How to install Windows 7 on a gpt partition. If Windows cannot be installed on this disk. Operating system installation

Users who, for one reason or another, needed to install Windows computer 7, are often faced with the following problem. The installation device is inserted, the BIOS opens normally and sees all connected devices, the partition for installation operating system selected, everything seems to be working fine, but suddenly the error “Installing Windows on this disk impossible. The selected disk has a GPT partition style." A not very experienced user may get confused, decide that his HDD drive is damaged, and even start thinking about buying a new one. But there is no need to rush, this is not a matter of damage or marriage. Most likely, the disk is simply set to GPT format, which is the cause of the problem.

Disks that support the GPT partition style, in Lately are becoming quite common among users. These devices replaced the earlier MBR format. And it is possible to work with the GPT format on the universal UEFI interface, which is usually installed on modern motherboards. Older devices are gradually becoming a thing of the past. On the one hand, this is good, because the UEFI interface allows you to boot the system faster than before, and the GPT format supports large HDD devices, while the MBR could use no more than 2.2 TB of information. But, despite all this, sometimes you may need a hard drive with the MBR format. One such case is installing a 32-bit Windows 7 system on a computer where the UEFI interface is not supported.

Conversion during Windows 7 installation

Here we will talk about converting GPT to MBR. If you encounter the error described above when trying to install Windows 7, then do not despair - there is a solution to this problem. In short, you will need to convert the GPT format to MBR. Let's look at this process in more detail.

Before you begin any manipulations with the disk, you should make sure that all important data stored on the computer is transferred to another location. After all, the procedure for formatting a hard drive involves complete removal all information recorded on it. It would be a shame if the files you need disappear forever. Therefore, as soon as you, say, transfer all the data to another HDD(or a flash drive, if the amount of information is small), you can proceed directly to formatting.

Perhaps someone will think that the process of formatting a hard drive is difficult. However, this is not so - this procedure does not represent any particular difficulty. The only tool you need to do this is a boot disk.

So, let's move on to the question of how to convert GPT to MBR if you need to reinstall or reinstall the operating system Windows system 7. First, you need to insert the boot device into the computer and carry out all the necessary operations to install the system using the wizard. As soon as the installation reaches the point of selecting a disk partition (where the indicated error occurs), you need to press the combination Shift keys and F10. Thus, a command line will open, where you need to do the following (after entering each command, you need to press Enter):

• Enter the diskpart command. This command, as the name suggests, allows you to various actions with disk partitions;
• Enter the command disk list, which will display a list of partitions available on the hard drive;
• Enter the select disc # command. Instead of a hash, you need to indicate the number of the disk with which you had difficulty installing the system. Once you select the appropriate section, all subsequent actions will be performed in relation to it;
• Enter the clean command, which will start the process of completely cleaning the selected partition;
• Enter the convert mbr command, which will help us solve the problem with installing Windows 7. The process of converting the partition from GPT format to MBR format will begin, that is, the partition markup will be converted to an earlier format;
• Enter the exit command, which will close the disk operations program and return us to the menu for selecting the partition on which to install the operating system.

Well, that’s all, now we have access to an empty disk in MBR format, on which we can safely install Windows 7. Now no errors with the GPT format will occur during installation.

Another option

There is another way to convert the GPT format to MBR, but to do it you need to already have either Windows 7 or Windows 8 installed on your computer. Accordingly, system disk You won’t be able to convert using this method, but you can convert some other partition, and later, if necessary, make it a system partition. You will need to open the Run window and type the command diskmgmt.msc, which will open the Disk Management window.

Next, in the list of disks that opens, you select the partition you need and clear it of its contents. To do this you need to click on it right click mouse and select “Delete volume”. Then you need to right-click on the desired disk and click on “Convert to MBR disk”. The conversion operation will begin, upon completion of which you can re-create the desired structure of your partitions.

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Many users, when installing Windows, encounter a problem when installing the operating system on this disk is impossible, since the selected volume has a GPT partition style. In this article, we will teach you how to get out of this situation in several ways at once, and at the end we will even present a video in which we will show the entire process in as much detail as possible. Without delay, let's get started.

MBR (Master Boot Record) is the so-called main boot record. An area of ​​memory that occupies the first 512 bytes of any drive. This can be a traditional hard drive or SSD. The main disadvantage of this technology is the maximum volume (2.2 TB) of supported devices. In addition, their number is limited to 4 units.

