home Tips Why is it impossible to install Windows. GPT Partition Style: Convert to MBR when installing OS. Selected drive has GPT partition style when installing Windows

Why is it impossible to install Windows. GPT Partition Style: Convert to MBR when installing OS. Selected drive has GPT partition style when installing Windows

A friend brought me his laptop Lenovo and asked me to install on it Windows 10 instead of Windows 8. By the way, the “eight” has been on it since the moment of purchase in the store. This laptop has Bios UEFI. I already told you once, laptops with such a BIOS.
So, I inserted my bootable USB flash drive with Windows into this laptop. Then I set it in Bios so that the boot from the USB flash drive was successful. I'm going to install.

At first, everything goes as usual:

I choose the largest partition on the hard disk in terms of volume, where I will install the system. And then I find that the “Next” button is not active. At the bottom I see a warning: “”. Click here" Show details”:

An error window appears: "":

Now I will explain what this error means. And how can you still install Windows in this situation:

GPT(GUID Partition Table) is a new standard for placing partition tables on a hard disk. Most modern laptops that come pre-installed with Windows 8 or Windows 10 use this standard.

To install Windows 10 on a GPT disk of a laptop with UEFI BIOS from a bootable USB flash drive, one of the following conditions must be met:

1) either it was UEFI flash drive(created in a special way. For example, using the program Rufus)

2) or, if the flash drive is not UEFI, then you need to convert hard drive from GPT standard to legacy MBR standard

I had a regular bootable flash drive with an operating system (not UEFI), and I didn’t want to redo it at all. Therefore, I decided to use the second option - convert laptop hard drive. This is done at the time of installing the OS using command line.

Important: during the conversion process, all data from the hard disk will be deleted! Even if your disk is divided into several partitions (for example, “Local Disk C” and “Local Disk D”), then all these partitions will be deleted! Therefore, if you, for example, have some important personal files on drive D, then it’s better to cancel the installation, then drop these files somewhere on a USB flash drive or external hard drive, and only then continue.

In my case, the Lenovo laptop still had a hidden partition with a rollback program to the “store state”. After converting the hard drive from GPT to MBR, it will also become inoperable. When I warned the owner of the laptop about this, he said that he was not going to return to Windows 8 - he asked me to put him either a "seven" or a "ten".

The instructions for installing Windows on a laptop given in the article are relevant for both Windows 10, and for Windows 7.

So, I told you about the reason for the error: “ Windows cannot be installed to this drive. Selected disk has GPT partition style". He also warned about the consequences of converting a hard disk from GPT to MBR. Now let's continue with our installation:

After encountering an error about the GPT partition style − calling the command line by pressing the keyboard shortcut Shift+F10(on my laptop I had to press Fn+Shift+F10):

In the black window that opens, type the command diskpart and press the key Enter on keyboard:

Now you need to select the hard drive that we will convert. First find out his number. To do this, enter the command list disk and press the key Enter:

In my case, the system detected two disks. But it is clear from the volume that Disk 0 is the hard disk of a computer Disc 1- this is my personal flash drive with which I currently install Windows.

Naturally, we will work with Disk 0. Therefore, on the command line, write the following command: sel dis 0 and press the Enter key:

Then we enter the command clean and press the Enter key. The hard disk will be completely cleaned, including all files and partitions:

Now enter the command and press the Enter key. Thus, we converted the disk to the MBR standard:

After that, enter again exit and again press Enter:

We return to our window with sections and click here “ Refresh". Then press the button " Further”:

We see the following window:

We can immediately click “Next” and the Windows installation process will begin. Can we first create the number of partitions we need on the hard drive by clicking the “ Create”:

In any case, the process of installing Windows on a laptop should go on without problems:

Users who install the latest three versions of Windows operating systems - 7, 8 or 10 (any assembly) on their PC can see a message on the screen with the text “the selected disk has the GPT partition style”.

The problem lies in the incompatibility of outdated laptop or computer software with more modern drive specifications.

