How to convert a mbr disk to gpt in windows 10

Both computer software and hardware have advanced remarkably over time. The changes introduced have led to better equipment operation. For example, RAM has been incorporating DDR4 technology for a while. Hard drives have also changed, with the arrival of SSDs. In addition, partition systems have improved, with MBR and GPT currently the most widely used.

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How to convert MBR disk to GPT in Windows 10

They are the two best-known partition systems used today. Therefore, below we show you how you can convert an MBR disk to GPT, and vice versa, in Windows 10. Although, before doing that, it is important that we are clear about certain notions about these two partition systems. What are MBR and GPT?

MBR and GPT

MBR stands for Master Boot Record. It is a standard that has been with us for a long time. Since it has been in force since 1983. The main objective of this system is to load the system boot and its partition table. It is still used today, although it has quite a few limitations. For example it cannot support large partitions and can only work with four primary partitions. Therefore, it is partly obsolete.

On the other hand we find GPT. It is the acronym for GUID Partition Table. It is a standard that is gradually replacing MBR. It is associated with new UEFI systems, which in turn is responsible for replacing BIOS. The advantage is that these limitations that we have mentioned with MBR cease to exist in this case. In the case of GPT, it is the operating systems that establish the limitations.

How to tell if a disk uses MBR and GPT

Once we know the two most widely used systems today, another question arises. Which of the two is the one that my computer uses? It is a fact that the vast majority of users do not know. Luckily, there is an easy way to find out. We simply have to go to the Windows disk manager. When selecting a partition, we right-click on it and access properties.

When we do this a new window opens. So, we have to go to Hardware> Properties and then we go to the Volumes tab. There we have to click on Fill and automatically we will be able to see how the partition style is shown in the information panel. So we will see if it is MBR or GPT.

In case we want to convert our disk from MBR to GPT, we have to make use of a tool called DISKPART found in Windows 10. We have to open a command prompt window with administrator permissions. Next we write diskpart on the command line and press Enter. When we do that the tool loads. Then we write and execute the list disk command, which is responsible for displaying the disks connected to the computer.

By doing this we can know if our disk is MBR or GPT. Since we get a column with the name GPT in which an asterisk appears if you use this system. If instead you use MBR, the column will be empty. So we can know it at all times in a simple way.

How to convert an MBR disk to GPT

The process is not too complicated in general. You just have to pay attention to the steps to take. We can convert an MBR disk to GPT by selecting the disk in question by executing the select disk X command. In this case, X is the number of the disk that appears in the list. Once we have selected the disk, we have to launch the clean command. This command will erase all data from the disk partitions. So it will leave it completely clean.

Next we have to write the convert gpt command and press Enter. What this causes is that the process starts automatically. Converting from MBR to GPT begins. The process will take a few minutes and once finished we can see that the disk has been converted to the desired system. If what we want to do is just the reverse process, go from GPT to MBR, the steps to follow are the same. But, instead of executing the convert gpt command, the one we have to execute is the convert mbr command.

Once the process is finished, if we want to check that everything has gone well, we can launch the list disk command and we will see that the disk comes out already converted. Or we can see it in the disk manager of Windows 10. Following the steps that we have explained previously. Both ways are just as valid and effective.

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We hope this helps you if you want to convert an MBR disk to GPT or vice versa in Windows 10. What do you think about this process? Do you find it useful?