On efi systems windows can only be installed to gpt disks

Поскольку ПК приобретается раз в несколько лет, а его комплектующие периодически заменяются, программные и аппаратные компоненты порой плохо соответствуют друг другу. Сам ПК может быть достаточно старым, но вы укомплектовали его современным SSD. Уже не первый год доступна Windows 10, а вы до сих пор отдаете предпочтение привычной «семерке».

Помимо таких заметных каждому вещей, как производительность процессора и интерфейс ПО, есть значимые характеристики, которые начинают представлять интерес только в тех случаях, когда становятся причиной сбоев.

К ним относится и формат таблиц разделов HDD или SSD. Вы могли и не слышать о существовании характеристики накопителя, которая неожиданно огорчила, препятствуя установке Windows 7, 10 или 8.

ПК «говорит», что установка Windows невозможна. Причина: таблица разделов диска — GPT или MBR. Увы, технологии прошлого не всегда «дружат» с современными. К счастью, это легко исправимо.

Не получается поставить ОС на GPT-диск. Решения, которые помогут

Содержание

  • Не получается поставить ОС на GPT-диск. Решения, которые помогут
  • Настоящее (UEFI и GPT) и прошлое (BIOS и MBR)
  • Выбор метода
    • Помните:
  • BIOS или UEFI
  • Чаще всего не получается установить Windows 7
  • Преобразование GPT в MBR
  • Невозможно поставить ОС на диск с MBR-разделами
  • Преобразование MBR в GPT. Вся информация будет удалена
  • Как не потерять данные при преобразовании
  • Как обойтись без преобразования

Существуют две возможности:

  1. Установка ОС на диск GPT.
  2. Преобразование в MBR.

Настоящее (UEFI и GPT) и прошлое (BIOS и MBR)

Раньше материнская плата ПК оснащалась ПО BIOS. Оно осуществляло диагностику и анализ железа, а затем загружало ОС, опираясь на загрузочную запись раздела MBR.

В более современных моделях роль BIOS выполняет UEFI. Загружается быстрее и поддерживает:

  • Безопасную загрузку.
  • HDD, зашифрованные на аппаратном уровне.
  • Драйвера UEFI.
  • GPT-диски.

GPT превосходит MBR по важным параметрам:

  • Работает с HDD большего объема.
  • Большее число разделов на HDD.

Выбор метода

Пытаться все же установить систему на «несовместимый HDD» или преобразовать его в MBR и тем самым сделать так, что ошибка больше появляться не будет. В каждом случае решение зависит от ряда факторов:

  • Для старого ПК со старомодным BIOS и 32-битным процессором оптимальным решением будет преобразование GPT в MBR.
  • Обладателям ПК с 64-битным процессором и UEFI предпочтительно установить систему на GPT-диск.

Помните:

  • Предельный объем MBR-диска — 2 терабайта.
  • Возможность создания на MBR-диске более четырех разделов затруднено.

BIOS или UEFI

Когда вы заходите в BIOS и видите старомодный синий экран — перед вами традиционный BIOS. Если интерфейс с современной графикой и поддержкой мыши — это UEFI.

Чаще всего не получается установить Windows 7

Сложности с установкой системы на GPT-диск с большей вероятностью возникают у пользователей, которые предпочитают Windows 7.

Для установки Windows на диск со стилем разделов GPT необходимо соблюсти два условия:

  1. 64-битная ОС.
  2. Загрузка в режиме EFI.

Исхожу из того, что вы устанавливаете 64-битную версию Windows. Это означает, что сообщение об ошибке появляется по причине несоответствия второму требованию.

Не исключено, что будет достаточно поменять настройки BIOS. Зайдите в него, нажав предусмотренную для этого клавишу. Вы увидите, какую клавишу нажимать в процессе загрузки компьютера. В ноутбуках чаще всего применяется F2, в настольных моделях — Delete.

Поменяйте загрузку CSM (Compatibility Support Mode) на UEFI.

Ищите в разделах «BIOS Setup», «BIOS Features» или подобных по смыслу. В SATA определите режим AHCI, а не IDE.

Для седьмой (и еще более древних) версий Windows нужно также выключить Secure Boot.

BIOS вашей модели компьютера может выглядеть иначе. Названия пунктов меню также могут быть другими. Но смысл всегда сохраняется.