The choice of a specific solution to the problem primarily depends on the bit depth of the installed Windows system and the firmware interface (BIOS or UEFI).

What is GPT and MBR?

Before you continue to install the operating system on your PC and convert partition styles, it is worth finding out what the cause of the problem is.

So, most of the relatively old motherboards were equipped with BIOS software, the tasks of which were to perform primary diagnostics and boot the operating system.

By the way, on our website you can read.

The software was designed to work only with boot records of the MBR type.

A newer version of the interface, UEFI, allows you to work with both old styles and new ones, GPT.

Rice. 1. Error when installing Windows on a disk with GPT partition style.

The benefits of the updated software are improved boot speed and data security - due to more reliable boot and support for hardware-based drive encryption.

In addition, UEFI works with the GPT style, which supports writing and reading large files. This is especially important for hard drives larger than 1 TB.

You should know: UEFI is compatible with both BIOS and MBR. And, therefore, when working with the new interface, the style of the disk does not matter. At the same time, the BIOS does not work with either UEFI or GPT.

Rice. 2. Determination of disk styles using special utilities.

Solutions to the problem

As a rule, most more or less new motherboards are already equipped with a modern interface.

And problems with installing the operating system due to the GPT style can appear only in two cases - if the computer is relatively old or if the UEFI settings do not support the new style.

The first version of the problem is solved in only one way - by changing the settings of the hard disk.

As a result, it will be more difficult to work with large files, but it will be possible to install the system.

If the problem is disabled GPT support, you just need to enable it and continue installing the platform.

Installing the system on disks with GPT

It is advisable to solve problems with installing the system on a HDD with GPT partitions, observing the following conditions:

Using a 64-bit system;
By setting the boot mode to UEFI.

However, most often the cause of the error is the failure to fulfill the second condition, since it hardly makes sense to install a 32-bit system now (except for computers with 32-bit processors).

To correct the situation, you will either need to change the BIOS settings, or prepare it in such a way that it supports working with UEFI automatically.

BIOS or UEFI setup

The first steps to follow when installing one of the last three generations of Windows on a PC is (or rather, UEFI).

This usually requires pressing a certain key during the boot process of the operating system.

In Windows 7, most often you need to press Esc , F1 or F2 , depending on the motherboard manufacturer.

For Windows 8, this will require changing the system boot settings (through the additional options of the Diagnostics menu, called by the keys Win + C).

Rice. 3. Entering the menu for changing the boot of the Windows 8 system.

For Windows 10, to enter the UEFI settings, you will have to run:

Click on the notification icon and select the settings item;
Go to the update and security window;
In turn, select recovery partitions, special boot methods and immediate reboot;
After the system has been rebooted, select advanced options and UEFI settings.

Now that the BIOS has turned on, you should configure its menu to automatically install the new system on disks with GPT.

To do this, the user must install the UEFI interface boot instead of the standard CSM.

Rice. 4. Installing the boot of the new UEFI interface.

The second step is to select the appropriate disk mode - instead of IDE, designed for the old type of HDD, you should choose.

Configuration can be done in the Peripherals or SATA Configuration menu.

Rice. 5. Setting the mode of operation with SATA disks.

Sometimes, for Windows 7, you need to additionally disable such an option in UEFI as .

Need to know: In different versions of UEFI, all these items may be located in different places. However, the setting names are retained and are relatively easy to find.

You will be interested in:

Possible installation problems

After making all the changes, just save them and restart your computer (or laptop). There should be no error messages or other similar problems.

If the problems still remain, you should fix them by creating a special boot disk.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to use the command line or special programs like Rufus.

Rice. 6. Create a boot disk that supports GPT by default.

When using such a drive, the probability of an error-free installation of the system is almost 100 percent.

However, to be safe, one more thing to do is to delete the bootmgr file in the main directory of the USB flash drive, which can lead to another attempt to boot without GPT support.

Now the system will definitely install without errors.

