Sometimes, when installing any version of the Windows operating system, a notification may appear stating that installation on this drive is not possible, because it has the GPT department style. In this case, you need to know why this happens and how to install the operating system on such a drive.

There are several options for fixing the problem when the operating system cannot be installed on a GPT disk. One of the methods involves installing an operating system on this drive, and the second is designed to convert it to MBR. In this case, it will be possible to decide which one is more suitable.

Which method to use

So, there are two ways to fix the problem when a notification appears that the specified drive has the GPT partition style. It is necessary to choose one of them depending on some settings.

If you are using a new PC with UEFI, when switching to which a graphical interface opens, and not a simple blue screen, and a 64-bit operating system is installed, then it is advisable to install the operating system on a GPT drive and use the first method.
It may have already installed some of the latest versions of Windows.

If a relatively outdated PC with BIOS is used and a 32-bit operating system is installed, then it is recommended to use the GPT to MBR conversion, i.e. use the second method. At the same time, it is worth remembering that MBR drives cannot exceed 4 TB, and creating more than 4 departments on them is not so easy.

Installing Windows 10, 7 and 8 on a GPT drive

In most cases, users who try to install Windows 7 encounter errors when installing operating systems on a GPT-style drive, however, in the G8, an error sometimes pops up that it is impossible to perform this operation with this drive.

To install an operating system on a GPT disk, several conditions must be met.
You need to install a 64-bit system, and also boot in EFI mode. In most cases, the error pops up because the second condition is not met, so you need to know how to fix this problem. Sometimes this problem is solved by simply changing the BIOS settings. In other cases, the creation of a bootable UEFI drive is required.

The first step is to visit the BIOS of the computer. To do this, you must press the appropriate key after turning on the PC. When information about the manufacturer of the motherboard or laptop appears, you need to press Del if you are using a computer, or F2 on laptops. Keys may vary. As a rule, they are listed on the first screen when starting the PC.

If a working eighth version of Windows is installed on the PC, then entering UEFI can be much easier. This requires the use of the Charms bar. In it you need to go to "Change PC settings", where select "Update and Recovery". In the next window, go to "Recovery". After that, you need to get to the "Special boot options" and click "Restart now". Next, you need to click on "Diagnostics", where you should specify "Advanced options", after which you need to click on "UEFI Firmware".

In the BIOS, you need to activate a couple of rather necessary functions. Instead of CSM, you need to activate UEFI. This should be done in BIOS Features or BIOS Setup. In addition, you need to change the SATA operating mode from IDE to AHCI. Changes can be made in the Peripherals section. In different menus and language variations, these options may have different locations and slightly different names, however, finding them is not very difficult.

After applying all the settings, the PC will be ready to install the operating system on GPT
disk. If the installation is performed from a disk, then in most cases, notifications that it is impossible to install an operating system on this drive will not appear.

If an installation USB drive is used, and the error is displayed again, then you need to re-create a bootable USB flash drive, but with UEFI boot support. This can be done in several ways. In this case, it is recommended to use the method of creating a UEFI installation flash drive using the command line, which will work anyway.

Experienced users can use another method. If the distribution kit allows you to use both boot methods, then you can disable booting in BIOS by deleting bootmgr in the root of the media. In the same way, you can eliminate the efi folder, which will disable startup in UEFI.

Converting GPT to MBR during OS installation

If it is necessary to convert a GPT drive to MBR, a regular BIOS is used on the PC, and the seventh version of Windows will be installed, then it will be best to do this during the installation of the operating system. It is worth noting that during such manipulations, all information on the disk will be eliminated.

To convert GPT to MBR, in the OS installation utility, press the Shift + F10 combination, which will open the command line. After that, it is required to sequentially write several commands into it.

Initially, you need to register diskpart. Then the list disk command is entered, after which you need to remember the number of the disk to be converted. Then you should write select disk N. N in this case is the media number from the last entry. Then you need to enter the clean command. The next command is called convert mbr.

After that, you need to write create partition primary, and after it active. To format a disk, write the format fs=ntfs quick command. Then it remains only to write assign, and at the end exit.

If, when executing these commands, the user was at the stage of setting up drives during the installation process, then you need to click on "Update", which will update the drive configuration. After that, the installation will proceed in standard mode, and the notification that the drive has the GPT style will no longer be displayed.
UEFI, GPT, BIOS and MBR

On PCs released several years ago, a BIOS was installed on the motherboard - software that performed diagnostics and scans of the PC, and then allowed the operating system to start, taking into account the boot record of the MBR hard drive.

