How to Delete, Format, or Remove GPT Partition

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Linda 

Written by

Linda 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

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GPT stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer," which is an artificial intelligence technology primarily used for language understanding and generation. The GPT model is a pre-trained language model developed by OpenAI, based on the deep learning architecture called Transformer. Its main function is to generate coherent and meaningful text given a context, making it useful for various natural language processing tasks such as conversational systems, text generation, and machine translation. GPT-3, the third iteration of this series, has gained significant attention due to its impressive language generation capabilities and wide range of applications.

According to Wikipedia, the GUID Partition Table (GPT) is a standard for the layout of the partition table on a physical hard disk. Although it's part of the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) standard – an Intel-proposed replacement for the PC BIOS – GPT is also used on some BIOS systems due to limitations of the Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning scheme.

MBR limits disks and partitions to a maximum size of 2 TB, whereas GPT allows for a maximum disk and partition size of 9.4 zettabytes.

More details about GPT:

• Maximum size of a GPT disk/partition: 9.4 ZB (1 ZB = 1 billion TB)
• Composition of a GPT disk:

1). Partition Table - used for loading partition information and accessing existing partition data by the system; 2). Primary Partitions - physical locations for storing data and files; 3). Backup Partition Table - a backup of the GPT header and partition table within the main partition table.

• Operating System Support: Supports Windows 8/8.1/10/11 and later with UEFI boot.
• Read/Write Support: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista and XP (64-bit only)

Why Do You Need to Delete or Remove GPT Partition?

While GPT disks do break some of the limitations of MBR disks, they also have downsides. For instance, GPT doesn't support booting an operating system on older versions of Windows, like Windows 7 (32-bit) or Windows XP. This is one of the main reasons why people would want to delete the GPT disk partition style. Here are some reasons why you might need to delete, remove, or format GPT partitions:

• 1. Remove GPT disk partition style to install Windows
• 2. Convert a GPT disk to MBR by deleting all partitions
• 3. Delete a single GPT partition to fix low disk space or adjust the size of a GPT disk partition
• 4. Format a GPT partition to erase the partition or reset the file system

There might be times when users want to delete or remove GPT disk partitions. Some computer users choose to delete all GPT disk partitions. If you are one of them and have specific needs for disk partition, check and follow the solutions provided to change or remove GPT disk partitions.

Part 1: How to Delete or Remove GPT Partition

Applies to: Deleting a single or all GPT partitions

You can choose to use a free partition manager or Disk Management to perform this task. Choose one method and follow the detailed steps to delete a GPT partition.

Tip: Back up your GPT disk partition data before performing this operation.

Method 1: Use a Disk Partition Management Software

As a partition manager, Free Partition Master can resize, copy, clone, remove or delete partitions on GPT disk.

Next, we will show you how to delete either a single or all GPT partitions on a disk with the Partition Master tool:

< strong > Step 1. < /strong > Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, and then click "Partition Management".

Make sure to back up all important data before deleting any partitions on the disk.

< strong > Step 2: < /strong> Choose to delete a particular partition or all partitions on the hard drive.

• Delete a partition: Right-click the partition you want to delete, then choose "Delete."
• Delete all partitions: Right-click the hard drive from which you want to delete all partitions, then choose "Delete All."

Step 3: Click OK to confirm the removal.

4. Click "Run xx Task", then click "Apply" to save the changes.

0:00 - 0:26 Remove a single volume; 0:27 - 0:53 Remove all partitions.

Method 2: Delete the GPT Partition with Disk Management

Step 1: Right-click on the PGT partition in Disk Management and select "Delete Volume".

"Delete GPT using Disk Management"

Step 2: Select “Yes” to proceed with the operation and wait for it to complete.

If you need to remove all GPT partitions, repeat this process for any other GPT partitions present on the disk.

Part 2: Remove GPT Disk Partition Style

Applies to: Convert GPT to MBR, delete the GPT disk partition style to install Windows, and more.

When you receive the error message “The selected disk is of the GPT partition style. Windows cannot be installed to this disk,” you need to delete the GPT partition style and convert it to MBR.

There are three methods to do the conversion job, changing GPT to MBR. You can accomplish this task with Partition Master, Disk Management, or DiskPart CMD command. Please note that the simpler the solution offered above, the easier it is to convert a GPT disk.

Choose one method, and follow the instructions below to remove the GPT partition style from your disk:

Method 1: Convert GPT to MBR without Data Loss Using Partition Master

The Disk Conversion feature in Partition Master lets all Windows users change the partition style from GPT to MBR or vice versa with just a few clicks.