Convert disk from GPT to MBR

In the absence of the ability to configure UEFI, and especially in the complete absence of this interface, the user has no other option but to change the partition styles.

To do this, you can try to use the already built-in tools of the installed operating system or special utilities.

Important: If necessary, the ways to change styles back from MBR to GPT are just as simple. What's more, the data written to the disc is not lost, unlike conversion to an older format.

Convert via command line

An option to change the style of disks, suitable for computers with an outdated boot interface and, moreover, an old-style HDD (IDE).

A necessary condition for performing such actions is that the hard drive partitions must be empty, since all data is deleted during the conversion process.

If the information on the disk is not needed by the user, it can not be deleted.

Changing the style to MBR by the installer of the operating system will require the following steps:

When choosing a partition type during system installation, press the Shift and F10 keys;
In the command line that opens on the screen, enter two commands - first discpart, then list disk;
After the list of hard disk partitions appears, write select disk A, where A is the number of the part that should be converted to GPT.

The next user action can continue with the clean command. In this case, all partitions of one of the disks will be deleted.

The second option is manual deletion, which requires you to enter three commands in turn (detail disk, select volume, delete volume).

The last step is to change the style. To do this, another command is entered in the line - convert mbr.

After the manual conversion to MBR has been performed, it is required:

Enter one more final command Exit ;
Close command line;
Partition the disk into new partitions (it is advisable to leave a smaller part of the HDD for the system and applications, and a large part for storing important information);
Continue installing the operating system.

As a rule, no errors occur in this case.

The only reasons for the problems to continue are problems with the hard drive or a corrupted software distribution.

In the first case, to fix the problem, you will have to contact the service, in the second, use another installation disk.

Selected drive has GPT partition style when installing Windows

Attention: this is not the only way to solve the problem: you can also simply enable EFI boot for the installation drive without converting the HDD.

Convert to MBR in Disk Management

The second option for manually switching from GPT to MBR is suitable for computers that already have a running Windows 7 or 8 installed, and the disk is not a system disk.

To resolve the issue, the user is required to:

1. Go to the disk management menu (one of the easiest options is through the run window, in which you should enter the diskmgmt.msc command);

Rice. 7. Disk management menu.

2. Find a physical (that is, not a partition, of which there can be many on the HDD) hard disk to be converted;

3. Delete all partitions from the HDD by selecting the delete item in the menu;

4. Right-click on the disk name and select convert to MBR.

5. Restart your computer and continue installation.

Convert GPT hard drive to MBR basic

Convert GPT hard disk to MBR (basic) using Paragon Hard Disk Manager.

Style conversion tool

In addition to standard methods involving the use of built-in Windows tools, there is also the opportunity to simplify your task using special utilities.

Some of the most convenient are Minitool Partition Wizard and Acronis Disk Director. The disadvantages of these applications is the need to pay for their purchase.

While downloading the Aomei Partition Assistant program can be done completely free of charge.

And among the many possibilities there is not only a change in styles, but also other options for configuring hard drives.

Rice. 8 Working with Aomei Partition Assistant

Need to know: When using applications that allow you to change the hard disk style settings, you can delete the first boot partition of the HDD. In this case, converting GPT to MBR and vice versa will be much easier.

Can't install Windows 7! Inexperienced users often face such a problem and, in search of a solution, climb the Internet.

And rightly so, because our material will really help you get rid of a number of possible problems.

For ease of identifying the “culprit” of installation problems, we group these objects into several generalized categories:

installation image - OS installation files;
installation image media - CD, DVD or USB FLASH disk;
an image carrier reader;
BIOS of the computer on which the OS is installed;
computer hard drive;
computer hardware;
computer peripherals.

When an error occurs, you need to check the groups one by one, narrowing the search circle for the faulty category, the cause of the fault, and the way to solve the problem.

Currently, reinstallation of the operating system is more often done using a USB FLASH than from a DVD.

This installation requires preparation of both the media and special BOIS settings on the computer.