GPT (GUID Partition Table) - more advanced and new technology, which is part of the UEFI mode ( full replacement BIOS). GPT is located at the very beginning of the drive, but unlike an MBR-protected partition, it is in its second sector. The first sector contains the same MBR for compatibility with older PCs. This technology Not only does it have no restrictions on the size and number of disks, but it also has a number of additional useful functions.

Some computers and laptops do not support UEFI and GPT, as a result the operating system “refuses” to install, and we see an error related to the inability to install Windows.

Backing up data

1. In the window that opens, select the disk management section, right-click on the desired media and select “Properties”.

1. Switch to the “Volumes” tab and in the place marked with the number “2”, look at the type of boot record. In our case, this is just GUID or GPT.

If this line says “MBR”, it means the disk is formatted in in the required format and that is not the problem.

Using the command line

You can also find out whether GPT is used on our drive via command line. This is done like this:

1. Taking advantage Windows search, we find the command line itself by entering the characters “CMD” in the line indicated by the number “2”. After that, select the desired result in the search results.

1. On the command line itself, write “diskpart” and press Enter.

1. Next, enter the command “list disk” and press Enter again.

1. Let's look at the result. If there is an asterisk icon next to the partition, it means the disk uses GPT technology. Accordingly, on the contrary, if it is not there, you have MBR.

If you are convinced of the presence of GPT, proceed to the instructions for solving the problem of the inability to install Windows by converting the master boot record of the selected disk to MBR.

How to convert GPT to MBR?

Due to constant updates to the operating system itself and UEFI technology (GPT), the options below may vary or may not work at all. If you encounter such difficulty, simply move on to the next method.

Attention: some algorithms for solving the problem described in this article provide for the complete deletion of all data. Only one way leaves them in place. Therefore, read the description carefully before getting started!

Windows tools

This option involves changing the type of only the drive that is secondary. That is, if you are trying to transfer a partition on which Windows is installed and running, nothing will work.

In other cases we do this:

1. Using the search, we find a tool called “Administration”. To do this, simply enter a search query and select the desired option from the results.

1. Go to the “Computer Management” item.

1. In order to convert the disk type from GPT to “MBR” using Windows, you need to initially delete all partitions. To do this, right-click on each of them and select the appropriate action.

Attention: all data on the selected partition will be permanently deleted!

1. Right-click on the unallocated area and select the option to convert the master boot record to MBR format.

After this, the conversion will begin and the disk will switch to MBR mode. If for some reason this option it won't work for you or the conversion menu item will be unavailable, just move on to the next option.

Third party software

This method compares favorably with the others in that all the data on the converted partition will remain completely intact, as will its markup. Nevertheless, if we were you, we would still make a backup, since the software sometimes also crashes.

We proceed to our instructions:

1. Download the Acronis Disk Director application from its official website and begin installation. To do this we launch installation file and click “Yes”.

1. We are waiting for the data to be unpacked.

1. At the next stage, simply click the “Next” button.

1. We accept the license software and click on the button marked in the screenshot.

1. We refuse to participate in the improvement program and continue with the installation.

1. Specify or leave the default installation path, then move on.

1. Select the installation mode that suits you.

1. Everything is ready, all we have to do is click on the “Continue” button.

1. We are waiting for the installation to complete.

1. We complete the installation by clicking on the indicated button.

1. When the program is launched, select the desired disk and select the button to convert it. Since in our case the partition is already in MBR mode, we see the option to convert it to a dynamic disk (GPT). If you have the second type of boot record, the button will do the opposite operation, that is, install an “MBR” record on the drive.

1. To confirm the operation, click the button marked below.

1. All changes made in the program must be confirmed by clicking on the button with the image of the start flag. Let's press it.

1. We confirm our intentions once again by clicking on the “Continue” button.

1. The progress of the conversion operation is displayed in this window. Usually the process does not take much time, but it greatly depends on the size of the disk and its speed.

If this option does not solve your problem and you still see the message “ Windows installation to this disk is not possible because it has a GPT structure,” proceed to the next method.

Using a bootable USB flash drive

Using bootable media, we can convert the disk type directly through the Windows Installer. Naturally, all data will be irretrievably lost.

Important: these instructions are suitable for Windows 10. In earlier operating systems, you need to create a bootable drive in this way: for and for .

Ready? We do the following:

1. Download a utility from Microsoft called Media Creation Tools from its official website and run the file.

1. We are waiting for the preparation to complete.

1. We accept license agreement Windows installer.

1. We select the bootable media creation mode, rather than updating the current system. After that, click on “Next”.

1. We select the user interface language, Windows release and its architecture.

1. Here we indicate direct download and installation on a flash drive, which you should already have installed on your computer by this time.

