GPT or MBR: how to find the disk partition style in the simplest ways

To date, the latest versions of Windows support two main types of partitions for storing information - GPT or MBR. How can I find out which partition style is available on the system? It's quite simple. This information can be useful, for example, when installing Windows 7, when its launch from the GPT section should meet some additional conditions (64 bit architecture, UEFI instead of BIOS, etc.). Now it will be considered how to learn the format of the disk (MBR or GPT) by the simplest methods and with the help of standard tools provided in Windows-systems.

Partition styles GPT or MBR: what's the difference?

Before we begin to consider the main question, let us turn a little to the theory. Today, the format of the master boot record (MBR) and a completely new standard in the form of a GUID partition table, which is abbreviated as GPT, is also actively used.

The new format is more progressive, because it supports hard drives with a volume of more than 2 TB and the newest primary I / O system UEFI, instead of the usual BIOS.

For example, to install the same seventh version of the system on a GPT format disk, the presence of UEFI is one of the necessary conditions, not to mention the fact that the 32-bit version in such a partition simply will not be installed. To do this, you first need to decide how to find out the MBR or GPT disk partition of the user on which you intend to install the system. While we will do without consideration of the system's resources, let's look at the signs that can immediately lead to a conclusion about the style of the section.

GPT or MBR: how to learn the format of the disk by implicit characteristics?

So, let's consider the main indicators, according to which in almost a hundred percent of cases it is possible to determine whether the format belongs to a certain standard. If the hard drive capacity is 2 TB or more, and the system has four or more partitions, it is definitely a GPT disk. If, when creating the fourth partition, there are any problems, or the system creates some own additional partition, it means that the disk belongs to the MBR standard. One of the characteristics of GPT can be the UEFI setting, when only EFI boot is enabled and nothing else. If you can see the system encrypted EFI partition with the FAT32 file system in the disk management section on Windows 10 or 8 , this is a GPT feature. Finally, if all the disks and partitions on the computer system have an NTFS file system, this allows us to conclude that the format is MBR.

How do I know which disk is a GPT or MBR? The main tool is Windows.

Now about the basic tools. We have today two standards - GPT or MBR. How can I find out which one is present in the system? To do this, refer to the disk management section, which can be called from the administration, the line of which is in the context menu of the right click on the computer icon. However, the easiest way to make access through the console "Run" (Win + R), which prescribes the command diskmgmt.msc.

In the table with the right-click on the desired partition, an additional menu is called, in which the property line is selected. A new window uses the volume tab, in which you can get detailed information (a line with a description of the style of the section).

Using the Shell

And one more tool of the system. GPT or MBR? How can I find out which standard applies to the current section? It's simple. You can use the command line called cmd in the "Run" menu.

To obtain the necessary data, only two commands are used: diskpart and list disk. After the execution of the second line, all the sections available in the computer system will be displayed. In this case, an asterisk can be on the right side of the description. But this is just the evidence that we have a GPT-section.

Instead of concluding

As can be seen from the above material, it is not so difficult to determine the style of the section, as it might seem at first glance. Again, going back to installing the seventh version, you need to be very careful. But you can easily convert the MBR partition to GPT through disk management. To do this, you can use the same context menu with the subsequent selection of the appropriate command. But for the most part this problem can arise, for example, when replacing a hard drive with a more capacious one (2 TB or more). But here, whatever one may say, the presence of at least one GPT-section is mandatory. Needless to say, the primary UEFI system should also be present on board.