New
#1
Migrating Multiple Disk Setup from MBR to GPT without data loss?
Hello!
(I apologize in advance for the headache reading this will cause)
I'm trying to move my Windows 10 partition to another hard drive, and change the disk to GPT without losing data.
I'm trying to avoid a clean installation as it takes me several days and even weeks to install all the software and I need to keep working.
It is a music recording / mixing setup, so it will be great if I could divide some of my hard drives in more than 4 partitions.
I'd like to:
1) Move my WIndows 10 partition (MBR in Disk 2) to Disk 0 (changing it to GPT) [if this is at all possible]
2) Keep Disk 1 as it is (data that cannot be lost)
3) Use Disk 2 for different as basically a wildcard for other data, backups, old projects, etc.
Does anyone know how this can be done?
__
I'll clarify why the messy partition setup...
Originally disk 2 wasn't part of the equation, I had a hard drive stopped working, and I sent it for an RMA.
In the mean time, I purchased disks 0 & 1, and installed as follows:
Disk 0:
- Partition 1: System Reserved
- Partition 2: Windows 7
- Partition 3: Data
Disk 1:
- Partition 1: Data
- Partition 2: Data
- Partition 3: Data
I received disk 2, I installed it, and a while later, Windows 7 failed (it stopped detecting the ethernet port for some reason and I couldn't make it work), I decided to do a clean install but I kept that partition in case I managed to find a solution.
I took the opportunity to install Windows 10 and try it out to see if I could still use all of my software and interfaces.
I proceeded to install it in disk 2, and the partitions ended up almost as you see in the disk management image above.
Disk 2:
- Partition 1: Windows 10
- Partition 2: Recovery Partition
- Most of the hard drive remained as unallocated space
It wasn't until I decided to finally delete the Windows 7 partition that I realized what a mess I had made proceeding that way.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _
Just in case it helps...................
I've already tried the following, which at the end it either booted windows but it had the flickering screen issue, or it didn't boot at all, it just stayed at that black screen with the blinking " _ " (underscore)...
Using Acronis True Image WD Edition and also Windows Backup and Restore, I had created an image of:
Windows 10 partition (Disk 2) +
System Reserved (Disk 0) +
Recovery Partition (Disk 2)
I moved the boot information to the Windows partition (disk 2) and proceeded to clean Disk 0, convert to GPT, created the partitions using the commands from the script shown here: UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions
I also tried installing Windows 10 again in the correct drive as to create the correct partitions during the installation, and then recovering the Windows partition image with Acronis True Image Recovery disk....
Then it had a Master Boot Record on Disk 1 (I have no idea how that happened)....
Nothing worked, and I started freaking out when Windows Recovery didn't work with the Image I created with Windows Backup... Although at the end I manage to make it work I'm right back where I started....
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _
Quote
I can't wrap my head around what I wrote
in advance 