После изменения и сохранения вами новых параметров BIOS у вас появится возможность установки системы на GPT-диск. Если вы устанавливаете ОС с DVD, то сообщение об ошибке при повторной попытке установки, скорее всего, не появится.

В случае установки с USB-накопителя сообщение может отобразиться опять. В этой ситуации необходимо пересоздать установочную флешку таким образом, чтобы она поддерживала загрузку UEFI.

Если накопителем поддерживаются два метода загрузки, удалите файл «bootmgr» в корневой директории флешки. Тем самым вы предотвратите возможность загрузки в режиме BIOS. Если нужна загрузка в режиме BIOS, удалите каталог «efi». Не делайте этого в тех случаях, когда есть хоть малейшие сомнения. Можно повредить дистрибутив.

Преобразование GPT в MBR

Если вы располагаете ПК с классическим BIOS и собираетесь поставить Windows 7, этот вариант будет лучшим (и, возможно, единственным). В процессе преобразования вся информация с накопителя будет удалена.

Во время работы мастера установки ОС нажмите F10 и Shift. В некоторых моделях ноутбуков — F10, Fn и Shift. В открывшейся командной строке последовательно введите такие команды:

— diskpart
— list disk (запишите номер подлежащего преобразованию диска)
— select disk N (вместо N — записанный номер)
— clean (команда очистит диск)
— convert mbr
— create partition primary
— active
— format fs=ntfs quick (быстрое форматирование в файловой системе NTFS)
— assign
— exit

Невозможно поставить ОС на диск с MBR-разделами

Вероятна обратная ситуация. Появляется ошибка:

«Установка Windows на данный диск невозможна. На выбранном диске находится таблица MBR-разделов. В системах EFI Windows можно установить только на GPT-диск»

Она означает, что вы пытаетесь установить систему с DVD или USB-накопителя в режиме EFI. Таблица разделов HDD или SSD старая — MBR. В этом случае вы можете:

  • Преобразовать SSD или HDD в GPT.
  • В UEFI или BIOS поменять установленный способ загрузки с Legacy на EFI.

Первый вариант предпочтительнее, поскольку проще и быстрее. Помните, что информация со всех разделов накопителя будет полностью потеряна.

Преобразование MBR в GPT. Вся информация будет удалена

В установщике системы запустите командную строку:

  • F10 и Shift (на настольных ПК).
  • F10, Fn и Shift (на некоторых ноутбуках).

В открывшемся окне:

  • Последовательно вводите показанные команды.
  • Нажимайте Enter после ввода каждой из них.

Последовательность команд:

— diskpart
— list disk (запишите номер подлежащего преобразованию диска)
— select disk N (вместо N — записанный номер)
— clean (команда очистит диск)
— convert gpt
— exit

Когда команды применены:

  • Закройте окно командной строки.
  • Нажмите «Обновить» в окне выбора разделов.
  • Нажмите «Создать» для формирования нескольких разделов на HDD или SSD.
  • Выберите свободное пространство и запустите установку ОС.

Более простой способ преобразования с потерей информации на накопителе:

  • Удалите все разделы на HDD или SSD.
  • Выберите свободное пространство.
  • Нажмите «Далее».

Результатом ваших действий станет автоматическое преобразование в GPT. Следующим шагом стартует установка ОС.

Как не потерять данные при преобразовании

Используйте стороннюю утилиту Minitool Partition Wizard Bootable. Скачайте ISO-образ и запишите его на флешку, отформатированную в FAT32. Необходимые условия:

  • Используется загрузка EFI.
  • В BIOS выключена функция «Secure Boot».

Загрузите ПК с созданного вами накопителя. В окне программного инструмента:

  • Выберите HDD или SSD таблицу разделов которого нужно преобразовать.
  • В левой части окна программы выберите пункт «Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk».
  • Примените изменения нажатием кнопки «Apply».
  • Дайте положительный ответ на предупреждение утилиты.
  • Ждите завершения преобразования. Время, которое потребуется, зависит от объема накопителя и занятого пространства на нем.

