This article is all about fixing that issue, Follow the solutions listed below to perform a clean Windows installation.
Cause Behind “The Selected Disk Has an MBR Partition Table”
You are encountering the message “the selected disk has an MBR” because you are trying to install Windows on a drive formatted with MBR. However, your system uses UEFI, which typically expects a GPT-formatted drive.
A brief about MBR and GPT
MBR and GPT are 2 different partition styles to manage the disk partitions.
MBR: MBR (Master Boot Record) is an older standard that can support up to 4 primary partitions up to 2TB of storage and uses BIOS for the boot process. Older Windows versions are compatible with MBR partitions.
GPT: GPT(GUID Partition Table) is a newer standard that eliminates all the limitations of MBR, however, it uses UEFI for the booting process, offering a faster boot time and enhanced security.
3 Methods to Fix “Selected Disk Has an MBR Partition Table”
The solutions listed below are both destructive and non-destructive, Ensure you take a backup of all your important data from the hard drive to keep the data safe.
Method 1: Enable Legacy Boot Mode in BIOS boot settings
Go to the BIOS settings and change the UEFI boot configuration. Restart your computer and press the BIOS key. (differs from one brand to another) and follow the steps below:
- On BIOS, go to the Boot Devices and locate the boot order.
- Disable the EFI sources or change the DVD drive from UEFI to SATA or Legacy mode.
- Save changes and exit.
Now try installing Windows again.
Method 2: Convert MBR to GPT using the MBR2GPT Tool
If you are running Windows 10 1703 or later versions you can choose to convert the system hard drive from MBR to GPT.
MBR2GPT tool runs on both Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) as well as full OS. The commands differ from full OS to pre-installation media.
- Create a Windows Pre-Installation media, insert it, and boot your device from it.
- Press Shift + F10 to open the Command prompt and follow the below commands.
- Validate the disk: mbr2gpt /validate /disk:0 (Replace 0 with your disk number).
- Convert the disk : mbr2gpt /convert /disk:0
Post conversion, update the boot mode from BIOS settings to enable UEFI boot mode and continue installing the Windows OS.
Method 3: Convert MBR disk to GPT disk using Command Prompt
If there is no data on the disc or if you have a backup of the data. Then you can choose to convert MBR to GPT using diskpart command, here is how you can do it.
Insert your Windows installation media.
Press Shift + F10 to open the Command prompt from the booting screen.
Now type the below commands and press Enter after each command.
- diskpart
- list disk
- select disk X (replace X with the disk number)
- clean
- convert GPT
- Exit
After exiting the command prompt, continue the Windows installation.
In case of data loss during MBR to GPT conversion, stop using the drive right away to prevent data from being overwritten.
You can recover the lost partition data either using a backup or a reliable data recovery tool.
How to Recover Lost Data after Disk MBR to GPT Conversion?
A reliable data recovery tool like Rikvr data recovery software can easily recover data from the lost or deleted partition without any hassle. Download the tool and follow the steps below for a successful hard drive recovery
Step 1: Launch the tool, select the drive, and click on Start Scan.
Step 2: Once QuickScan is completed, view all the recoverable data.
Step 3: Double-click to preview them and save them on your device.
Conclusion
In conclusion, We have explored almost every aspect of “the selected disk has an MBR partition table” and solutions to fix them effectively using both destructive and non-destructive ways.
In case of data loss due to partition issues ensure you can choose to recover the data using reliable data recovery software.
