Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows Hardware & Drivers

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows

    How to Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows
    Published by Category: Hardware & Drivers
    14 Jul 2021
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows


    GPT (GUID Partition Table) and MBR (Master Boot Record) are two different partition styles that can be used for a disk.

    MBR disks use the standard BIOS partition table. GPT disks use unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI).

    This tutorial will show you different ways on how to check if a disk is using a MBR or GPT partition style in Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

    MBR vs GPT Basic Comparison:

    MBR GPT
    Older partition style. Newer partition style.
    All Windows support as data drive. Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 support as data drive.
    All Windows can boot from. Windows can't boot from unless installed with 64-bit and UEFI.
    Supports up to 4 primary partitions, or 3 primary partitions and 1 extended partition with up to 128 logical volumes. Supports up to 128 primary partitions.
    Supports up to 2TB for a partition. Supports up to 256TB for a partition.
    Removable media is MBR by default. Removable media cannot convert to GPT.

    Contents

    • Option One: To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Disk Management
    • Option Two: To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Device Manager
    • Option Three: To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Command Prompt
    • Option Four: To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in PowerShell






    OPTION ONE

    To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Disk Management


    1 Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type diskmgmt.msc into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Disk Management.

    2 Right click or press and hold on the far left box of the Disk # you want to check, and click/tap on Properties. (see screenshot below)

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-disk_management-1.jpg

    3 Click/tap on the Volumes tab, and look in Disk Information to see if the Partition style for this disk is GUID Partition Table (GPT) or Master Boot Record (MBR). (see screenshots below)

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-disk_management-2.png Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-disk_management-3.png

    4 When finished, you can close the Properties window and Disk Management if you like.





    OPTION TWO

    To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Device Manager


    1 Open Device Manager.

    2 Expand open Disk drives, and double click/tap on the disk you want to check. (see screenshot below)

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-device_manager-1.png

    3 Click/tap on the Volumes tab, and click/tap on the Populate button. (see screenshot below)

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-device_manager-2.png

    4 Look in Disk Information to see if the Partition style for this disk is GUID Partition Table (GPT) or Master Boot Record (MBR). (see screenshots below)

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-device_manager-3.png Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-device_manager-4.png

    5 When finished, you can close the Properties window and Device Manager if you like.





    OPTION THREE

    To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Command Prompt


    You must be signed in as an administrator to do this option.


    1 Open an elevated command prompt.

    2 Type the diskpart and list disk commands into the elevated command prompt one at a time, and press Enter for each command. (see screenshot below)

    3 Look to see if a Disk # has a * (asterisk) in its GPT column or not.

    If a Disk # has a * in its GPT column, then the disk is GPT.

    If a Disk # does not have a * in its GPT column, then the disk is MBR.

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-diskpart.png





    OPTION FOUR

    To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in PowerShell


    The Get-Disk command is only supported in Windows 8 and Windows 10.


    1 Open PowerShell in Windows 10, or an elevated PowerShell in Windows 8.

    2 Type the Get-Disk command below into PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    3 Look to see if a disk Number or Friendly Name has GPT or MBR in its Partition Style column .

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-get-disk_powershell.png


    That's it,
    Shawn Brink






  1. Posts : 7,861
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit
       #1

    The table says removable media cannot be converted to GPT but MiniTool Partition Wizard accepted the command to convert a removable external Seagate USB drive from MBR to GPT. Why is there such a restriction anyway?
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 7,606
    Windows 10 Home 20H2
       #2

    Under option three, the two commands diskpart and list disk can be combined into a single command:

    (Echo List Disk)|DiskPart
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 13,848
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #3

    Matthew Wai said:
    Under option three, the two commands diskpart and list disk can be combined into a single command:

    (Echo List Disk)|DiskPart
    I ran that command but the result is confusing, shows much less free space than actual. It's a 128GB SSD with about half used and half free.
    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-image.png
    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-image.png
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 7,606
    Windows 10 Home 20H2
       #4

    Berton said:
    I ran that command but the result is confusing, shows much less free space than actual. It's a 128GB SSD with about half used and half free.
    DiskPart shows unallocated space as "Free".
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 18,421
    Windows 11 Pro
       #5

    Diskpart shows ONLY unallocated (not partitioned) space as free. It does not show free space within partitions. To show free space in a partition with diskpart, you have to list volume, then select a particular volume, then detail volume.

    Code:
    C:\Windows\system32>diskpart
    
    Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.22000.1
    
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
    On computer: JOHN-DESKTOP
    
    DISKPART> list volume
    
      Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
      ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
      Volume 0     F                       DVD-ROM         0 B  No Media
      Volume 1     L   Libraries    NTFS   Partition    447 GB  Healthy
      Volume 2     S   Storage      NTFS   Partition    931 GB  Healthy
      Volume 3     D   Data         NTFS   Partition    930 GB  Healthy
      Volume 4     R   RECOVERY     FAT32  Partition   1524 MB  Healthy
      Volume 5     G   Games        NTFS   Partition    931 GB  Healthy
      Volume 6     C                NTFS   Partition    118 GB  Healthy    Boot
      Volume 7                      FAT32  Partition    100 MB  Healthy    System
      Volume 8                      NTFS   Partition    522 MB  Healthy    Hidden
      Volume 9     E   Server 2019  NTFS   Partition    238 GB  Healthy
    
    DISKPART> select volume c
    
    Volume 6 is the selected volume.
    
    DISKPART> detail volume
    
      Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
      --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
    * Disk 4    Online          119 GB  1024 KB        *
    
    Read-only              : No
    Hidden                 : No
    No Default Drive Letter: No
    Shadow Copy            : No
    Offline                : No
    BitLocker Encrypted    : No
    Installable            : Yes
    
    Volume Capacity        :  118 GB
    Volume Free Space      :   69 GB
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 4,758
    Windows 10 preview 64-bit Home
       #6

    Also in Disk Management, View, List Disk.

    Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows-screenshot_1.png
      My Computers


 

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