Если диск системный, может появиться сообщение о том, что его преобразование невозможно. Чтобы все же преобразовать его:

  • Выберите раздел загрузчика ОС, который располагается в самом начале.
  • Удалите его, нажав «Delete» и подтвердив действие кнопкой «Apply». Вместо него вы можете тут же создать новый раздел загрузчика, но уже в файловой системе FAT32.
  • Повторите действия для преобразования таблицы разделов.

Как обойтись без преобразования

Зайдите в BIOS и установите режим загрузки CSM (Compatibility Support Mode) или Legacy, отключив EFI. Отключите «Secure Boot».

Ранее я подробно рассмотрел процессы чистой установки Windows 10 и Windows 7.

Какие другие затруднения возникали у вас при установке Windows?

5
4
голоса

Рейтинг статьи

I have a brand new HP 15 i3 PC without OS. Then I had to install Windows 7 Professional, but there was an error: Windows could not be installed to this disk… On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed on GPT disks. I would like to know if there is a best solution.

Best Answered by

Cici· Answered on Jul 31, 2023

The reason you encounter the «Windows can only be installed to GPT disks» error is mainly limited by the different partition table standards. If your PC uses the EFI standard BIOS (UEFI), you need to install Windows on GPT disks, but if the hard drive uses the MBR standard format, you may encounter this problem.

To fix the «Windows can only be installed to GPT disks» error, you can check the BIOS setup or change the hard drive format. Here is a detailed guide to these two solutions.

Fix 1. Change MBR to GPT

Try EaseUS Partition Master to convert MBR to GPT without data loss. This is a professional and safe disk management tool.

Step 1. Download and start EaseUS Partition Master and turn to Disk Converter.

Step 2. Choose «Convert MBR to GPT» and click «Next.»

Step 3. Select the target MBR disk and click «Convert.»

Fix 2. Check BIOS Firmware

Step 1. Press F2/F10/Del after restarting your computer to access BIOS.

Step 2. Find and click on «Boot Order or Boot Sequence.»

Step 3. Search for «EFI Boot Source» and click the circle next to it.

Further Reading: Windows Cannot be Installed to This Disk. The Selected Disk is of the GPT Partition Style

I bought a new laptop without windows. Now i want to install windows 8. I formatted entire hard disk (file format = NTFS) and then tried to install windows 8. When selecting the disk to install, the following error is displayed:

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. the selected disk has an MBR
partition table. On EFI system, windows can only be installed to GPT
disks.

What i can do?

Ramhound's user avatar

Ramhound

42k35 gold badges103 silver badges131 bronze badges

asked Jan 30, 2014 at 17:56

Lakmal Vithanage's user avatar

5

Inside windows installer, hit Shift+F10 to get a command prompt, then run diskpart and select the target disk. Zap the drive (with the clean command), create GPT table (new gpt), create the GPT-EFI special partitions.

Step-by-step instructions provided by Microsoft here (For Windows XP x64, newer versions of diskpart such as included in your Windows 8 support all these commands and more)

Then reboot so the firmware finds those partitions and adds the disk to the EFI-native boot order (Windows installer checks this).

answered Jan 30, 2014 at 18:12

Ben Voigt's user avatar

As per technet.microsoft.com follow the below steps:

  1. Turn off the PC, and put in the Windows installation DVD or USB key.
    Boot the PC to the DVD or USB key in UEFI mode. For more info, see Boot to UEFI

  2. Mode or Legacy BIOS mode.

  3. From inside Windows Setup, press Shift+F10 to open a command prompt window. Open the diskpart tool:

    diskpart
    
  4. Identify the drive to reformat:

    list disk
    
  5. Select the drive, and reformat it:

    select disk <disk number>
    clean
    convert gpt
    exit
    
  6. Close the command prompt window.
    Continue the Windows Setup installation.
    When choosing an installation type, select Custom.

  7. The drive will appear as a single area of unallocated space.

  8. Select the unallocated space and click Next.

  9. Windows begins the installation.

Giacomo1968's user avatar

Giacomo1968

53.2k20 gold badges162 silver badges212 bronze badges

answered Nov 23, 2015 at 12:32

Jerry's user avatar

JerryJerry

6211 gold badge5 silver badges4 bronze badges

6

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you’re looking for? Browse other questions tagged

.

