How to Remove Protective Partition Without Losing Data, Help
I have a hard drive to back up data transferred to Synology. I want to access its enclosure with an external hard drive like Sabrent. When I open Disk Management from my new laptop, it shows GPT protected partition. I would like to know what solution can help me remove the GPT protective partition without losing data and access the data like an external hard drive.
Best Answered by
Cici· Answered on Mar 29, 2025
GPT protective partition means that you will not be able to access it on another computer and not be able to partition or format it. This is mainly due to incompatibility between GPT partition tables and operating systems. Neither Windows 10/8/7 nor Windows Vista/XP 32bit support GPT disks. To remove a GPT protective partition, you need first to convert it to MBR format and have the external hard drive connected to a computer running 32btit.
Related Reading: Access GPT Protective Partition
Diskpart can delete GPT-protected partitions, but the clean command will cause data loss. So, to successfully remove GPT protective partition without losing data, you'd better use a third-party tool like EaseUS Partition Master. It allows you to convert MBR to GPT to delete GPT protective partitions without losing data.
Note: To prevent data loss caused by improper human intervention, it is essential to back up the important contents of the disk.
EaseUS Partition Master provides a simple interface that allows even newcomers to manage their hard disks like experts. Here are the simple steps.
Step 1. Download and install EaseUS Partition Master, and go to "Disk Converter."
Step 2. Choose "Convert GPT to MBR" and click "Next."
Step 3. Select the target GPT disk, and click "Convert."
With tool powerful conversion tool, you can also convert GPT to MBR without effort.
Further Reading: Convert GPT to MBR