Preparing a flash drive consists in deploying a bootable installation image on it. Programs are useful for this: UltraISO, WinSetupFromUSB, etc.

Often errors during installation from a flash drive are associated with incorrect deployment of the image.

Case 1: If you can't install Windows 7 from a flash drive

we check the performance of the flash drive - we connect it to a working computer, I try to copy-write several files. We check the disk with regular means (right-click - Properties - Tools - Run a check);
we try to boot the computer from a USB flash drive by inserting it into the rear connectors. Long wires stretch from the front USB connectors, in which interference can occur that distort the data read from the media.
A typical symptom of the problem is that the installation is interrupted by an error at an unpredictable point during the process.
check if . By connecting the USB flash drive to the computer, we enter the interface. Its name should appear among other hard drives.
If this does not happen, then you need to use another flash drive. The flash drive is detected normally, then we try to prepare it with other programs, use other installation images.

Case 2. If you can't install windows 7 via BIOS

In this case, we act in the same sequence as in case of problems with a flash drive: is the media in good condition, is the reader working correctly, is the image deployed on the media operable.

If the problem is related to the fact that you cannot get into the BIOS settings window, then we try to set the boot device when you turn on the computer using the function keys.

As a rule, the "Select boot device" function is activated with the F8, F11, F12 or ESC button, through the selection menu.

It is important not to miss the moment and press the button immediately after turning on the computer.

This feature can also be used to check if the USB stick is detected by the system.

Case 3. If windows 7 cannot be installed - driver not found

The probable cause is a hard drive or media that is not supported by standard means. The problem became especially urgent with the spread of USB 3.0.

The Windows 7 distribution does not support USB 3.0 by default.

Therefore, you need to stock up on drivers or use a non-original image for installation, in which these are already present.

You can find and download a suitable image at the request of "Windows 7 USB 3.0". When this error is detected, the system provides the opportunity to install the necessary drivers.

Important! If the installation was carried out from a flash drive, then you need to move the flash drive from the USB 3.0 connector (blue core) to USB 2.0 (black core) or disable USB 3.0 support through the BIOS interface.

If the flash drive from which the operating system is being installed is in USB 3.0 format, then you need to disable the USB XHCI Controller option in the BIOS, and enable AHCI mode for hard drives.

Another reason for the missing driver error is an outdated BIOS version.

Updating the BIOS program helps to overcome the problem. The problem is that the outdated BIOS does not contain instructions for working with large media.

This means that you need an abbreviated (stripped down) installation image and media with a small amount of memory.

There are cases when a driver search error was associated with minor mechanical damage to the optical media - a DVD disc.

The problem is solved by writing the installation image to a working media.

A drive with a dead laser does not read all discs and may make a read error in a critical block of setup data.

After updating the computer hardware, sometimes the installation of the system fails due to insufficient power supply.

The problem manifests itself in a spontaneous reboot of the system during installation or a long irreversible freeze.

The widely and infamous blue screen of death will invariably occur when trying to install windows if there are corrupted cells in the computer's RAM.

The only way to fix the problem is to replace the failed RAM module.

Peripheral devices attached to the computer can affect installation in unexpected ways.

Therefore, before starting the installation, you need to disconnect everything except the mouse and keyboard.

Installing Windows 7 from a USB flash drive to a computer and laptop

Can't install windows 7: how to solve basic errors

Sometimes when installing Windows, including version 10, an error message is displayed on the screen. The text of the message is: "Windows cannot be installed to this drive." In this case, the hard drive is displayed in the BIOS. It is also visible at the stage of installing the operating system, where it could be divided into sections.

This problem occurs for two reasons:

the controller is disabled in the BIOS (AHCI mode);
the hard drive has a GPT volume.

Problem with AHCI mode

In addition to an error message informing you that Windows 7 or 10 cannot be installed on this drive, if you have problems with AHCI mode, the computer cannot boot from the selected drive. The reason is that the controller may have been disabled in the BIOS.