Position: How Tos — Disk Utilities — Fixed: The Selected Disk Has an MBR Partition Table

Table of Contents:

Error overview

When you install Windows operating system on your computer, you may often run into an annoying error that prevents you from successfully installing system on your PC. The error message might be «Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI system, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks». This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu; or «Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition table» The error «the selected disk has an MBR partition table» is very common which appears on many Windows versions such as Windows 7, windows 8, Windows server 2008, etc. Here is a real case found on forum:

The selected disk has an MBR partition table

«I have a Dell laptop running Windows home on an SSD hard drive. I want to format hard drive and reinstall Windows 7, for current system is very slow. I went to BIOS to change boot option to legacy (There are no other options besides Legacy and UEFI). Both hard drive and SSD can be recognized in BIOS. The Windows setup couldn’t work as expected and constantly gave «the selected disk has an MBR partition table» error when I select the partition that I want to format.»

MBR VS GPT

MBR VS GPT, which one is better for your computer? MBR stands for Master Boot Record which is a special boot sector located at the very beginning of storage device. It contains boot loader for operating system. The shortcoming lies in that MBR disk can manage up to 2TB disk space and it can hold four primary partitions at most.

GPT is the short form of GUID (Global Unique Identifier) Partition Table and it is another way to storing partition information. GPT disk eliminates limitations on MBR, thus it doesn’t have limit on disk capacity or partition numbers. When you set up new disk on Windows 8 or 10, you will be recommended to use GPT.

It mainly depends on your BIOS configuration whether you can use MBR or GPT. Old computers usually employ Legacy BIOS + MBR boot mode, while recent computers use UEFI + GPT. If you do not follow these rules, you are likely to encounter error messages talked about in this post. For information about GPT and MBR, please refer to Windows and GPT FAQs

Therefore, if you want to use the GPT partition scheme, you need to enter BIOS, so that you can change boot option from Legacy to UEFI. Then you also need to make sure the hard drive where you want to install Windows is partitioned with GUID partition table. If not, you need to convert MBR disk to GPT or repartition hard drive.

This article provides three solutions to fix «Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI system, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.» so that you can complete Windows installation process smoothly. You can choose any solution based on your own preference and actual situation on your computer.

The first solution helps to change BIOS boot settings, by which you can install operating system on an MBR disk. If you want to keep UEFI and GPT, you can just convert current hard drive to GPT disk. Then you won’t be blocked by the issue. Both solution 2 and solution 3 explain methods to convert MBR to GPT: DiskGenius and Command Prompt.

DiskGenius is third-party and free partition manager software, and it is able to convert disk between MBR and GPT without losing data. The converting process is quite easy and simple. The third method presents how to convert MBR to GPT using DiskPart commands, which is complicated in operation and clears all data on the disk.

Solution #1: Change BIOS boot settings

Step 1. You can go through BIOS setting and change the UEFI boot configuration. What you need to do is temporarily switching EFI boot to SATA or legacy mode so that Windows can be installed to Legacy + MBR booted computer.

Step 2. Restart computer and enter BIOS by pressing Del or F10 before system boots. The specific key varies from Motherboard brand to another, but you can see it on screen soon after computer is powered on.

Step 3. In BIOS, go to Boot Devices and find Boot order where you can disable EFI sources or change DVD drive from UEFI to SATA or Legacy Mode.

Step 4. Save changes and exit.

Step 5. Boot computer with system installing CD or disk and try install again.

Solution #2: Convert MBR disk to GPT without data loss

For the moment, your hard drive is of MBR style while BIOS is set to UEFI boot mode. Thus, another way to solve this error is converting MBR partition table to GPT. When the disk is converted to GPT, you will no longer face the issue.

Many guides on the Internet suggest converting MBR to GPT using command line, but that will erase all partition and data on the disk. You should make sure all important files are backed up. The most convenient and easy method to convert MBR to GPT is using third party software which is able to do the converting without disturbing existing files, saving time and effort to backup data. Let’s see how to convert MBR disk to GPT using free partition manager DiskGenius Free.

Step 1. Install and launch DiskGenius Free. You can download this free partition manger free of charge from download center.

Step 2. Locate and select the MBR disk to be converted to GPT in DiskGenius Free and click Disk menu to choose Convert To GUID Partition Table.

The selected disk has an MBR partition table

Step 3. Click OK button on the message box.

