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Installation of the system is impossible gpt partition style. What is a GPT disk, why do we need a new partition layout style standard?

While installing Windows OS on your computer, you may encounter this message: Windows cannot be installed on this GPT drive. The GPT hard disk partition style is relatively new, so you need to use two methods to install the operating system.

The error message “Windows cannot be installed on this GPT disk” most often occurs among users who install the 7th edition of the OS, although the problem is also possible in the 8th version of Windows. To continue installation on a hard drive with a GPT partition, you must meet 2 conditions:

  1. The operating system must be 64-bit.
  2. Switch to EFI mode.

First of all, you need to go into the BIOS using the computer's UEFI. Anyone who has installed an OS at least once knows that to do this it is necessary to press the required key when the computer starts. To find out which one you can look at when you boot your computer. It will be in the line “Press – enter key – to enter boot menu” like this. If you currently have OS version 8 or 8.1 installed, then you can log in easier - through the “Charms” button. Let's proceed further:

  1. In "Changing computer settings".
  2. Then find "Update and Recovery".
  3. Click "Computer recovery".
  4. Next, click “Special download options.”
  5. And "Restart now".
  6. After reboot, select “Diagnostics”
  7. "Advanced settings" and "UEFI".

If you receive a warning “ ”, go to the material on how to eliminate it.

You need to activate important items in the computer BIOS

  1. Instead of CSM, install UEFI boot, you can find it in the BIOS Features or Setup section.
  2. In the “SATA Operation Mode” tab, change IDE to AHCI, this setting is usually found in Peripherals.
  3. Disable Secure Boot – if you are on Windows

Sections and menu items may be in different places due to different versions of BIOS and UEFI. But by the names given in the article it will not be difficult to find them. After the settings have been made, the computer is ready to install a new operating system on a GPT-style disk.

Convert GPT style to MBR

For this procedure, you should take care of your files in advance; if there is something important, save them to a flash drive or burn them to a disk. When converting a hard drive, you will need to completely format it, removing partitions and creating new ones.

The process is not complicated and will take a little of your time to resolve “Windows cannot be installed on this GPT disk.” We set the option in the BIOS to boot from the drive, as you do when installing Windows. When an error message appears, you need to run the command line:

  1. By pressing the combination Shift+F.
  2. In the window that opens, enter the command “Diskpart”. This command will bring us to a screen in which we can perform various manipulations with the disk.
  3. Next, in the window that opens, enter “List Disk” to display a list of available disk partitions.
  4. We write here “Select disk *” - where instead of an asterisk we write the name of the disk partition.
  5. Further manipulations only with the selected disk. Now you need to clean it with the “Clean” command, after which you can convert the partition.
  6. Next, enter the “Convert MBR” command, after which the system will perform a conversion in which the GPT partition will be erased and a new MBR will be created in its place.

Now you can repeat all the Windows installation steps again, without any obstacles.

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When installing Windows 7, 8, 10, users quite often encounter the error: “Installation is impossible, the disk has a GPT partition style.” This problem is not so scary if you know how to solve it. There are two solutions: converting the style to MBR, installing Windows OS on the disk in its current state.

Convert GPT to MBR or leave the current style

If you are using a modern and powerful computer that uses UEFI when visiting the BIOS settings (graphical interface, mouse support, etc.), then the best option would be to install Windows in GPT style. This will allow you to use a drive with more than 2 TB of memory, as well as get several features that are not available in the MBR style.

For older computers that still use an outdated BIOS with a blue background, it is best to convert the style. By the way, this method may be the only one possible for such equipment. And such computers are unlikely to use hard drives larger than 2 TB, and the number of partitions almost never exceeds four (with MBR style it is quite difficult to create more than four partitions).

Installing Windows without changing GPT style

The problem in question most often occurs when installing Windows 7, but in some cases it can also appear in Windows 8. To get rid of this error, you need to fulfill two conditions:

  • install the 64-bit version (x86 does not fit this style);
  • boot in EFI mode.

As a rule, a 64-bit OS is always installed on powerful and modern computers, so the problem most often arises from the second point.

1. The first step to take is to check the BIOS settings. To do this, go to the settings (for desktop PCs you need to press the Del button, for laptops there may be various options - F2, F12, etc., but it is better to read the Enter to Setup phrase on the system boot page and see which button is used).

  • in the “BIOS Settings” tab, change the boot option from CSM to UEFI;
  • In the “SATA Config” tab, set the “SATA operating mode” item to AHCI.

3. Disable Secure Boot if you plan to install Windows 7.

These steps will get rid of the error in question altogether. If you install from a CD, this problem will probably disappear and will not appear). If, when installing the OS from a bootable USB flash drive, the problem remains relevant, you need to rewrite the installation flash drive again so that it has UEFI support. Creating a bootable USB flash drive is possible using one of many utilities, but it is best to use the command line.

Convert GPT to MBR

If you plan to change the style from GPT to MBR, this can be done when installing Windows directly. It should be noted that this step is done in cases where you plan to install Windows 7. In addition, do not forget that after this procedure, all saved data will be completely destroyed in all partitions.

During the installation process, when you see a selection of disks on the screen, on one of which you plan to install the OS, click the Shift + F10 key combination, after which the console will be displayed. Next, you need to type a few service words in it:

  • diskpart;
  • list disk (After displaying all connected hard drives on the screen. Remember the ID of the hard drive that needs to be converted);
  • select disc K (K is the identifier of the hard drive that needs to be converted);
  • clean (this command will completely destroy all data that was on the hard drive);
  • convert mbr (direct conversion);
  • create partition primary;
  • active;
  • format fs=ntfs quick;
  • assign;
  • exit.

After these steps, your disk will already have the MBR style. It is possible to use software for conversion, which may not delete existing data, but this method is the most correct.

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Nowadays, when almost any information is available on the network, every user is able to install an operating system on his computer. However, even such a seemingly simple procedure can cause difficulties, expressed in the form of various installation program errors. Today we’ll talk about how to solve the problem with the inability to install Windows on a GPT disk.

Today, there are two types of disk formats in nature - MBR and GPT. The BIOS is used first to determine and launch the active partition. The second is used with more modern versions of firmware - UEFI, which have a graphical interface for managing parameters.

The error we are talking about today occurs due to BIOS and GPT incompatibility. Most often this happens due to incorrect settings. You can also get it when you try to install Windows x86 or the bootable media (flash drive) does not meet the system requirements.

The problem with bit depth is quite simple to solve: before starting the installation, make sure that the x64 image of the operating system is recorded on the media. If the image is universal, then at the first stage you need to select the appropriate option.

Method 1: Configure BIOS settings

This error can be caused by changed BIOS settings, in which the UEFI boot function is disabled, and the mode is enabled "Secure Boot". The latter prevents the normal detection of bootable media. It is also worth paying attention to the SATA operating mode - it must be switched to AHCI mode.


If your BIOS is missing all or some of the parameters, you will have to work directly with the disk itself. We'll talk about this below.

Method 2: UEFI Flash Drive

Such a flash drive is a medium with an OS image recorded on it that supports booting into UEFI. If you plan to install Windows on a GPT disk, then it is advisable to take care of creating it in advance. This is done using the program.

If it is not possible to create a UEFI flash drive, move on to the following solutions.

Method 3: Convert GPT to MBR

This option involves converting one format to another. This can be done either from the loaded operating system or directly when installing Windows. Please note that all data on the disk will be permanently lost.

Option 1: System tools and programs

To convert formats, you can use disk maintenance programs such as or. Let's consider a method using Acronis.


This is done using Windows tools like this:

In this mode, you can only work with those disks that are not system (bootable). If you need to prepare working media for installation, you can do this in the following way.

Option 2: Convert on download

This option is good because it works regardless of whether system tools and software are currently available or not.

  1. At the disk selection stage, we run "Command line" using a key combination SHIFT+F10. Next, activate the disk management utility with the command

  2. We display a list of all hard drives installed in the system. This is done by entering the following command:

  3. If there are several disks, then you need to select the one on which we are going to install the system. It can be distinguished by its size and GPT structure. Writing a command

  4. The next step is to clear the media of partitions.

  5. The final stage is conversion. The team will help us with this

  6. All that remains is to complete the utility and close "Command line". To do this, enter twice

    followed by pressing ENTER.

  7. After closing the console, click "Update".

  8. Done, you can continue with the installation.

Method 4: Removing partitions

This method will help in cases where for some reason it is impossible to use other tools. We will simply manually delete all partitions on the target hard drive.


Conclusion

As it becomes clear from everything written above, the problem with the inability to install Windows on disks with a GPT structure is solved quite simply. All of the above methods can help you out in different situations - from an outdated BIOS to not having the necessary programs at hand to create bootable flash drives or work with hard drives.

Users who, for one reason or another, need to install Windows 7 on their computer often encounter the following problem. The installation device is inserted, the BIOS opens normally and sees all connected devices, the partition for installing the operating system is selected, everything seems to be working fine, but suddenly the error “Windows cannot be installed on this disk” pops up on the screen. The selected disk has a GPT partition style." A not very experienced user may get confused, decide that his HDD drive is damaged, and even start thinking about buying a new one. But there is no need to rush, this is not a matter of damage or marriage. Most likely, the disk is simply set to GPT format, which is the cause of the problem.

Disks that support the GPT partition style have recently become quite common among users. These devices replaced the earlier MBR format. And it is possible to work with the GPT format on the universal UEFI interface, which is usually installed on modern motherboards. Older devices are gradually becoming a thing of the past. On the one hand, this is good, because the UEFI interface allows you to boot the system faster than before, and the GPT format supports large HDD devices, while the MBR could use no more than 2.2 TB of information. But, despite all this, sometimes you may need a hard drive with the MBR format. One such case is installing a 32-bit Windows 7 system on a computer where the UEFI interface is not supported.

Conversion during Windows 7 installation

Here we will talk about converting GPT to MBR. If you encounter the error described above when trying to install Windows 7, then do not despair - there is a solution to this problem. In short, you will need to convert the GPT format to MBR. Let's look at this process in more detail.

Before you begin any manipulations with the disk, you should make sure that all important data stored on the computer is transferred to another location. After all, the procedure for formatting a hard drive involves completely deleting all information recorded on it. It would be a shame if the files you need disappear forever. Therefore, as soon as you, say, transfer all the data to another hard drive (or flash drive, if the amount of information is small), you can proceed directly to formatting.

Perhaps someone will think that the process of formatting a hard drive is difficult. However, this is not so - this procedure does not represent any particular complexity. The only tool you need to do this is a boot disk.

So, let's move on to the question of how to convert GPT to MBR if you need to reinstall or reinstall the Windows 7 operating system. First, you need to insert the boot device into the computer and carry out all the necessary operations to install the system using the wizard. As soon as the installation reaches the point of selecting a disk partition (where the indicated error occurs), you need to press the Shift and F10 key combination. Thus, a command line will open, where you need to do the following (after entering each command, you need to press Enter):

  • Enter the diskpart command. This command, as the name suggests, allows you to perform various actions on disk partitions;
  • Enter the disk list command, which will display a list of partitions available on the hard drive;
  • Enter the select disc # command. Instead of a hash, you need to indicate the number of the disk with which you had difficulty installing the system. Once you select the appropriate section, all subsequent actions will be performed in relation to it;
  • Enter the clean command, which will start the process of completely cleaning the selected partition;
  • Enter the convert mbr command, which will help us solve the problem with installing Windows 7. The process of converting the partition from GPT format to MBR format will begin, that is, the partition markup will be converted to an earlier format;
  • Enter the exit command, which will close the disk operations program and return us to the menu for selecting the partition on which to install the operating system.

Well, that’s all, now we have access to an empty disk in MBR format on which we can safely install Windows 7. Now no errors with the GPT format will occur during installation.

Another option

There is another way to convert the GPT format to MBR, but to do it, you must already have either Windows 7 or Windows 8 installed on your computer. Accordingly, the system disk cannot be converted using this method, but you can convert some other partition, and subsequently, if necessary, make it systemic. You will need to open the Run window and type the command diskmgmt.msc, which will open the Disk Management window.



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