UEFI software was developed to replace the BIOS and is installed on modern PCs. At the same time, most PC manufacturers use this particular version of the software.

UEFI software has some advantages. Among them are improved download speed and security features. These include secure startup and the ability to work with hard-encrypted hard drives and UEFI drivers. In addition, the GPT partition style makes it much easier to handle large media sizes and more departments. Also, on most operating systems, UEFI can be combined with BIOS and MBR.

Today, it is unlikely that users will be able to feel the difference between these two options, much less single out one of them. But it is worth noting that after a while only UEFI and GPT will be used, and hard drives will exceed 4 TB.

And it replaced the old MBR format. Newer motherboards usually come with UEFI support. This is logical, because the system boots faster, and the GPT partition table provides support for large drives. MBR, on the other hand, allows addressing no more than 2.2 TB of address space.

Despite the obvious advantages of GPT, it is sometimes necessary to install an operating system on an MBR disk. If you have a disk with GPT markup, it can be easily converted to MBR.

Attention! All information on the drive will be destroyed after the disk is converted from GPT to MBR format.

When installing the system on a hardA disk with a GPT partition table may receive an error: Unable to install Windows on disk 0 partition 1. More: Windows cannot be installed to this drive. Selected disk has GPT partition style.

Method 1 - the easiest and fastest

When installing the system, you need to go to Disk setup, delete all partitions on the disk and re-create. In this case, the disk will be created with an MBR table.

If your hard drive is larger than 2.2. TB, this operation will again create a GPT table on the disk. You can work around the problem, given that the system will see no more than 2.2 TB.

If this solution did not help, then you need to try the second method and manually create the necessary partition table.

Method 2 - difficult if method 1 did not help

You need to boot from the installation disk or USB flash drive with the operating system:
Select the desired language -> Next -> Install -> I accept the license terms -> Next -> Full installation.

— Press Shift+F10(or Fn + Shift + F10) will open the command prompt.

- Run a command line console utility for working with disks, partitions and volumes in Windows.
diskpart
- View the list of drives to find the one you need to convert.
list disk
- Select the desired disk.
select disk 0
- Clear the drive from other partitions.
clean
- Convert GPT disk to MBR.
convert mbr
- Sign out of Diskpart
exit

Please pay attention to the picture on the team list disk. Before the disk was converted to MBR, the GPT column marked *. After conversion, there is no such mark. This means that the disk has been successfully converted to MBR.

This completes the work with the disk. You can continue installing Windows already on a disk with an MBR table.

Additional Information

Only 64-bit operating systems can be installed and booted on drives with a GPT partition table - Windows Vista x64 SP1, Windows 7 x64, Windows 8 x64, Windows Server 2008 x64 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012.

Windows XP x64 and all x86 Windows operating systems cannot boot from a drive with GPT partitions, but they can read and write data.

Windows XP x86 cannot handle GPT disks at all.

In order to be able to boot from a GPT drive, you need to boot via a UEFI bootloader.

Very often, when reinstalling the operating system or during other manipulations with it, the error “The disk has a GPT partition style” may appear, so a completely logical question arises related to how to change the GPT partition style on a laptop.

The above error usually looks like this.

It is in this very style that the solution to the problem lies. But before you understand changing styles, you should understand why such an error occurs at all and what the concept of "gpt partition style" means.

Reason for the error

In general, the concept of "partition style" refers to how all information is distributed on a computer hard drive. So, there are two types of these same styles - GPT and MBR. Modern operating systems use the GPT partition style. It became part of UEFI, that is, a new type of interface that connects hardware and the operating system itself. You may be more familiar with the concept of BIOS. So, UEFI has replaced the BIOS. Both UEFI and BIOS are responsible for ensuring that all components of the computer can work correctly, and the equipment can accept the commands that are given to it.

But the problem is that in some cases you still need to revert to the old MBR style. In particular, such cases arise when it is necessary to install an old operating system. This is true for laptops, especially those that are not very powerful. For powerful gaming laptops, changing the partition style does not make any sense. And the solution to the problem with the error "The disk has a GPT partition style" is to install a newer operating system. And now, in fact, let's move on to changing the style of GPT partitions on a laptop. There are several ways to do this.