Do not forget that all data from the external drive will be deleted.

1. We see that our media is detected and click the “Next” button.

1. The download will begin Windows distribution to a temporary folder on your computer. We are waiting for the process to complete, the duration of which depends entirely on the speed of your connection to the network.

1. The second stage is writing the downloaded image to our flash drive.

1. When everything is ready, you will see a window like this. Here you just need to press a single button.

Development computer technology This implies not only an increase in computing power, but along with increased productivity there are also improvements in the stability, security and convenience of modern computers. One of the most significant changes that have occurred in recent years has been the replacement of the old BIOS with a more advanced UEFI, as well as the transition from MBR to GPT disk partitioning style.

The advantages of the latter style are obvious. Unlike MBR, GPT partitioning allows you to create an almost unlimited number of partitions and assign them unique identifiers, names and attributes. GPT also supports duplicating the boot code and partition table, and works without any restrictions with media larger than 2.2 TB. However, the GPT partition style also has its drawbacks, the most significant of which is the lack of support for this technology on computers with an old BIOS.

In addition, novice users may have difficulty installing Windows on a GPT disk. Thus, due to the incompatibility of the BIOS software or some of its settings with modern drives, when you try to install the system on a disk with a new partition style, the error “Windows cannot be installed on this disk is possible at the initial stage.” The selected disk is in GPT style."

To users inexperienced in computer subtleties, the error may seem serious; in reality, there is nothing here that could prevent the installation of the system.

The message “Windows cannot be installed, the selected disk has a GPT partition style” usually occurs on new computer models with large disks or, conversely, on older PCs after replacing the disks with newer drive models. In this case, the version of the operating system does not play a special role; an error can occur when installing both Windows 7 and Windows 10, although, according to numerous evidence, the error is more often encountered when installing Windows 7. Currently, there are two main solutions to this problem - changing the appropriate settings in the UEFI BIOS and converting the GPT style to MBR.

Setting up UEFI and installing Windows on a GPT disk

This method is only applicable to computers with UEFI firmware, so the first thing you need to do is make sure that it really is present. If when entering the BIOS you see GUI With mouse support, it's more likely that your PC is running UEFI firmware, hence you can install the system on a GPT drive. You can get into the new BIOS in the same way as into the old one - just hold down the F2 or Del button during boot.

Next in the BIOS Features section or BIOS Setup you need to find and enable UEFI boot instead of CSM, and in the Peripherals section, select AHCI instead of SATA operating mode. If you are installing Windows 7 or earlier, you must also disable the Secure Boot(usually located in the Boot section).

After these manipulations the message “Windows cannot be installed. GPT Partition Style" should no longer appear.

Important: The system installed on a GPT disk must be 64-bit, these are the terms of Microsoft policy. If you want to install 32-bit Windows version, the markup will have to be converted to MBR. If the system is installed from a flash drive, it is recommended to recreate it so that it supports UEFI. To do this, you can use the command line, or even better - special utility Rufus.

Converting GPT markup to MBR

If your PC is using a regular BIOS, installing Windows on a GPT drive will not be possible. In this case, the most the right decision There will be a GPT to MBR style conversion just before installing the system. If you receive a notification that Windows cannot be installed, close the wizard window and click Shift + F10. In the command line that opens, run the following commands sequentially:

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
clean
convert mbr

The first command launches the utility Diskpart, the second displays a list of all physical disks connected to the PC, the third command selects the desired disk(V in this example this is disk 0), the fourth one is running it complete cleaning(all created partitions are deleted), the fifth command converts the GPT partition style to MBR. When executing the list disk command, pay attention to the asterisk in the GPT column, it just indicates that the disk has the GPT style.

To make sure that the conversion was successful, you can display the list disk again - the asterisk in the GPT column should disappear. That's all, use the exit command to exit the Diskpart utility, close the command line and continue installing Windows, after restarting the computer. After cleaning, the partitions will have to be created again, but this time no notifications about the impossibility of installing on the selected partition should appear, since the disk will already have MBR partitioning.

Using third party programs

It is unlikely, but it may happen that you will need to convert the GPT partitioning style to MBR on a disk with data already on it. The method described above using Diskpart is not suitable in this case, since the clean command removes all partitions from the disk, and along with them the data they contain. In such a situation, you can use third party applications, For example, boot disk Minitool Partition Wizard Bootable, Paragon Hard Disk Manager or AOMEI PE Builder.

