Convert GPT to MBR without data loss

There are times that you need to convert GPT to MBR. The main difference between GPT and MBT is that MBR has some limitations for modern usage. Namely, MBR can only handle four primary partitions and 2TB of drive space. Perhaps you want to convert the GPT to MBR while retaining all data on the hard disk. In this article, you will learn how to convert GPT to MBR without data loss.

Get disk number with PowerShell

Let’s check which disk drives are present and which partition style they have. Let’s look at how to get the disk number with PowerShell.

Run PowerShell as administrator. Run the Get-Disk cmdlet to get the disk number and information regarding the disks in the system.

PS C:\> Get-Disk | Format-Table -AutoSize

Number Friendly Name       Serial Number                    HealthStatus OperationalStatus Total Size Partition Style
------ -------------       -------------                    ------------ ----------------- ---------- ---------------
0      VMware Virtual disk 6000c29a0f2feeebd0faf27ff2cc5d1b Healthy      Online                 60 GB GPT
1      VMware Virtual disk 6000c29ec4a86ded65e30426f3f9b4aa Healthy      Online                100 GB GPT

This is the disk on the Windows system that has the partition style GPT:

• Data

Convert GPT to MBR without data loss

There are so many tools out there. We know that and tried almost every one of them. However, you have to buy/register the software when you want to apply the changes.

We need a FREE tool that converts MBR to GPT that:

• Supports NTFS
• Supports REFS
• Support Windows
• Support Windows Server
• Will convert without data loss
• Not let us start the system in safe mode to convert
• Not let us reboot the system after the change

Is there a tool we don’t have to pay for? We only want to convert from GPT to MBR, not more than that.

Convert GPT to MBR with DiskGenius

We will use the software DiskGenius to convert GPT to MBR without data loss. The tool is FREE to convert the disks from MBR to GPT.

1. Download the tool from the official DiskGenius website or here

The version we will use is DiskGenius DGEngSetup5431342.

2. Start DiskGenius
3. Right-click on the MBR disk
4. Select Convert To GUID Partition Table

5. Ensure that it shows partition table style MBR
6. Click on Save All

7. Click on Yes

All is set!

We did successfully convert the GPT partition table style to the MBR partition table style.

Important: Restart the system after converting the disk partition table style from MBR to GPT. This is to ensure that everything works as intended.

Verify MBR disks with PowerShell

DiskGenius software will show that it’s an MBR disk and that the conversion is successfully applied. But always verify with PowerShell to ensure that everything is set.

PS C:\> Get-Disk | Format-Table -AutoSize

Number Friendly Name       Serial Number                    HealthStatus OperationalStatus Total Size Partition Style
------ -------------       -------------                    ------------ ----------------- ---------- ---------------
0      VMware Virtual disk 6000c29a0f2feeebd0faf27ff2cc5d1b Healthy      Online                 60 GB GPT
1      VMware Virtual disk 6000c29ec4a86ded65e30426f3f9b4aa Healthy      Online                100 GB MBR

Everything looks great!

Did you successfully convert GPT to MBR with DiskGenius?

Read more: Convert MBR to GPT without data loss »

Conclusion

You learned how to convert from GPT to MBR without data loss. Use the DiskGenius software to convert GPT to MBR while you retain all the data. It will take a couple of clicks, and you’re all set. The best of it all is that you don’t have to reboot the system when applying the change.

Microsoft has written an excellent guide on how to convert a GPT disk into an MBR disk, but that requires you to format the disk. So it’s better to go through the steps in this article and keep your data.

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