Standard Windows tools

Let's say right away that the solution to the problem with changing the style of partitions is to change the GPT to MBR. This can be done very simply.

Important: When using this method, all data from the hard drive will be completely erased!

To change the partition style using standard Windows tools, do the following:

• On the keyboard, press the Shift and F10 buttons at the same time. This will bring up the command line. On some laptop models, you also need to press the Fn key. You need to do this when the error that is shown in Figure 1 occurs or at any other stage of working with the operating system. If, at the stage where you are when an error occurs, the command line does not start after pressing the Shift + F10 or Fn + Shift + F10 key combination, you should go back one stage. But in most cases it should run.
• At the command line, enter the command "list disk". All this looks as shown in Figure 2. The team we need is underlined with a red line there.

• As you can see, after that, a table of all the disks that are on the computer appears. Here we need to remember the disk numbers, which are circled in green circles in Figure 2. By the way, in front of those disks that have the GPT style, there will be an asterisk. In the example above, disk number 0 has just such an asterisk. By the way, you can use it to find out which disk should be converted.
• Next, you need to enter the command "select disk a", where "a" is the number of the disk (it is circled in green in Figure 2). In Figure 3, this command is shown with a red line. After entering it, the message “Disk A selected” will appear, as shown below.

• Now the selected drive needs to be cleaned. To do this, a command is introduced with a quite logical name for itself - “clean”. This is shown in Figure 4.

• Now another command is introduced with the same logical name for itself - “convert mbr”. Actually, she is responsible for converting the partition style to MBR.

• Now we need to make a new partition on the same disk. Otherwise, there will simply be no partitions on the disk, and the data will not fit anywhere. Then the hard drive will simply become lifeless. The "create partition primary" command is used to create a new partition.

• Next, you should associate the created partition with the entire system. This is also an important step, because otherwise there will be a partition on the disk, but the system simply will not see it. For the bundle, there is also a command with a logical name for itself - “assign”. After that, you can exit the command line using the “exit” command.

That's all. Now the disk has been converted to MBR and you can try to install an operating system on it or do other manipulations.

Through the installation window

There is a much easier way than described above. It consists in choosing the inscription "Disk Setup" right in the installation window. First you need to close the window that contains the inscription "The disk has the GPT partition style" and return to the disk selection window for installation. This method is suitable for those cases when the hard disk capacity does not exceed 2.2 TB. Interestingly, this is exactly the limitation that the MBR style has. Finding this inscription is very simple, its location is also shown in Figure 8. Of course, before clicking on it, you need to select the desired disk or partition, for this you just need to click on it in the list.

After clicking on this inscription, a window will appear with all partitions of the selected disk. They should simply be deleted, and then recreated, only with the MBR style. This is also done very simply, and specifically, using the following sequence of actions:

• After clicking on the inscription "Disk Setup" a set of commands will appear, which are shown in Figure No. 9. Among them, select the "Delete" command.

• In the window where the list of disks and partitions used to be, there will be a so-called "Unallocated disk space". It will be called that way (an example of this is shown in Figure 10). We need to select it and click on the "Next" button (located in the lower right corner). After that, the installed system will automatically select which style it needs and convert the system to this style.

Still, the first method is more reliable than this one, and there are several reasons for this at once, namely:

• The installed system may not correctly convert the partition style;
• In the first method, the user has the ability to control the entire conversion process;
• The command line can be called anywhere in the installation of the system or at any stage of doing other manipulations.

For these and other reasons, it is still better to call the command line and convert partitions using standard system tools. Maybe the command line looks scary, but there is nothing criminal in it. If time and opportunity allow, you can completely interrupt all operations, go to a regular desktop and convert the style of partitions on the disk using one of the special programs designed for this.

With the help of additional programs

Let's say right away that this method has several very significant advantages and they are as follows:

• Convenient interface in programs (no need to enter any commands);
• High functionality of programs (you can not only convert from GPT to MBR, but also perform a huge number of other operations);
• Data from disks is not erased (!).

Of course, its disadvantage is that you have to interrupt all manipulations with the operating system, and then start all over again.

As for what programs are available to accomplish the task we have set, there are a lot of them. One of the most popular is called Minitool Partition Wizard Bootable. You can download it by following this link - http://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-wizard-bootable-cd.html . The huge advantage of this program is that, firstly, it is free, and secondly, it has really impressive functionality. Of course, a simple interface is also present. After clicking on the link, you should go to the "Download" section and on the first product click the "Local Download" button (the "From Cnet" button is intended in case the main one does not work).

