Windows 10: GPT HDD Cannot modify partitions/read data after enclosure change.

Windows ver. 10 20H2 19042.685

I have a Sabrent external enclosure I have been using for years as a storage device. It contains a WD Red 4TB drive. It was formatted in GPT because of the MBR's 2 TB limit. When I place the drive into a different branded external enclosure, it only shows a 2TB partition with the remaining 1.7TB as unallocated. I cannot change the drive in any form or fashion using Windows built-in disk manager as it's all grayed out. I've had this happen in the past and I know I can use diskpart to wipe the drive and start over, which requires me to backup my data, and then format GPT using the new enclosure then copy the data back over. Or I can use 3rd party disk management software but the outcome is the same. Windows is some how making this GPT partition GPT Protected and I don't format it that way. I don't get what causes GPT Protective to activate and I really don't need it.

So my question is why does this GPT Protective kick in?

Can I convert GPT Protective to GPT non protective without formatting?

Thanks!

- - - Updated - - -

I went ahead and performed a clean on the disk using disk part which removed the GPT Protective header. But here is a new problem I am bumping into. When I format it with the brand Fideco HDD enclosure and then move it to the Sabrent HDD enclosure, the drive becomes GPT Protective. But then I move the drive back to Fideco the drive is only GPT. And when I format it using the Sabrent drive and then move the drive over to the Fideco drive, it is now GPT Protective. If I format the HDD in the Sabrent enclosure then move it over to my backup Sabrent enclosure which is the same model, it works fine. So physically moving a drive that is formatted in GPT becomes GPT Protective when moved to another branded enclosure. Is that right? Why would this happen? If the enclosure fails I need to be able to take the drive out and place it into another enclosure without losing data. But that doesn't seem to be the case if the drive just locks up into GPT Protective mode when it gets moved to another enclosure. Am I missing something?

:)

 

GPT Protective Partition. How to read data / recover hard drive that is in this state.

The drive did come in an enclosure like an external drive, and I removed it from it's case and mounted it as an internal disk in my PC. There was no encryption of any kind and the disk worked fine.

I've diagnosed the drive with the WD tools, but they did not help. I think that this is a windows issue.

Take a look at my last post and see what it says in disk manager. Windows 10 is supposed to be able to read GPT Protective partitions, but it's not for some reason. I think that the partition table is stuffed or something.

Also, mounting the drive back into an enclosure shows the drive as RAW in disk manager because the drive enclosure modifies the data transfer rate or something.

 

How to delete the GUID Partition Table (GPT) on a HDD

I have a Windows 7 PC that has a virus (probably multiple viruses). I'm going to rebuild the PC with Windows 10.

I have removed the HDD from the Windows 7 PC and have it externally attached to a different Windows 10 PC via eSATA.

I have deleted all of the partitions on the external HDD - but, also - I would like to delete the GPT from the HDD also.

How do I delete the GPT from an HDD?

I have googled some references on the internet that suggest using various freeware utilities (e.g. Super Fdisk).

Does Windows 10 have a command that deletes a GPT - perhaps somewhere in the DISKPART command?

I'm thinking if I use DISKPART to convert the GPT to MBR and then convert it back to GPT - I will have effectively deleted the GPT.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

clone MBR HD to bootable GPT partition?

Hi,

1. You cannot convert mbr to gpt without data loss. otherwise, you can follow directions here:

FROM WINDOWS RECOVERY CONSOLE:

To change a master boot record disk into a GUID partition table disk using a command line

• 
  Back up or move the data on the basic master boot record (MBR) disk you want to convert into a GUID partition table (GPT) disk.
  
• 
  Open an elevated command prompt (right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator) and type diskpart. If the disk does not contain any partitions or volumes, skip to step 6.
  
• 
  At the DISKPART prompt, type list disk. Make note of the disk number you want to convert.
  
• 
  At the DISKPART prompt, type select disk <disknumber>.
  
• 
  At the DISKPART prompt, type clean.
  

2. I'd suggest converting your vista drive to a virtual machine, load that up on your windows 10 system and use a program like virtualbox to run it.