Introduction

The two most common types of hard drive formats are MBR and GPT. MBR, or “master boot record,” is a legacy hard drive format that’s been used on PCs for decades. GPT, or “GUID partition table,” is a more modern standard that’s increasingly becoming the norm for new PCs.

What is GPT?

GPT is an improved version of the MBR partitioning system that allows for more flexibility and stability when working with partitions. It is the recommended option for most users, and is required if you want to create a bootable UEFI USB drive.

What is MBR?

The Master Boot Record (MBR) is a special type of boot sector at the beginning of a hard disk. The MBR contains code to function as a loader for the operating system and information about the disk partition structure.

In order for a computer to be able to boot from an MBR disk, it must be using BIOS. computers that are using UEFI will not be able to boot from an MBR disk.

How to Check if a Hard Drive is GPT or MBR?

To check if a hard drive is GPT or MBR, you can use either the Disk Management tool or the Command Prompt.

Using Disk Management

1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter to launch the Disk Management tool.
3. Right-click on the hard drive that you want to check and select Properties.
4. Go to the Volumes tab and look under Partition style to see if the hard drive is GPT or MBR.

Using Command Prompt

1. Press the Windows key + X on your keyboard and select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type diskpart and press Enter to launch the DiskPart utility.
3. Type list disk and press Enter to list all of the disks on your computer.
4. Type select disk 1 (replace 1 with the number of your hard drive) and press Enter to select it.
5. Type detail disk and press Enter to see information about the selected disk, including its partition style (GPT or MBR).
   GPT vs MBR: Which One is Better?

Different computers use different types of hard drives. The two most common types are GPT and MBR. So, which one is better?

GPT:

The GPT (GUID Partition Table) type of hard drive is the more modern type. It was introduced as an alternative to MBR (Master Boot Record), as it offers a number of advantages. One advantage is that it can support drives up to 16TB in size, whereas MBR drives are limited to 2TB. Another advantage is that GPT drives can have more than four partitions, whereas MBR drives are limited to four. Finally, GPT drives are less susceptible to corruption than MBR drives.

MBR:

The MBR (Master Boot Record) type of hard drive is the older type. It has a number of disadvantages compared to GPT, but it remains popular because it is compatible with a wider range of devices and operating systems. One disadvantage of MBR is that it can only support drives up to 2TB in size. Another disadvantage is that it can only have four partitions. This means that if you want to create more than four partitions on your hard drive, you will need to use GPT instead.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can use disk management tool to check if a hard drive is MBR or GPT. If the hard drive is unallocated, you need to initialize it as MBR or GPT before using it. If the hard drive is already partitioned, you can convert MBR to GPT without losing data or convert GPT to MBR without data loss.