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Is It Possible to Convert a GPT Disk to MBR from XP? Any Suggestions?

I took some files with me on my external HDD while on vacation. Through a series of events, I ended up storing the data in an NTFS formatted partition defined in a GUID Partition Table. My only computer is a Windows XP Home box, which does not have native support for reading GPTs. Is there a way to convert GPT to MBR? All suggestions would be appreciated.

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Roxanne· Answered on Apr 18, 2024

It depends. Converting a GPT disk to MBR from XP is possible if your disk is a data drive. However, if your disk is a system disk, it can only convert if it supports UEFI boot mode. In this case, you must first install your GPT drive as a data drive on your XP system before converting GPT to MBR. You can use the below solutions to finish the conversion process.

The first method is to use data-safe third-party software that can provide simple operations. As a professional partition management tool, it's worthy of your trust EaseUS Partition Master. This tool can help you convert a GPT disk to MBR from Windows XP.

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Here is how to do so:

Step 1. Creating a complete backup of your MBR disk before you start the process.

Step 2. Install EaseUS Partition Master and run it.

Step 3. Open the "Disk Converter" tool and choose "Convert GPT to MBR" from the disk conversion options, and press "Next."

Step 4. Check the disk you want to convert to MBR and click "Convert" to begin the conversion.

In addition to the above feature, EaseUS Partition Master can also help you to convert the primary partition to logical, recover the deleted partition, resize the partition, clone the disk to SSD, etc. If you are an experienced computer user, you can also use Diskpart, the Windows built-in disk conversion tool. Since the Diskpart will wipe your data on the disk before converting, ensure you do a complete backup.

Please follow each of the below steps carefully to convert GPT to MBR from Windows XP:

Step 1. Open "Command Prompt" and select the"Run as administrator" option.

Step 2. Here are the command lines you need to type and hit "Enter" after each:

diskpart
list disk
select disk M (Replace M with your MBR disk number.)
clean
convert gpt

Step 3. Type exit to close the window.

We hope both solutions can work on your problem of converting a GPT disk to MBR from XP.

Is It Possible to Convert a GPT Disk to MBR from XP? Any Suggestions?

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