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How to Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in Windows
Information
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.
Note
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)
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)
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. Press the
Win+R keys to open Run, type
devmgmt.msc into Run, and click/tap on
OK to open Device Manager.
2. Expand open
Disk drives, and double click/tap on the disk you want to check. (see screenshot below)
3. Click/tap on the
Volumes tab, and click/tap on the
Populate button. (see screenshot below)
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)
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
Note
1. Open an
elevated command prompt.
2. Type the commands below into the elevated command prompt one at a time, and press
Enter for each command. (see screenshot below)
diskpart
list disk
3. Look to see if a
Disk # has a
* (asterisk) in its
GPT column or not.
Note
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.
OPTION FOUR
To Check if Disk is MBR or GPT in PowerShell
Note
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 command below into PowerShell, and press
Enter. (see screenshot below)
Get-Disk
3. Look to see if a disk
Number or
Friendly Name has
GPT or
MBR in its
Partition Style column .
That's it,
Shawn