To run it, you need the Daemon Tools program or any other tool that accepts ISO images. But it's still better to take Daemon Tools. Moreover, on the official website (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/rus/downloads) you can download the full version, and you will only need to buy updates. To do this, click on the "Download" button, highlighted in Figure 12. By the way, the easiest version, that is, the Lite version, is quite suitable for us.

Accordingly, Daemon Tools needs to be downloaded and opened. In the window that opens, select the image installation button (highlighted in Figure 13) and add the Minitool Partition Wizard Bootable image.

In the Minitool Partition Wizard Bootable itself, we just have to select the desired partition and click on the "Convert GPT Disk to MBR Disk" command in the left toolbar (highlighted in Figure No. 14). You can also select the same section at the bottom of the program window, then right-click on it and in the drop-down menu highlighted in Figure 14 with a green frame, select exactly the same item as described above.

Visual instructions for the latter method are presented in the video below.

Installing an operating system is a fairly simple and straightforward task that anyone can handle. But sometimes the OS installation process is interrupted by various errors, which complicates the procedure. Perhaps the most common problem when reinstalling the OS is the error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected drive is in the GPT partition style." If you are faced with this "ailment", then do not despair. Just read this article. We will consider in detail the causes of this error and how to deal with it.

Before explaining the causes of the error, it is necessary to understand what GPT is. This is a modern standard that describes how data partitions should be located on the HDD. The technology is used in all new hard drives. Regular BIOS does not support the new standard. Only a modern interface called UEFI can interact with GPT.

Let's get back to our sheep. The system warning, due to which Windows cannot be installed on this disk, occurs due to partition mismatches. In turn, the discrepancy occurs due to the fact that UEFI is disabled or completely absent. In this case, you are using a hard drive with a newfangled partition style called GPT.

How to fix the problem? A system problem can be "cured" in several ways. To properly install the OS, you can:

• Change boot mode.
• At the time of installation, uninstall the hard drive partitions.
• Convert GPT to old MBR when installing Windows 7 and 10.

Let's get down to business and consider each of these methods in more detail.

Change boot mode

As mentioned above, Windows on a GPT disk cannot be installed because the PC does not support UEFI. But on most devices, this interface is still present. The problem is that it's disabled. Fixing the problem is simple - you just need to change the startup mode in the BIOS.

Before installing Windows, if the selected disk has the GPT partition style, you must go directly to the BIOS. To do this, when activating the PC, press the F2 or F10 button. After that, do the following:

If the above instructions did not help, then try visiting the Secure Boot directory. You can find it in the Boot tab, Key Management line. There you need to set the Other OS parameter instead of the standard Windows UEFI Mode.

Deleting partitions

This method is suitable for you if you do not need the data that is on the hard drive and you want to finish reinstalling the OS as soon as possible. So, to install Windows, you need to delete the existing partitions. After this procedure, it is necessary to carry out a full formatting of the HHD.

The next step is to create directories. Newly created partitions will work using GPT technology. Therefore, after carrying out the above procedures, it should pass without any problems.

GPT and MBR. Peculiarities

Before we talk about the conversion process, let's find out what is the difference between MBR and GPT. There are several significant differences:

• Number of sections. In this regard, outdated technology has certain limitations. The MBR standard supports up to 4 partitions. More directories will not be created. At the same time, GPT technology has no restrictions. With it, you can create an unlimited number of partitions.
• Disk volume. MBR works only with hard drives, the volume of which does not exceed the bar of 2 TB. The GPT standard has no such restrictions.
• UEFI support. GPT is capable of interfacing with the modern UEFI interface. Hard drives with the MBR standard cannot boast of such a function.

The answer to the question - which is better than MBR or GPT - is obvious. The modern standard is superior to its predecessor, as it has no restrictions.

How to find out GPT or MBR is your hard drive using? Everything is extremely simple. You need to call the OS command line (Win + R and the diskpart command). After the dialog starts, enter list disk in it and click on the enter button. A list will appear containing brief information about the connected hard drives. If there is an asterisk near the disk at the GPT point, then the new standard is used. No symbol - MBR format is used. Now let's talk about how to convert GPT.

transformation

Important! It is impossible to convert GPT to MBR without losing all data. Winchester will be cleared of information.