All these programs allow you to convert basic disk GPT to MBR and vice versa, while the conversion procedure is simple and accessible to users with any level of training.

Installing the system in unallocated space

In some cases, you can do without using the command line or additional applications. If at Windows installation 7/10 The wizard writes “installation on this disk is impossible”, and the disk size does not exceed 2.2 GB, it’s worth trying this method. Using the installation wizard, delete all created partitions and try installing Windows into a single unallocated space.

If no error occurs, the system itself selected the MBR style and converted the disk to it. However, in this case, you will have to create the user partition D separately after installation. Also on disk you will not have hidden section“Reserved by the system”, which will somewhat reduce the fault tolerance of Windows.

It's no secret that sometimes when installing Windows 7 on modern computers or laptops, at the stage of selecting a partition, the installer gives an error message stating that installation to the selected partition is impossible because it has the GPT style. Many users are quite puzzled by this situation. And the question immediately arises of how to change the style of GPT partitions so that the system is installed as expected. To do this, you can use three options, which will be discussed below in as much detail as possible.

Windows 7 installation does not recognize: what is the reason?

Without going into technical details, it is worth saying that when installing an OS rank higher than seventh on hard drives with a capacity of more than 2 TB and a primary UEFI input/output system, it is not recommended to change partition styles.

And for Windows 7, the installation does not recognize the GPT partition style, since it can only work with the MBR (boot record) style. But here you will have to think about where to install the system. It is not recommended to change GPT with a volume of more than 2 TB, since after the conversion only the space that does not exceed this limit will be recognized, and everything else will remain unused. Therefore, it is better to choose another section.

On the other hand, the problem occurs specifically with UEFI if the computer does not have an outdated BIOS. In this case, regardless of the volume, the system partition can be assigned the GPT style.

How to change the style of GPT partitions using the OS installer?

But how then can you change the style to install Windows 7? In the simplest case, you can use the tools of the system installer itself.

How to change GPT partition style? It's simple. If suddenly a message appears about the impossibility of installation, you must first select the desired partition from the list (usually the zero disk with the first partition) and click the disk settings button at the bottom.

Next a window will appear with full list partitions contained on the disk. The essence of the issue is to combine them at the first stage. To do this, you simply need to delete all partitions except the one reserved by the system.

After this, unallocated space will appear in the list of partitions. Click the continue installation button, after which the installer will choose which style the partition needs to be converted to, perform all the necessary actions automatically and continue the installation process.

Conversion via command line on a running system

Now let's look at the question of how to change the style of GPT partitions through the command console in an OS of a higher rank than the seventh, if that is what you need to install in the future. Using the Shell is optimal solution, since even the disk administration system does not always allow such operations to be performed correctly.

So, first we launch the console as an administrator, which uses the DISKPART tool, and first of all we enter the list disk command, after which a list of all available partitions will be displayed on the screen. A GPT partition can be recognized not even by its size, but by the presence of an asterisk on the right opposite the description.

The next step is to clean the partition, which is done by entering the clean command (this is necessary so that the conversion to MBR takes place without errors).

Upon completion of the cleanup operation, you can convert the style of the selected section, which is done through the convert mbr line.

The next step is to create a boot partition and associate it with the system by sequentially entering the command create partition primary and assign (you can also add formatting, but in most cases this is not necessary for subsequent installation of the system).

Upon completion of all processes, exit by entering the exit command. All. Now you can restart your computer or laptop and install the desired operating system from any removable media.

Using third party utilities

Finally, a few words about how to change the style of GPT partitions using third-party disk utilities, of which quite a lot have been developed today.

It is considered one of the simplest and most convenient Minitool program Partition Wizard, whose interface almost completely replicates the appearance of the administration window Windows drives, but differs in instrumentation. Actually, its use is to select the desired partition and call the conversion command through the RMB menu. After this, all that remains is to follow the instructions and agree to the proposals for changes.

Please note what to use this program in a loaded system it is not possible (the OS simply will not allow such conversions to be made). But since the utility itself has its own bootloader, it must first be written to removable media, making it bootable (for example, using UltraISO or Daemon Tools), set the device as the first one to boot, start from it and only then perform all the above steps.

Which tool should I use?