The problem is solved in the following way:

Problem in GPT format

Another reason for the impossibility of installing Windows 7 or 10 versions with the display of a similar message may be GPT - the hard disk partition format.

More recently, all hard drives were of the same type. The only partition style was MBR. Over the past few years, manufacturers have been gradually switching to the production of hard drives with the GPT format. But the boot files from the OS are not modified for new formats, and as a result, the above error appears during installation.

The MBR (Master Boot Record) is the program code and data required to prestart a computer. They are located in the initial marked sector of the hard drive. The start of the MBR begins after the initial BIOS analysis of the health of all devices. Its main function is to locate the files that are needed to boot the OS.

GPT is a new standard for the volume table layout format. A standard firmware interface for computers has also been developed to replace the BIOS. It is called UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface).

The problem occurs due to the fact that the OS installer cannot install Windows to the specified partition, due to the fact that the partition table does not fit it.

There are 2 methods to fix the problem:

installing the system on a similar disk;
convert partition to MBR.

The choice of method should be determined by the following rules:

if the computer supports the UEFI interface and you need to install a 64-bit OS (for example, Windows 10), then it is recommended to use the first option. Checking for a UEFI interface is very simple. Graphic mode with the ability to control the mouse indicates the presence of UEFI;
if the computer was released several years ago, has a BIOS and you want to install a 32-bit operating system from MicroSoft, then you should convert GPT to MBR.

Using the MBR limits some features such as:

their volume cannot exceed 4 TB;
The maximum number of volumes per HDD is limited to 4.

Installing Windows 7, 8 and 10 on GPT

Problems installing the OS on a GPT volume usually arise for those who want to install Windows 7, 8 and 10.

To install an OS on a GPT volume, 2 conditions must be met:

install a 64-bit system (for example, Windows 10);
boot in EFI mode.

If the first condition is not met, it is necessary to prepare a bootable UEFI drive.

But in most cases, only the second condition is not met. Therefore, it is more advisable to immediately go into the BIOS and check the settings.

There are two options to set in the BIOS:

enable UEFI boot;
switch SATA mode to AHCI.

After saving the settings on the computer, you can install the OS. The error won't happen again.

Convert GPT volume to MBR

There are several options for converting volume styles. Let's consider them in more detail.

Converting to MBR when installing Windows via command line

This method is optimal for use in a situation where installing OS such as Windows 7, 8, 10 is not feasible due to the type of GPT volumes. It can also be useful not only when installing the OS, but also during the regular operation of the OS to convert non-system partitions.

It should not be forgotten that when converting partitions, all information from them will be lost. Therefore, it is recommended to save everything important in advance on an external storage medium.

To change the style of volumes from GPT to MBR through the command line, you must:

run the command line in Windows as a user with administrator rights;
to display a list of hard drives connected to the computer, enter the commands "diskpart" and "list disk" in sequence;
select the disk to change the style with the "select disk D" command, where D is the disk number;
Then two scenarios are possible.
1. perform a full disk cleanup with the “clean” command. This will delete all HDD volumes;
2. you can also delete HDD volumes one at a time using the "detail disk", "select volume" and "delete volume" commands;
start converting the disk to MBR with the "convert mbr" command;
Exit Diskpart by selecting Exit. Close command line. After that, it is recommended to continue the installation of the operating system. This error message will no longer be displayed.

You can create volumes on the HDD by selecting the item " Customize Disk».

The volume style change is complete.

Changing partition style from GPT to MBR using Windows Disk Management

An alternative volume conversion method requires a properly functioning Windows 7, 8 or 10 operating system on a personal computer. You can only convert a disk volume that is not a system disk.

The sequence of steps for converting an HDD volume is as follows:

Utilities for changing the style of a section

In addition to the standard HDD volume conversion methods provided by Microsoft developers, you can use third-party hard disk volume management utilities, such as

Just about the complex. Programs. Iron. Internet. Windows