Instructions for converting MBR hard drive to GPT in Windows

What is MBR2GPT? How to convert mbrMBR hard drive to GPT using Mini Partition Wizard? The article will give you the answer.

In the ever-evolving world of computing, storage systems have made significant strides to meet the increasing demands of modern applications and operating systems. One of those improvements involves drive partitioning methods, of which Master Boot Record (MBR) and GUID Partition Table (GPT) are the two most popular formats. While MBR has been the standard for decades, GPT offers many advantages that make it the optimal choice for modern systems.

MBR (Master Boot Record): Introduced in 1983, MBR is an older partitioning method, used in many older systems; MBR supports a maximum drive capacity of 2TB and only allows creating up to four primary partitions; It stores boot data in the first sector of the drive, a location that is inherently susceptible to errors or data corruption.
GPT (GUID Partition Table): GPT is part of the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) standard and brings a more modern approach to disk partitioning; GPT supports drives larger than 2TB and allows creating a nearly unlimited number of partitions; It stores multiple copies of partition data and boot data in different locations on the drive, enhancing data redundancy and integrity.

If you are using Windows 10 operating system after v1703, MBR2GPT.exe will be the best choice. Let’s learn in detail how to convert MBR to GPT on Windows 10.

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Windows 10 MBR2GPT Tool

When it comes to this tool, many people probably feel strange. Simply put, it is also known as Windows Creator’s Update, starting from Windows 10 version 1703 build 15063. MBR2GPT.exe is a command line tool located in the System32 folder.

With it, users can effectively and non-destructively convert a Windows 10 operating system disk from MBR (for Legacy BIOS) to GPT (for UEFI) partition style, without modifying or deleting any data on the disk.

People can run this tool by entering the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE), as well as the full Windows 10 operating system (OS).

If the MBR OS disk contains BitLocker encrypted drives, MBR2GPT.exe is still useful for converting to GPT, as long as protection has been suspended. People are allowed to use this tool to convert operating system disks running previous versions of Windows 10, including versions 1507, 1511, and 1607, provided that they run the tool from Windows 10 v1703 or later and then perform the conversion offline.

How to convert MBR to GPT with MBR2GPT

Although the MBR to GPT disk conversion program is available in both Windows PE and the full Windows 10 operating system, the command line is different.

Enter the command to perform conversion from MBR to GPT in Windows 10

In WinPE, enter mbr2gpt /convert /disk: n

In Windows 10, enter mbr2gpt /convert /disk: n /allowfullOS

In there, n means disk number.

Note: Before attempting to convert a disk from MBR to GPT, make sure the computer supports UEFI booting. After converting the OS disk to GPT, please reconfigure the firmware to boot to UEFI mode instead of Legacy BIOS.

MBR2GPT conversion failed

Although MBR2GPT works correctly in most cases, it may still fail. After entering the above MBR2GPT allowfullos command line, people may find trouble because MBR2GPT disk layout validation fails, which is due to unsupported versions of Windows 10.

For example: If using this tool to convert MBR to GPT in Windows 10 V1607, the message LayoutConversion: Layout conversion failed. Error: 0x00000032[gle=0x00000032]; Cannot perform layout conversion. Error: 0x00000032[gle=0x00000032] will appear.

This requires running the PC from Windows 10 V1703 and performing the offline conversion as mentioned above.

Besides, there is also the risk of encountering a situation where MBR2GPT cannot find the operating system partition. This is because the tool is only used to convert any system disk with MBR to GPT format and it cannot work for data disks that do not have an operating system installed.

In addition, some other problems such as MBR2GPT not being recognized, not being able to retrieve,… may also appear.

Convert MBR to GPT with MiniTool Partition Wizard

MBR2GPT conversion can be error-prone, so to complete the conversion process from old BIOS (MBR) to UEFI (GPT), users can apply an alternative solution to MBR2GPT, specifically MiniTool Partition Wizard.

Besides, those who do not use Windows 10 v1703 but run Windows 7/8 / 8.1 will not be able to convert from MBR to GPT with MBR2GPT.exe. In this case, MiniTool Partition Wizard is a great alternative.

MiniTool Partition Wizard is available in Windows 10/8.1/8/7 and Windows Server 2016/2012/2008. It comes in 6 versions and each version has different features. If you need to convert an operating system disk from MBR to GPT, the Professional or more advanced version is most suitable. For data disk conversion, everyone can use the Free version.

If your computer does not have MiniTool Partition Wizard, click on the box to download one of the two Free and Professional versions below.

Before using MiniTool Partition Wizard, please note:

Please ensure that the motherboard supports UEFI booting.
Create a system backup with MiniTool ShadowMaker to restore the system in case some problems occur.
Create a bootable disk using MiniTool Partition Wizard’s Bootable Media in case of any problems after conversion.

To perform conversion using MiniTool Partition Wizard, follow these steps:

Step 1: Select the MBR disk you want to convert.

Step 2: Select function Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk through the following 3 ways: