{"id":484892,"date":"2022-08-16T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/"},"modified":"2022-08-16T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T22:00:00","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"#What\u2019s the Difference Between GPT and MBR When Partitioning a Drive?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a264adb201fb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a264adb201fb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/#%E2%80%9CWhats_the_Difference_Between_GPT_and_MBR_When_Partitioning_a_Drive%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;What\u2019s the Difference Between GPT and MBR When Partitioning a Drive?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/#What_Do_GPT_and_MBR_Do\" >What Do GPT and MBR Do?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/#MBRs_Limitations\" >MBR\u2019s Limitations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/#GPTs_Advantages\" >GPT\u2019s Advantages<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/#Compatibility\" >Compatibility<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhats_the_Difference_Between_GPT_and_MBR_When_Partitioning_a_Drive%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;What\u2019s the Difference Between GPT and MBR When Partitioning a Drive?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<!-- UNCACHED CONTENT --><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-825160 size-full\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Shutterstock_72072415.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"HDD Header Image\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/close-hard-disk-abstract-reflection-72072415\" data-credittext=\"kubais\/Shutterstock.com\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/close-hard-disk-abstract-reflection-72072415\">kubais\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Set up a new disk on Windows 10 or 8.1 and you\u2019ll be asked whether you want to use MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table). Today we\u2019re explaining the difference between GPT and MBR and helping you choose the right one for your PC or Mac.<\/p>\n<p>GPT brings with it many advantages, but MBR is still the most compatible and is still necessary in some cases. This isn\u2019t a Windows-only standard, by the way\u2014Mac OS X, Linux, and other operating systems can also use GPT.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"nutshell\">GPT, or GUID\u00a0Partition Table, is a newer standard with many advantages including support for larger drives and is required by most modern PCs. Only choose MBR for compatibility if you need it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A partition structure defines how information is structured on the partition, where partitions begin and end, and also the code that is used during startup if a partition is bootable. If you\u2019ve ever partitioned and formatted a disk\u2014or set up a Mac to dual boot Windows\u2014you\u2019ve likely had to deal with MBR and GPT.\u00a0GPT is the new standard and is gradually replacing MBR.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Do_GPT_and_MBR_Do\"><\/span>What Do GPT and MBR Do?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You have to partition a disk drive before you can use it. MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table) are two different ways of storing the partitioning information on a drive. This information includes where partitions begin and end on the physical disk, so your operating system knows which sectors belong to each partition and which partition is bootable. This is why you have to choose MBR or GPT before creating partitions on a drive.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"mbr-or-gpt-initialize-disk\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/mbr-or-gpt-initialize-disk.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Choose between MBR and GPT when initializing a new drive. \" width=\"650\" height=\"452\" border=\"0\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What Is the System Reserved Partition and Can You Delete It?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"MBRs_Limitations\"><\/span>MBR\u2019s Limitations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>MBR was first introduced with IBM PC DOS 2.0 in 1983.\u00a0It\u2019s called Master Boot Record because the MBR is a special boot sector located at the beginning of a drive. This sector contains a boot loader for the installed operating system and information about the drive\u2019s logical partitions. The boot loader is a small bit of code that <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly loads the larger boot loader from another partition on a drive. If you have Windows installed, the initial bits of the Windows boot loader reside here\u2014that\u2019s why you may have to repair your MBR if it\u2019s overwritten and Windows won\u2019t start. If you have Linux installed, the GRUB\u00a0boot loader will typically be located in the MBR.<\/p>\n<p>MBR does have its limitations. For starters, MBR only works with disks up to 2 TB in size. MBR also only supports up to four primary partitions\u2014if you want more, you have to make one of your primary partitions an \u201cextended partition\u201d and create logical partitions inside it. This is a silly little hack and shouldn\u2019t be necessary.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"windows-disk-management-extended-partitions-with-mbr\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/windows-disk-management-extended-partitions-with-mbr.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"An MBR extended partition is the only way to have more than four partitions on an MBR drive. \" width=\"650\" height=\"365\" border=\"0\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What&#8217;s the Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"GPTs_Advantages\"><\/span>GPT\u2019s Advantages<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>GPT stands for GUID Partition Table. It\u2019s a new standard that\u2019s gradually replacing MBR. It\u2019s associated with UEFI, which\u00a0replaces the clunky old BIOS with something more modern. GPT, in turn, replaces the clunky old MBR partitioning system with something more modern. It\u2019s called GUID Partition Table because every partition on your drive has a \u201cglobally unique identifier,\u201d or GUID\u2014a random string so long that every GPT partition on earth likely has its own unique identifier.<\/p>\n<p>GPT\u00a0doesn\u2019t suffer from MBR\u2019s limits. GPT-based drives can be much larger, with size limits dependent on the operating system and its file systems. GPT also allows for a nearly unlimited number\u00a0of partitions. Again, the limit here will be your operating system\u2014Windows allows up to 128 partitions on a GPT drive, and you don\u2019t have to create an extended partition to make them work.<\/p>\n<p>On an MBR disk, the partitioning and boot data is stored in one place. If this data is overwritten or corrupted, you\u2019re in trouble. In contrast, GPT stores multiple copies of this data across the disk, so it\u2019s much more robust and can recover if the data is corrupted.<\/p>\n<p>GPT also stores cyclic redundancy check (CRC) values to check that its data is intact. If the data is corrupted, GPT can notice the problem and attempt to recover the damaged data from another location on the disk. MBR had no way of knowing if its data was corrupted\u2014you\u2019d only see there was a problem when the boot process failed or your drive\u2019s partitions vanished.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"windows-8.1-gpt-disk-management-with-more-than-four-primary-partitions\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/windows-8.1-gpt-disk-management-with-more-than-four-primary-partitions.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"GPT supports up to 128 partitions per drive. \" width=\"650\" height=\"365\" border=\"0\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Compatibility\"><\/span>Compatibility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>GPT drives tend to include a \u201cprotective MBR.\u201d This type of\u00a0MBR says that the GPT drive has a single partition that extends across the entire drive. If you try to manage a GPT disk with an old tool that can only read MBRs, it will see a single partition that extends across the entire drive. This protective MBR ensures the old tools won\u2019t mistake the GPT drive for an unpartitioned drive and overwrite its GPT data with a new MBR. In other words, the protective MBR protects the GPT data from being overwritten.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Beginner Geek: Hard Disk Partitions Explained<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Windows can only boot from GPT on UEFI-based computers running 64-bit versions of Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and corresponding server versions. All versions of Windows \u2014 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista \u2014 can read GPT drives and use them for data\u2014they just can\u2019t boot from them without UEFI.<\/p>\n<p>Other modern operating systems can also use GPT. Linux has built-in support for GPT. <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le\u2019s Intel Macs no longer use Apple\u2019s APT (Apple Partition Table) scheme and use GPT instead.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-825127\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/gparted-650x450.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Ubuntu, and other Linux distros, support GPT as well.\" width=\"640\" height=\"443\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>You\u2019ll probably want to use GPT when setting up a drive. It\u2019s a more modern, robust standard that all computers are moving toward. If you need compatibility with old systems \u2014 for example, the ability to boot Windows off a drive on a computer with a traditional BIOS \u2014 you\u2019ll have to stick with MBR for now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/193669\/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What\u2019s the Difference Between GPT and MBR When Partitioning a Drive?&#8221; kubais\/Shutterstock.com Set up a new disk on Windows 10 or 8.1 and you\u2019ll be asked whether you want to use MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table). Today we\u2019re explaining the difference between GPT and MBR and helping you choose the right&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Shutterstock_72072415.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-484892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}