For experienced users, it's so easy to install Windows: boot computer from the installation media, choose a location to install Windows, and let the Setup install. But during the process of installing, every user may receive the following error message "
Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style".
Why does this error emerge and how to fix it? These are what we will talk in this post.
Why Windows Install Prompts "The Selected Disk Is of GPT Partition Style"
To answer this question, let's start with introducing 2 boot modes of Windows.
Boot Mode 1: Legacy BIOS + MBR
Old computers are always employing Legacy BIOS + MBR boot mode. If your mother supports Legacy BIOS only, Windows can only be installed to MBR disk. If you install it to GPT disk under this mode, you'll receive error prompt "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style".
Boot Mode 2: UEFI + GPT
Recent computers are often using UEFI +GPT boot mode. If your computer's motherboard supports UEFI boot only, Windows can only be installed to GPT disk. If you install it to MBR disk, you'll get the error message "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks".
Then, let's see how to fix this issue.
How to Fix "The Selected Disk Is of GPT Partition Style"
To fix this issue, you only need to convert the GPT disk to MBR, and both Windows Disk Management and MiniTool Partition Wizard are capable of doing this. Nevertheless, Disk Management requires the disk you want to convert should have no partition. If not, the "Convert to GPT Disk" will be grayed out. So, MiniTool Partition Wizard is recommended.
If there is Windows available on your computer, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to do the conversion. But if there is no Windows, MiniTool Partition Wizard Boot Disk is required.
Firstly, please launch the program to get its main window shown below:
Here, please select the disk you want to convert to MBR and choose "
Convert GPT Disk to MBR Disk" feature.
Now, we can preview the selected GPT disk is converted to MBR, so please click "
Apply" button to execute the change.
After successful conversion, you can start installing Windows. This time, the "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style" error will not emerge any longer.
To fix more Windows installation errors, please see the post Windows Cannot Be Installed to a Disk? Here Are Solutions.