The selected disk has an MBR partition table

Step 4. Click Save All button to save changes to partition table and the conversion takes effect.

The selected disk has an MBR partition table

Note: The converting process does not affect data on the disk. When the disk is converted to GPT, you can retry installing Windows again. If your computer is not able to boot to system, you can do the converting under Windows PE. DiskGenius is able to boot to WinPE version directly, or create a WinPE bootable USB disk.

Solution #3: Convert MBR disk to GPT disk using Command Prompt

This method is capable of converting MBR disk to GPT, as well, but it is data destructive, which means you will certainly lose data and partition on the disk. Thus, you need to backup all crucial files to a different hard drive in advance. Try this method your own risk.

Step 1. At the Windows installation screen, go to command prompt by pressing Shift and F10 key.

Step 2. Type following commands in Command Prompt and press Enter key after each command.

diskpart

list disk (remember the disk number for which you want to convert to GPT)

select disk # (replace # with the number of the disk to be converted partition table type)

clean (this command removes all partition and data off the disk)

convert gpt

The selected disk has an MBR partition table

Step 3. Once the disk is converted to GPT, you can create partitions on the disk and install Windows without errors.

Conclusion

This article presents three methods to fix «The selected disk has an MBR partition table», and hope you can fix it easily and get Windows installed successfully. If you have any questions regarding this issue, please feel free to contact us vis email.

Are you trying to install Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 on your computer and getting an error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of GPT style”? There may be a different variation of this error as “Windows cannot be installed to this hard disk space. The partition contains one or more dynamic volumes that are not supported for installation”? These errors are related to the disk partition style.

It is not necessary that you will get the exact same error, but the error may vary, which will cause the disk partition to be greyed out. The error also may be ” The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI system, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.”

In this article, you will find the reason behind all these disk errors and foolproof solutions with detailed explanations.

windows cannot be installed to this disk dynamic volume error

Why Error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of GPT style” Occurs

This error occurs when you try to install Windows on a system having mismatching boot mode and partition style of your hard disk or SSD. Windows installation depends on the boot process of the motherboard and the partition style of the hard disk.

There are two different types of motherboard firmware, BIOS and UEFI.

And the boot processes used by this firmware are –

  1. Legacy boot (Legacy BIOS)- The boot process used by the “BIOS” firmware of the motherboard.
  2. UEFI – The boot process used by “UEFI” firmware.

Before we dig into the error and fix it, you need to understand some basics about BIOS, UEFI, MBR, and GPT. Once you have an idea of how the system works then, you can easily fix any error related to the boot process and hard disk partition style.

What Is BIOS

BIOS – Stands for Basic Input/Output System; it is firmware embedded in the motherboard’s chip. BIOS is a pre-installed firmware on the computer’s motherboard.

You can not change this firmware, and it is a non-volatile memory that does not disappear when your computer turns off. When you turn it ON, your computer BIOS loads the first and initializes the computer hardware to ensure they are working correctly.

After that, it loads the bootloader to initialize the Windows or other operating systems.

BIOS is older firmware running for decades which employs only 1 MB of space and must run in 16-bit processor mode. If you have more hardware connected to your computer, it will take time to initialize them.

Hence, the BIOS-based system tends to be slower while booting up or when shutting off.

What Is UEFI

UEFI – Stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. It is a newer firmware that has many new features and advantages over BIOS. The UEFI has the same job of initializing the hardware components and loading the operating system.

But UEFI stores all the information about hardware initialization and startup in a .efi file. This file is stored on a partition called EFI System Partition (ESP). ESP also contains the bootloader program for the operating system.

Due to this, UEFI can directly boot the operating system, unlike self-test by BIOS. Hence it makes the boot process faster, resulting in a faster computer.

uefi vs bios

Both are firmware, but there are some major differences between BIOS and UEFI.

1. UEFI supports more than 2 TB of hard disk while BIOS supports up to 2 TB.

2. BIOS supports a maximum of 4 hard disk partitions, while UEFI supports more than 4 disk partitions.

3. Computers with UEFI firmware have faster booting than BIOS.

4. UEFI offers a secure boot that validates the operating system to ensure there is no tampering with the boot process by any malware.

