Hi should I convert mbr to gpt for 4tb data drive? can i do with partition work for linux? and can I covert after from gtp to mbr? thanks
@mantra It is highly recommend to convert a MBR disk to GPT, unless you need MBR to boot an older system that cannot see a GPT disk. MBR cannot see disks larger than 2 TB. If you have a 4 TB MBR disk, then it is using an older technique called "Advanced Format 512 emulation" that was a stopgap measure designed for customers that had computers that could not see a GPT disk, but needed more than 2 TB of disk space. Almost all manufacturers have discontinued the use of AF 512 emulation years ago. I would recommend Paragon Partition Manager to convert your disk from MBR to GPT, but I don't know if their free edition supports the AF 512 emulation based disks. Most free partition managers will struggle with it. You may need to use the disk manufacturer's utility for this conversion. I personally have used the full version of Paragon to convert such a disk a few years ago, and it worked fine, but I have not encountered any other disk formatted in this format since then. So my experience with them is limited. You can try various free partition managers, but please backup your data before proceeding with this conversion, even if the partition manager says that data will be safe during the operation.
mantra, If your MBR disk is 4 TB then it is using 4k native sectors. With these sectors you can have a 16 TiB MBR disk. Yes, you can. I know you own that software. Make sure you have 16 MB of Free Space anywhere on the drive so a MSR can be created by the GPT conversion.
A MBR disk supports 2^32 sectors 4,294,967,296 sectors 4294967296 *512 = 2,199,023,255,552 bytes = 2 TiB BUT if you have native 4K sectors instead of 0.512K sectors a MBR disk can still be 4294967296 sectors with... 4294967296 * 4096 = 17592186044416 bytes 17592186044416 bytes = 16 TiB The 2^32 sectors refers to the disk not a partition.
@Raza0007 @Brian K hi my operation system can see this drive ,but I can't boot via my bios from this external 4tb hard disk , it's an external drive usb 3 I have only terabyte partition work on my image for linux ,BootIt Bare Metal and DiskGenius can terabyte partition work convert mbr to gpt and vice versa? Brian can i boot a mbr 4tb 4k sector external drive via bios ? thanks
Hi Brian and to boot boot a sector external drive via bios should I change to GPT? and terabyte partition work can convert mbr to GTP and vice versa? thanks Brian
Please make sure your PC supports EFI/UEFI boot. If it doesn't - you can't boot from GPT-formatted drive, but it can be still used for data.
@Brian K Can i ask you a question? how could I remove linux mbr with partition manager ? once i have tried to replace the Mbr but the boot menu was still there thanks
Aside from storage with size already mentioned in this thread it is only a matter of whether you want to use UEFI mode or CSM mode. UEFI allows secure boot. If you don't care about UEFI secure boot and OSes boot just fine, it doesn't matter. Otherwise use UEFI
mantra, I'm confused. What are you trying to do? I only see a Boot Menu with BootIt and I don't think you are using BootIt.
Hi reasonablePrivacy but with GPT , i have to install an operation system in UEFI mode , like macos? thanks Hi Brian in the past I had problem to remove the linux boot loader , seeing i don't want to open another thread , just asking how can i remove linux boot loader (mbr) with partition manager quickly thanks
Hi Brian 2 partitions -> 2tb and 2tb , created with partition work image for linux ,ntfs 4k but Brian can i remove a linux mbr boot manager installed by ubuntu and linux Mint (i like a lot it) with partition work? thanks Brian
mantra, Resize your second partition 16 MiB smaller. Now you have 16 MiB of Free Space for a MSR (GPT). IFL Partition Work Select the 4 TB drive View MBR Win7 MBR OK, Apply Change Disk Type GPT Yes Close Win7 MBR is the most recent Microsoft MBR. It will overwrite Linux grub boot code with Microsoft boot code. Your data and partitions won't be harmed.
Brian this is to change from MBR to GPT how can I convert GTP to MBR (i have a drive 1TB in GTP) partition manager? and I would like to install mint linux on a drive ,is there a way to remove linux boot with partition manager ? thanks
mantra, I provided 2 tutorials. The first was to remove grub from the MBR by over-writing grub boot code with Microsoft boot code. To convert GPT to MBR... Change Disk Type MBR Yes Close
hi Brian yes , but sometime i have some problem with english but about removing linux boot loader mbr , I have no answer thanks
mantra, Do this... IFL Partition Work Select the 4 TB drive click View MBR click Win7 MBR click OK, click Apply click Close Linux grub will be gone if it was in the MBR. If it's in the partition boot sector, that's another matter.
