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Change partition map from gpt to mbr while keeping windows intact


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#1
Mike408

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So somehow along the line my partition changed from mbr to gpt and there is no 100mb partition at the beginning of the drive before the C: partition.

I just tried reformatting, changing the partition table to mbr and preforming a system reimage, but it actually reformatted itself BACK to gpt.

My question is how can I change the partition table back to mbr without having to do a clean installation of windows.

I've spent hours installing drivers on this machine and I'd rather not redownload them all and install them - that would be a nightmare.


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#2
Dashing star

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Edit: Before going to further steps , answer my question.
Did you have system reserved ie) you said 100MB before c:?
Also did you have windows cd? with you? or it is OEM?

steps:

 

You did not save your drivers in safe place? i.e) external hard disk or flash disk?

 

Here is how to change GPT to MBR

 

Note: Make a backup before doing this.

 

 

 

Master boot record (MBR) disks use the standard BIOS partition table. GUID partition table (GPT) disks use unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI). MBR disks do not support more than four partitions on each disk. The MBR partition method is not recommended for disks larger than 2 terabytes.
You can change a disk from GPT to MBR partition style as long as the disk is empty and contains no volumes.

 

You no need to install windows but you have to loss your data during this process.

 

If you need data you should have third party tool for converting GPT to MBR.


Edited by Dashing star, 19 August 2015 - 06:54 AM.

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#3
Ztruker

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See here: How to Convert GPT to MBR without data loss


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#4
leafwarbler

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So somehow along the line my partition changed from mbr to gpt and there is no 100mb partition at the beginning of the drive before the C: partition.

I just tried reformatting, changing the partition table to mbr and preforming a system reimage, but it actually reformatted itself BACK to gpt.

My question is how can I change the partition table back to mbr without having to do a clean installation of windows.

I've spent hours installing drivers on this machine and I'd rather not redownload them all and install them - that would be a nightmare.

1, backup the system data, 

2, clean the drive,

3, recreate a new drive and convert to MBR,

4, copy the original data back to the new drive.

It can not damage your windows data.

Or there is another way for you. If you do not want to be so complicated, you can use 3rd-party tool. MiniTool Partition Wizard is a good choice. CONVERT GPT TO MBR function is convenient and easy to operate. In the whole process, you do not need to worry about data loss.

 

But before your operation, you have to make sure your motherboard bootmanager is BIOS or UEFI. 


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