Windows 10: Why GPT instead of MBR partitions for boot drive?

My boot drive is a 512 GB SSD and it has MBR partitions. I'm currently running Win 7 Pro 64 on an ASUS motherboard system with a UEFI BIOS.

I'm about to upgrade to Win 10. Is there any benefit to redoing the boot drive with GPT partitions as part of that process?



:)

 

Both MBR and GPT? Why?

Hi L.Will, technically: you can have both MBR and GPT on the same disc but it is unmanageable and unsupported . . .

Windows by default will use GPT, you can check this by going into BIOS/UEFI and see if Secure boot is enabled. If Secure boot is enabled, then Windows is on the GPT partition . . .

As to why or how you have managed to have MBR and GPT on the same Disk, that is a mystery and in reality should not be possible . . .

 

UEFI Based PC Protective MBR - What is it?

Hi Arush,

MBR

A master boot record (MBR) is a special type of boot sector at the very beginning of partitioned computer mass storage devices like fixed disks or removable drives intended for use with the systems.

The MBR holds the information on how the logical partitions, containing file systems, are organized on that medium. Besides that, the MBR also contains executable code to function as a loader for the installed operating system—usually by passing control
over to the loader's second stage, or in conjunction with each partition's volume boot record (VBR). This MBR code is usually referred to as a boot loader.

GPT:

GUID Partition Table (GPT) is a standard for the layout of the partition table on a physical hard disk, using globally unique identifiers (GUID). Although it forms a part of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) standard (Unified EFI Forum proposed
replacement for the PC BIOS), it is also used on some BIOS systems because of the limitations of master boot record (MBR) partition tables, which use 32 bits for storing logical block addresses (LBA) and size information.

MBR-based partition table schemes insert the partitioning information for (usually) four "primary" partitions in the master boot record (MBR) (which on a BIOS system is also the container for code that begins the process of booting the system). In a GPT,
the first sector of the disk is reserved for a "protective MBR" such that booting a BIOS-based computer from a GPT disk is supported, but the boot loader and O/S must both be GPT-aware. Regardless of the sector size, the GPT header begins on the second logical
block of the device.

For Reference:

Configure UEFI/GPT-Based Hard Drive Partitions

Hope this information is helpful, let us know if you need further assistance.

 

Secure Boot works better with GPT formatting.

 

Read the msgs in this thread.....bottom line is GPT IS a better choice.
GPT versus MBR for W10 boot SSD?

 

Old Mike,

Thanks. For me the deal clincher was secure boot that protects against rootkits. Now I'm going to try that utility that allows conversion in place from MBR to GPT.

 

I am pretty satisfied with MBR on my SSD. I think the "GPT is better" mantra is out of proportion.

 

GPT allows more than four primary partitions

You can use drives over 2.2 TB with OS on it if GPT.

GPT supports secure boot.

Easier to repair boot issues with UEFI install.

So no it is not out of proportion!

 

*Ditto*Thumbs

 

Actually I prefer MBR for the dual boot situation, as where if you wish to access the other os is not possible with GPT.
I believe the above posts refer to TB not GB.

 

Not sure I understand. *Confused Can you explain.*Smile

Thanks.

 

MBR limits the maximum addressable storage space of a disk to 2 TerraBytes (232 × 512 bytes). NOT Giga

 

SonicBlue,

The part of your earlier post that I did not understand was:

Actually I prefer MBR for the dual boot situation, as where if you wish to access the other os is not possible with GPT.

 

GB - obviously a typo.

To be pedantic, it is 2 TiB (2.2 TB to one decimal place).

 

Of course you can dual boot with other OSs in UEFI - it simply depends if other OS is UEFI/secureboot compatible.

e.g. Many linux installs can handle uefi/secure boot.