The selected disk has an MBR partition table

This tutorial is about what to do if installing Windows 10 u 8 (8.1) cleanly from a pendrive or disk on a computer or laptop, the program reports that it cannot install on this disk because the selected disk has an MBR partition table. In EFI systems, Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk. In theory, this can also happen when installing Windows 7 with an EFI boot, but i haven't found it. There is also a video at the end of the manual that shows all the alternatives to visually fix the problem.

The error text tells us (if something in the explanation is not clear, nothing happens, we will solve it later) that you booted from a flash or installation disk in EFI mode (no Legacy), but the current hard disk in which you intend to install the system has a partition table that does not coincide with this type of boot: MBR, no GPT (this could be because Windows 7 o XP was previously installed on this computer, or because you replaced the hard drive). Hence the error “Windows cannot be installed on the disk partition” in the installer. Windows installation 10 from a flash drive. Additionally you may encounter the following error (check the link of your solution): We could not create a new partition or find an existing one when installing Windows 10

There are two alternatives to fix the problem and install Windows 10, 8 o Windows 7 on your computer or laptop:

1. Convert the disk from MBR to GPT and then install the system.
2. Changing the boot type from EFI to Legacy in BIOS (UEFA) or by selecting it in the boot menu, which avoids the error that the disk has an MBR partition table.

This tutorial will cover both options., but in the current reality, I would recommend using the first (even though you can hear discussions about which one is better: GPT or MBR or rather the futility of GPT, despite this, is already becoming a standard partition structure for hard drives. and SSD).

Bug fixed “In EFI systems, Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk” when converting a hard disk or SSD to GPT

The first way involves using EFI boot (and it has advantages and it is better to leave it like that) and just convert the disk to GPT (or rather convert your partition structure) and then install Windows 10 o Windows 8. This is the method I recommend, and can be applied in two ways.

1. In the first case, all data on the hard drive or SSD will be deleted (of the whole album, even if it is divided into several partitions). But this method is fast and you don't need additional tools: can be done directly in the Windows installer.
2. The second method preserves the data on the disk and the partitions on it, but it will require the use of a third party no cost program and writing a bootable disc or flash drive with that program.

Convert disk to GPT with data loss

If this method works for you, just press Shift + F10 in Windows Installer 10 u 8, this will open the command line. For laptops, you may need to press the Shift combination + Fn + F10.

At the command prompt, enter commands in order, hitting Enter after each (also there is a screenshot showing how to run all the commands, but some of the commands are optional):

1. disc piece
2. list of discs (After running this command, in the list of disks, check the disk number of the system where you want to install Windows and then N).
3. choose disk N
4. clean up
5. convert gpt
6. Shall

After running these commands, close the command line, click on “Update” in partition selection window, then select the unused space and continue with the installation (or you can use “To create” to partition the disk beforehand), should be successful ( in some cases, if the disc does not appear in the list, you need to restart the computer from a bootable flash drive or windows disk again and repeat the installation procedure).

Update 2018: Or furthermore you can simply in the installer erase all disk partitions without exception, choose the unused space and click “Next”; the disk will be automatically converted to gpt and the installation will continue.

How to Convert MBR Disk to GPT without Data Loss

Note: If you are installing Windows 10 and the disk you are installing on is already a system disk (In other words, contains an older Windows operating system), you can use the built-in mbr2gpt.exe utility to convert to GPT without giving up data, more about how exactly to do it: Convert MBR disk to GPT using built-in Windows utility 10 MBR2GPT.EXE.

The second method is in case you have data on your hard drive that you in no way want to lose during system installation. For this case, you can use a third-party program, of which for this particular situation I recommend Minitool Partition Wizard Bootable, which is a bootable ISO with free disk and partition manipulation software that, among other things, can convert disk to GPT. no data loss.

Download minitool Partition Wizard bootable ISO image for free from the official http page://www.partitionwizard.com/partition-wizard-bootable-cd.html (Update: have removed the image from this page, but you can still download , as exactly shown in the video below in actual instructions) and then you need to burn it to CD or make bootable flash drive (for this ISO image when using EFI boot, just rewrite the image content to a flash drive preformatted in FAT32 to make it bootable. Secure Boot feature must be disabled in BIOS).

After booting from the unit, select to start the program and, once it starts, follow the steps below:

1. Select the unit you want to convert (not partition).
2. Please select “Convert MBR disk to GPT disk” in the menu on the left.
3. Click Apply, answer yes to the warning and wait for the conversion operation to complete (depending on the size and space occupied on the disk, it may take a long time).

If in the second step you receive an error message that the disk is a system disk and cannot be converted, you can do the following to avoid it:

1. Highlight partition with Windows loader, which is usually from 300 a 500 MB and is at the beginning of the disk.
2. In the top menu bar, press "Delete" and then apply the action using the Apply button (furthermore you can immediately create a new partition instead for the bootloader, but already on the FAT32 file system).
3. One more time, highlight actions 1-3 to convert the unit to GPT, which previously caused an error.

That's it. Now you can close the program, boot from your Windows installation media and install, the error “Cannot install on this disk because the selected disk has an MBR partition table. In EFI systems, Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk ”will not be displayed and your data will be safe.

Video-tutorial

Fix installation error without disk conversion

The second way to get rid of the error On EFI systems, you can only install windows to a GPT disk in windows installer 10 u 8: don't convert disk to GPT, but convert the system to non-EFI.

How to do it:

• If you start your computer from a bootable flash drive, then use the boot menu to do so and select the item with your unmarked UEFI USB drive at startup, then it will start in legacy mode.
• You can do the same in BIOS setup (UEFA) to put EFI or UEFI flash drive unchecked first.
• You can disable EFI boot mode in UEFI settings and determine Legacy or CSM mode (Compatibility support mode), especially if you boot from a CD.

If your computer refuses to boot under this circumstance, make sure you have Secure Boot disabled in your BIOS. It may also appear in the settings as your operating system selection: Windows o “No Windows”, need the second option. More information: how to disable secure boot.

I think I have considered all possible solutions to the error described, but if something still doesn't work, I asked for: I will try to help with the installation.