Disk Manager.

With information removed

Let's consider the first option. In this case, information from the selected hard drive will be deleted. To do this we go to "Disk Management": press the Win+R combination and in the “Open” field type diskmgmt.msc, click “OK”.

The window we need will open. I only have one hard drive installed. You will have “Disk 0” and “Disk 1”. Select the one on which you are going to install the new OS. Now right-click on any section and select from context menu item "Delete volume". Repeat this for all others on this hard drive.

Now right-click on the hardest one and select "Convert to MBR disk"(You will have it).

After this, the partition table will be MBR. You can split the disk into the necessary partitions.

With preservation of information

The second option is to use the Paragon Hard Disk Manager program. Run it on your computer in a working operating system. All information will be saved. Then select the hard drive that needs to be converted, the main thing is not the one on which the working OS is installed, and repeat all the steps with the program that were described in the paragraph above.

As you can see, there are various ways to convert a disk with a GPT partition table to MBR. You can convert the disk to MBR when installing the operating system, or use the Paragon Hard Disk Manager program and save all the data.

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