5. UEFI supports the network functioning in the firmware, which helps in remote troubleshooting.

6. Unlike BIOS, UEFI offers a simple graphical user interface where you can navigate using the mouse.

UEFI is the successor of BIOS, which inherited the properties of BIOS. Modern computers use UEFI firmware, and if you try to use an old hard drive with UEFI, it won’t work.

To use UEFI firmware, the hardware in the disk drive must support UEFI. And your system disk needs to be GPT style.

GPT & MBR Disk Structures

Microsoft Windows uses two partition structures to read data from your hard disk.

  1. MBR – Master Boot Record
  2. GPT – GUID Partition Table

MBR Partition Style

The MBR is an old partition style on Windows-based systems. It was introduced in 1983 with IBM PC DOS 2.0. MBR is known as Master Boot Record since MBR is a special boot sector located at the beginning of the disk.

This sector contains a bootloader for the installed operating system.

MBR partition structure is traditional and supports hard disks up to 2 TB in size. And you can create only 4 logical partitions of the hard disk.

GPT Partition Style

The GPT is the newer standard for disk partitioning. GPT replaces the old MBR partitioning system with modern tech. This tech is called GUID or “Globally Unique Identifier.”

Every partition on the disk has a globally unique identifier. GUID is a random string that is so long that every GPT partition on the planet is likely to have its own unique identifier.

GPT supports larger than 2 TB hard drives with an unlimited number of partitions. The size and partition limits depend on the operating system and its file system.

Reason Behind GPT MBR Disk Errors

Now you have a fair idea about BIOS, UEFI, GPT, and MBR; it will be easy to understand such disk errors.

Your computer will boot in one of these two modes BIOS or UEFI.

If your computer firmware is BIOS-based, then you need to install Windows on an MBR disk. In the same way, if your computer is UEFI-based, then you have to install Windows on a GPT disk.

Hence, BIOS is incompatible with the GPT disk, and if you are trying to install Windows on a computer having BIOS firmware, you will get the error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of GPT style”

Similarly, if you try to install Windows on an MBR disk on a UEFI-based computer, you will get an error ” Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.”

How To Fix ” Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of GPT style”

You have some options to fix this error. If you want to install Windows, then you need to convert GPT to MBR disk to fit on BIOS-based computers. OR boot into UEFI to fit the GPT disk. But it is not necessary that your computer would have UEFI if it is an older computer.

Option 1 – Change Hard Disk From GPT to MBR

If you are getting the error “Selected disk is of GPT style,” that means your computer has booted into Legacy BIOS mode that needs an MBR disk. Now you need to convert GPT to MBR disk to match the compatibility.

Since you are already trying to install Windows, that means you have the bootable media available, which can be a flash drive or DVD.

1. Turn off your computer.

2. Boot your computer using installation media.

3. At the Windows Setup Screen, press the “Shift+F10” keys together to open the command prompt.

windows cannot be installed to this disk

The command prompt would look like the below image.

4. Type “diskpart” into the command prompt and hit enter. It will go into disk partition mode.

5. Type in “list disk” and hit enter, and it will show you the hard disks connected to your computer.

diskpart command prompt

In the above image, the computer has only 1 disk, which is shown as “Disk 0.” You will get the same if there is only one hard disk on your computer.

(Do you see the * under “Dyn” which means the selected disk is dynamic. If the * is under “Gpt,” then the disk is GPT, and if there is no *, then the selected disk is an MBR disk)

6. Now type “select disk <disk_number>” in this case.

It would be “select disk 0” then hit enter on the keyboard. (If you have more than 1 hard disk, then choose the disk where you want to install Windows.)

7. This will select the desired disk. At this point, you need to clean the disk completely. Cleaning the disk will delete everything from the hard disk. If you have existing data on the disk, then create a backup first.

Type “Clean” and press the enter key.

disk clean for windows cannot be installed error

Now you can re-formatted the cleaned disk. You need to change the partition style to MBR.

8. Type “convert MBR” and hit enter.

After a successful conversion, exit the command prompt and continue Windows installation on the MBR disk.

Option 2 – Change to UEFI Mode

This option is not applicable to every computer since you need to have UEFI firmware on your motherboard. On BIOS-based systems, you won’t be able to run a GPT disk.

