Convert HDD Partition Type Without Data Loss

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So I have a 3TB HDD and since I have got it, it has always shown 2TB. I assumed I got the wrong hdd, however looking in disc manager, I do not, there is 746.52gb unallocated, I cannot allocate it, so I looked it up, I have to make the drive GPT instead of MBR, but I already have almost 2TB of stuff on there that cannot lose access to, and I need to be able to allocate that other 1tb I cant access. Is there a way to convert the HDD from MBR to GPT without data loss? I might have to find multiple hard drives from old laptops to temporarily store data but I really do not want to do that, any ideas?

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[RetiredGeek]

Martin,

I’ve used EaseUS Partition Master Free to do this several times w/o issue.

Of course, it’s still a very good idea to have a backup JIC! YMMV.

HTH

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by RetiredGeek.

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cmptrgy

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Yeah, it works. I am not too keen about the telemetry in EaseUS products. Nothing nefarious. I have to admit that EaseUS Partition Master is straightforward to use, and that it has been bulletproof for me as well. Run it only after having run a Scandisk and confirming that there are no errors on the hard drive’s partition(s). If you are paranoid about telemetry, simply uninstall it after  using it. It does uninstall cleanly.

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Martin77 wrote:

stuff on there that cannot lose access to

I would say the first thing you should do is purchase a backup external drive – I know RG mentioned backup, but do that first!  You may prefer to trust the cloud (I wouldn’t).

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Windows 10 has a native conversion tool now – mbr2gpt. You can only run it from the recovery environment or install media though.

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cmptrgy

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anonymous wrote:

Windows 10 has a native conversion tool now – mbr2gpt. You can only run it from the recovery environment or install media though.

Looks like you can now run it from the running OS (1703 or higher) natively using the /allowFullOS option.

There’s a long list of caveats at the site noted in cmptrgy’s post.

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rc primak

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anonymous wrote:

Windows 10 has a native conversion tool now – mbr2gpt. You can only run it from the recovery environment or install media though.

MBR2GPT.EXE
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/mbr-to-gpt
MBR2GPT.EXE converts a disk from the Master Boot Record (MBR) to the GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition style without modifying or deleting data on the disk.

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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jabeattyauditor wrote:

anonymous wrote:

Windows 10 has a native conversion tool now – mbr2gpt. You can only run it from the recovery environment or install media though.

Looks like you can now run it from the running OS (1703 or higher) natively using the /allowFullOS option.

There’s a long list of caveats at the site noted in cmptrgy’s post.

Actually now that I’ve had time to compare them I like RetiredGeek’s recommendation in post #1865187

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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I too vote for EaseUS Partition Master. I never had fate in Microsoft’s utilities.

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Also useful and successful for me is Minitool Partition Wizard:

https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmagic/will-converting-mbr-to-gpt-erase-all-the-disk-partitions.html

Windows 10 does indeed have in its Disk Management or DiskPart tools the ability to make this conversion.

As posted above, these methods do carry some risk. I would make a backup first, but then again I have like a million spare hard drives lying around my place.

-- rc primak

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cmptrgy

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