How to Convert MBR to GPT Disk without Data Loss in Windows 10

Most of the time, you will get errors on the following lines during a Windows 10 installation process: “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table.” It mostly happens when you try to install the latest version of Windows 10 on your old computer with an old MBR partition style. Windows 10 now supports the newer GPT (GUID Partition Table) partition scheme. In fact, the newly released Windows 11 only supports the GPT partition style. So, if you want to convert MBR to GPT disk without data loss on your Windows 10 PC, just follow our detailed tutorial.

Convert MBR to GPT with No Data Loss in Windows 10 (2021)

This guide is for converting MBR to GPT absolutely without any data loss. You no longer need to use Diskpart and wipe the entire hard disk to convert the partition table. For this tutorial we will be using an official tool from Microsoft called MBR2GPT. It’s a command line tool, but the process is simple. By the way, you can also use this method to make your Windows 10 PC compatible with Windows 11. So, without further ado, let’s get straight to the point.

• Requirements

1. Your computer Must support UEFI To be able to convert MBR to GPT in Windows 10 without data loss. If you have an older computer and the BIOS only supports Legacy mode, you cannot use this method.

2. All Bitlocker encrypted volumes should be suspended for the transformation to take place.

3. Your computer must be running Windows 10 version 1703 or later. Your computer must be running the Creators Update or later because you already have Microsoft’s MBR2GPT tool on your system.
4. Partitions cannot more than 3.

• Verification

1. Before you begin, you will need to verify some information. Press the “Windows + X” keyboard shortcut and “Disk Management“.

2. After that, check disk number in the left corner. Generally, 0. However, if you have connected multiple hard disks and want to convert a particular hard disk, make a note of the specific disk number.

3. Next, right-click on “Disk 0” and select “Features“. If you have another disk, right-click on it and select Properties.

4. Here “unitsGo to the ” tab and search for “Partition style”. If it is MBR, we really need to convert the MBR partition to GPT. And if it shows GPT, we don’t need to do anything.

5. Next, press the Windows key once and press “System information“Open it.

6. Under “System Summary”, “BIOS Mode“. If it’s UEFI, your computer is supported and you can proceed with converting MBR to GPT in Windows 10. In case it’s outdated, you will need to follow this guide to change the firmware mode to UEFI. However, even UEFI users can use the BIOS to find the right UEFI menu. I suggest they boot into their . You’ll still need to do this after the conversion. That way you’ll be sure where to look for the correct settings page, submit the conversion.

• Change Legacy Mode to UEFI in BIOS Firmware

1. Restart your Windows 10 computer and while the computer boots up, press the BIOS key. Each computer has a different BIOS key and you may need to search for it on the internet.

note: For example, HP laptops often have F10 as the BIOS key. You need to find your computer’s BIOS key from the internet. It should be one of these — F1, F2, F3, F9, F10, Esc, etc. Users with custom built PCs will also need to find the BIOS key according to the motherboard manufacturer.

2. Once in the BIOS, navigate through the different menus and look for “UEFI” or “Legacy”. The option should be under “Advanced Settings”, “Boot Mode” or “System Configuration” depending on your OEM. On some computers, Disable “Legacy Support” Enables UEFI. Make sure UEFI is not greyed out and Legacy is disabled.

Note: If you can’t find any mention of UEFI, unfortunately you cannot convert MBR partition to GPT on your Windows 10 PC.

3. Now, press “F10” and press enter to save and exit. F10 is usually reserved for “Save and exit”, but the key may differ for your computer. We recommend checking this directly in the BIOS footnote. Your computer will now reboot.

4. Once the computer boots up, open System Information again and Check BIOS Mode. It should show “UEFI”. You are now ready to take the next step.

• Convert MBR to GPT without Data Loss in Windows 10

Note: Before proceeding, I highly recommend backing up all your valuable and personal files and folders. As the method is tried and tested, you never know when things might go wrong, especially when dealing with Windows. So go ahead and make a backup. You can learn how to create a full Windows 10 backup via the linked article.

1. Now that you have verified all information and backed up your data, it’s time to convert MBR to GPT without data loss on your Windows 10 PC. Press the Windows key once and type “command prompt“. From the search result, click “Run as administrator” to open Command Prompt.

2. Paste the following command in the CMD window and press enter. Here, I assume your disk number 0. If anything else, change the disk number accordingly. This command is to verify all configurations.

 mbr2gpt /validate /disk:0 /allowFullOS

If you get the message “Verification completed successfully”, you can continue. If you get any errors, make sure your PC is configured to the correct settings as I mentioned above.

3. Next, paste the following command and it will convert your Windows 10 PC from MBR to GPT disk without any data loss. If you are repeating this operation for a different disk number, do not forget to change the disk number. If you get a success message, congratulations. You have successfully converted MBR to GPT partition style and without any data loss. But wait, there’s one more step you need to take.

mbr2gpt /convert /disk:0 /allowFullOS

4. Finally, you will see a message saying: “Before the new system can boot properly, you must change the firmware to boot into UEFI mode!” So restart your computer and boot into BIOSand change the firmware mode to UEFI. To change the “legacy mode” from BIOS to UEFI, you can follow the steps detailed in the section above. Note that your PC will not boot unless you make this change.

5. Now, open your Windows 10 PC and verify the partition style as we did above. Press the “Windows +X” shortcut and open “Disk Management”. Right click on the desired disk -> Properties -> Volumes. Here, “partition style” Should mention GPT. This much. You’re done.

Convert MBR to GPT Disk without Losing Data on Windows 10 Computers

So you can convert partition style from MBR to GPT without deleting any of your data in Windows 10. The best part about this method is that you don’t need to create any bootable sticks. You can easily perform this conversion on a live Windows 10 PC. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you want to learn how to use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool or enable the new Eco mode in Windows 10, check out our linked articles right away. And if you run into any issues, let us know in the comment section below.