Changing GPT to MBR is easy. Even a person who is far from technology will be able to cope with this task. To change the standard, follow the instructions below:

Voila - the process of turning GPT into MBR is completed. Now, using the exit command, exit the Diskpart directory. After that, you can safely install the OS. An error for Windows 10 will no longer interrupt the installation process.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you know what to do if the installation of the Windows OS is not performed due to the wrong partition style. If your computer supports the UEFI interface, then in this case the problem can be solved by changing the boot mode or deleting partitions. If the system is old and UEFI is not supported, then there is only one way out. You need to change the GPT style to MBR on the selected disk.

It's no secret that sometimes when installing Windows 7 on modern computers or laptops, at the partition selection stage, the installer gives an error message stating that installation on the selected partition is not possible because it has the GPT style. Many users are puzzled by this situation quite strongly. And immediately the question arises of how to change the style of GPT partitions so that the system installs as expected. To do this, you can apply three options for action, which will be discussed in more detail below.

Windows 7 installation does not recognize: what is the reason?

Without going into technical details, it is worth saying that when installing an OS with a rank higher than seventh on hard drives with a volume of more than 2 TB and a primary UEFI input / output system, it is not recommended to change partition styles.

And for Windows 7, the installation does not recognize the GPT partition style, since it can only work with the MBR (boot record) style. But here you have to think about where to install the system. It is not recommended to change the GPT with a volume of more than 2 TB, because after the conversion only the space that does not exceed this limit will be recognized, and everything else will remain unused. Therefore, it is better to choose another section.

On the other hand, the problem is observed precisely with UEFI if the computer does not have an outdated BIOS. In this case, regardless of the size, the GPT style can be assigned to the system partition.

How to change the style of GPT partitions using the OS installer?

But how then to change the style to install Windows 7? In the simplest case, you can use the tools of the system installer itself.

How to change GPT partition style? Everything is simple. If suddenly a message appears about the impossibility of installation, you must first select the desired partition from the list (usually it is a zero disk with the first partition) and click the disk settings button below.

Next, a window will appear with a complete list of partitions contained on the disk. The essence of the question is to unite them at the first stage. To do this, you simply need to delete all partitions except for the one reserved by the system.

After that, unallocated space will appear in the list of partitions. We press the continue installation button, after which the installer will choose which style the partition needs to be converted to, perform all the necessary actions automatically and continue the installation process.

Converting via command line on a running system

Now consider the question of how to change the style of GPT partitions through the command console in an OS with a rank higher than the seventh, if it needs to be installed in the future. Using the command console is the best solution, since even the disk administration system does not always allow you to perform such operations correctly.

So, first we launch the console as an administrator, which uses the DISKPART tool, and first of all we write the list disk command, after which a list of all available partitions will be displayed on the screen. A GPT partition can be recognized not even by its size, but by the presence of an asterisk on the right opposite the description.

The next step is to clean up the partition, which is done by entering the clean command (this is necessary so that the conversion to MBR goes without errors).

Upon completion of the cleanup operation, you can convert the style of the selected partition, which is done through the convert mbr line.

At the next stage, you need to create a boot partition and associate it with the system by sequentially entering the create partition primary and assign command (you can also add formatting, but in most cases this is not necessary for the subsequent installation of the system).

Upon completion of all processes, we exit by entering the exit command. All. Now you can restart your computer or laptop and install the desired operating system from any removable media.

Using Third Party Utilities

Finally, a few words about how to change the style of GPT partitions using third-party disk utilities, of which quite a lot has been developed today.

One of the simplest and most convenient is the Minitool Partition Wizard program, the interface of which almost completely repeats the look of the Windows disk administration window, but differs in tools. Actually, its use is to select the desired section and call the conversion command through the RMB menu. After that, it remains only to follow the instructions and agree to the proposals for changes.

Please note that it is not possible to use this program on a loaded system (the OS simply will not allow such conversions to be made). But since the utility itself has its own bootloader, it must first be written to removable media, making it bootable (for example, using UltraISO or Daemon Tools), set the device as the first one to boot, start from it, and only then perform all the above steps.

What tool to use?

That's all for the question of how to change the style of GPT partitions. Which of these do you prefer? For the laziest, of course, the above utility or actions at the system installation stage will do. But here it should be noted that the conversion in both cases may be somewhat incorrect due to some features of the Windows installer and the program engine. But the command line is guaranteed to change the style without errors. So it is better to give preference to this particular technique, although for many it may seem more complicated and lengthy in execution.