Most of the computers running these days come with UEFI firmware with Legacy BIOS support. You have to check if your computer has UEFI firmware.

If you are getting UEFI options, then this method won’t delete any existing data on your computer.

Follow these steps to change to UEFI Mode-

1. Turn off your computer completely.

2. Turn ON and press the boot key to enter the boot (BIOS) options. The boot key varies from the computer manufacturer. Generally, it is F1, F2, F10, F12, Del, or Esc keys. If you are not sure, then search for the boot key for your computer on Google.

3. Once you are in the BIOS menu, navigate to the “Boot” option.

4. Now select the “UEFI” option and save the changes. Use up-down arrow keys to navigate.

select UEFI boot

Now, try to install Windows, and you will be able to install it on a GPT disk without any error.

On modern computers, you will get a feature-rich UEFI interface where you can select the options using your mouse.

advanced UEFI interface asus

However, the basics are the same; you just need to change the boot from Legacy to UEFI.

How To Fix  ” The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI system, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.”

This error means you have a computer running the UEFI firmware, but the disk you are using has the MBR partition style. In this case, you have 2 options as well.

  1. The first option is to convert the MBR disk to GPT (This will erase all the data from the hard disk)
  2. Select the “Legacy” BIOS and run the existing MBR disk. ( It won’t delete data)

Option 1 – Convert MBR disk to GPT

Follow the mentioned steps to open the command prompt on the installation screen. Enter “diskpart“,  list the disks, and then choose the desired disk.

After selecting the disk, type “convert GPT” and hit enter on your keyboard.

convert dis to gpt to fix windows cannot be installed

The above command will clean your disk completely and convert it to the GPT partition style.

Option 2 – Change to Legacy BIOS mode

Since you already have UEFI firmware on the computer, it does inherit the Legacy BIOS as well. To fix “The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI system, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks” error, you can simply select the legacy BIOS and run the existing MBR disk.

1. To choose the Legacy BIOS mode, shut down your computer and turn it ON again.

2. Press the boot key to enter to UEFI/BIOS menu.

3. Go to the boot tab and select “Legacy,” and save the changes.

4. Restart your computer and proceed further.

legacy boot

You would be able to run the MBR disk using Legacy BIOS mode.

Remember, you already have UEFI, but if you have selected Legacy BIOS, then it will slow down your computer.

What is the best option, BIOS or UEFI? GPT or MBR?

The best option is UEFI firmware with the GPT disk.

If you have UEFI firmware, then convert your disk to GPT. If your disk is too old, then you won’t be able to convert it to GPT. In this case, you have to buy a new hard disk with the latest technologies.

UEFI and GPT combination will provide you with a secure boot and faster speed. on the other hand, MBR and BIOS are old, slow, and prone to boot sector malware.

Now you have an idea about BIOS, UEFI firmware, and MBR, GPT partition styles. You can easily fix any such disk-related errors by making them compatible.

Also Read – 

  • Fix Slow Running Windows 10 – 200% Faster PC
  • How to Install Windows 10 From USB Flash Drive & DVD
  • Make Flash Drive Bootable Using Command Prompt (cmd) and install Windows

Why am I getting the “Windows cannot be installed to this disk GPT/MBR partition error” message?

This error occurs when you are installing Windows on a disk that is incompatible with firmware. If you have BIOS firmware, then install Windows on an MBR disk. For UEFI, use GPT disks.

Will converting my partition from GPT to MBR cause any data loss?

Whenever you convert the disk from MBR to GPT or vice versa, then it is necessary to format the disk in the required partition style. Once you format the disk, you will lose all the data. It is advised to create a backup before converting the partition style.

What are the advantages of using a GPT partition over an MBR partition?

GPT has the following advantages over MBR.

GPT supports more than 2 TB of hard disks.
MBR disk support only 4 partitions, while GPT supports 128 partitions.
GPT boots faster than MBR disk.
GPT is a newer standard, while MBR is old.
MBR works with older firmware BIOS, while GPT works with advanced firmware UEFI.

  • One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency windows 7 что делать
  • One note скачать на пк windows 7
  • On a computer running microsoft windows non core edition run slui exe 0x2a 0x803f7001
  • One note for windows 10 что это за программа и нужна ли она
  • One drive как отключить на windows 10 навсегда