That's all for the question of how to change the style of GPT partitions. Which of all this should you prefer? For the laziest, of course, the above utility or actions at the system installation stage are suitable. But here it should be taken into account that the conversion in both cases may be carried out somewhat incorrectly due to some features of the Windows installer and the program engine. But the command line is guaranteed to change the style without causing errors. So it is better to give preference to this particular technique, although many may find it more complex and time-consuming to implement.

Sometimes when installing a new operating system, in particular Windows 7, the question arises of how to install Windows 7 on a GPT disk.

Often during installation an error appears that informs the user that it is impossible to complete this task.

Installing Windows on a GPT disk in the installer window - The easiest way

Below in the video you can see the entire process of formatting GPT described above into a system-readable format right during installation of the operating system.

Convert GPT to MBR directly during installation - Command line method

Despite the harsh review of this installation method in the video of the previous section, we will present below the algorithm for converting a file to MBR.

So, the error itself looks like it is shown in Figure 1. It occurs at the stage when the user selects the disk where the operating system will be installed.

And to solve this problem, you need to perform a number of these simple steps:

• Launch command line. Most often this is done by simultaneously pressing keys Shift And F10. In some computer models, you will also need to press Fn.
• On the command line, you first need to run the utility, intended for conversion and other similar operations with disks. It's called DiskPart. Actually, to run it, you need to write on the command line “ diskpart" and press Enter on keyboard . After this, the utility will be launched - this can be seen from the inscription DISKPART at the beginning of the input line.

• Next we need to select the disk with which we will work. To see the entire list of available drives, use the command " list disk". There you need to remember the number of the disk on which we are going to install the system. The disk is selected using the command “select disk [disk number]”. An example can be seen in Figure 3. In this example, there is only one disk in the list. Most likely, you will have the same situation.

• The selected disk should be cleaned. To do this, enter the command “ clean".
• Now, actually, we enter the command to convert the GPT disk to MBR. This is a simple command " convert mbr".
• Next, you need to re-create the partition, because we previously deleted it. To do this, enter the command “ create partition primary size [size in MB]". An example can also be seen in Figure 6.

Note: The size must be specified as real, that is, no more than what is physically on the selected disk. You can find out how much a disk can hold in the table shown after entering the command “ list disk". There is a column for this called “ Size ". In our example, Disk 0 has a size of 20 GB, so in the command “ create partition primary" we enter a size of 20000 MB.

Next selected and converted disk needed format. This is done to avoid problems associated with the fact that there may be some residual data on the disk in the future.

This is done with the command “ format fs [file system] label “[drive name]” quick ». In this case, you can come up with the name of the disc yourself.

Parameter " quick" is responsible for the quick formatting method.

That's all - the conversion process is completed, and Windows 7 can be safely installed on the selected drive.

Now all that remains is to go to our installation window and update the list of disks. To do this, there is usually a button “Update” below it.

Click on it and see the disk we created with the MBR format.

Then calmly click on this disk, then the “ Further"at the bottom of the open window and continue installing the new operating system.

Installation errors

In principle, the option described above is absolutely optimal for most users and it works in the vast majority of cases.

But it cannot be ruled out that something could still go wrong.

In addition, when installing Windows 10 and 8, the problem described above and the method with transformation it may not work there either right during installation.

It is also worth saying that the error with the inability to install something on a GPT disk may appear not during the installation of the operating system.

Although then you can also go to the command line and perform all the operations described above, there are other ways to solve this problem.

One of them is to set the BIOS to boot from UEFI mode.

The second is only suitable for users of 32-bit Windows: you need to install a 64-bit operating system.

Setting UEFI mode

To complete this task, you must enter the BIOS. In most cases, login is accomplished by pressing the F2 button on laptops and Del on personal computers during system boot.

After this you need to do the following:

• Find the “BIOS Features”, “BIOS Setup”, “BIOS Settings” or “Advanced” section. There you need to find the item that is responsible for the boot mode (most likely it’s “ boot mode"). In it you need to set the option in which the word “ UEFI" or simply " EFI". On older computers it will look like shown in Figure 10.

• Set the SATA controller configuration - we need AHCI (usually is installed IDE). Usually this parameter is located in the sections “Peripherals", “Advanced", “SATA Config” or simply “Main”. An example of the latter is shown in Figure 11. By clicking on this option, you can select AHCI.

If you currently have Windows 7 installed on your computer, you must disable Secure boot.

This parameter can be found in BIOS tabs such as “Authentication”, “System configuration”, “Main” or “Boot”.

You need to click on it and select “ Disabled". An example can be seen in Figure No. 12.

Actually, the three steps described above can help in solving installation problems.