There will be no data loss or partition loss issues. Here are the steps:

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant on your computer, then go to the "Disk Conversion" section.

Step 2: Select "Convert GPT to MBR", and click "Next" to continue.

Next up, we just need to translate this into American English:

Step 3: Select the GPT disk that you want to convert to MBR, and click "Convert" to start the conversion.

Method 2: Delete All Partitions and Convert to MBR in Disk Management

To delete the GPT partition style on a disk using Disk Management, you must first delete all existing partitions on the disk, and then convert the disk to MBR.

Back up any important data on the GPT partition to another external drive before you begin, in case of data loss.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Right-click on the partition of the GPT disk in Disk Management and select "Delete Volume".

Step 2: Click “OK” to confirm.

Repeat this process to delete all partitions on the GPT disk.

< strong >Step 3:</strong> After deleting all partitions, right-click the GPT disk and select “Convert to MBR”.

After that, you can create new partitions on the converted MBR disk or install the Windows system.

Method 3: Convert GPT to MBR using the Diskpart Command

Please note that the process of converting from GPT to MBR using Diskpart is somewhat complex for the average person.

So if you're new to this, try one of the first two methods. If you prefer Diskpart, be extra careful when typing the commands.

If you're reinstalling or installing Windows fresh and need to convert from GPT to MBR, do the following:

Step 1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type diskpart, then press Enter. Click “Yes” to open Diskpart.

Step 2. Enter each of the following lines one at a time, pressing Enter after each.

List Disks
Select Disk 1 (replace 1 with the number of the GPT disk)
Clear
Convert to MBR

Step 3: Once you've done that, type exit to close the Disk Management window.

Now that your disk is converted to the MBR style, you can proceed with installing the classic, older version of Windows or perform other tasks on the disk.

Part 3: Format GPT Partition (4 Ways)

Formatting a GPT partition is similar to formatting a regular MBR partition, and four methods are available in all.

1. Format using File Explorer by right-clicking.

1. Launch "File Explorer." 2. Right-click on the target partition. 3. Select "Format." 4. Check "Quick Format." 5. Set the file system to NTFS. 6. Click "Start."

Use Disk Management with the "Format Volume" option

1. Open "Disk Management". 2. Right-click on the target partition. 3. Select "Format Volume". 4. Assign a new drive letter, choose the file system as NTFS. 5. Click "Next" and then "Finish".

3. Use the Tool Partition Master and Its Format Partition Feature

Launch the software > Right-click on the target partition and choose "Format" > Set the file system to "NTFS" > Click "OK" > "Perform Operations".

Next up, translate this sentence into American English: "Use Diskpart with the command 'format fs=ntfs quick'."

Open Diskpart > Type 'list volume' > Type 'select volume 2' (replace 2 with the number of the partition you want to format) > Type 'format fs=ntfs quick' > Type 'exit'.

Conclusions

This page covers three aspects, including solutions to help you delete either a single or all GPT partitions on Windows disk, remove the GPT style, and convert a GPT disk to MBR disk, as well as format a GPT partition.

Partitioning software like Partition Master, disk management utilities, and the Diskpart command are handy options to have at your disposal.

If you need an advanced tool to manage GPT disks, such as resizing GPT partition, partitioning GPT hard drive, or converting GPT, Partition Master is your best choice.

Frequently Asked Questions About GPT Disk Partitions 1. 什么是GPT磁盘分区？ GPT (GUID Partition Table) 是一种现代磁盘分区方案，用于替代传统的MBR（Master Boot Record）分区表。GPT支持更大的硬盘容量，并提供更强大的数据保护功能。 2. GPT磁盘分区的最大优点是什么？ 主要优点包括： - 支持超过2TB的大硬盘。 - 最多可以有128个主分区。 - 使用EFI系统分区进行更可靠的启动。 - 包含备份分区表，提高数据安全性。 3. GPT分区适用于哪种类型的硬盘？ GPT适用于所有类型的硬盘，包括HDD（机械硬盘）和SSD（固态硬盘）。 4. Windows操作系统是否支持GPT分区？ 是的，从Windows Vista开始，Microsoft就开始支持GPT分区。但是，要从GPT磁盘启动，你需要使用UEFI（统一可扩展固件接口）而不是传统的BIOS。 5. 如何在Windows中创建GPT分区？ 可以使用磁盘管理工具来转换或创建GPT分区。打开“管理工具” -> “磁盘管理”，然后选择磁盘并使用“转换MBR到GPT磁盘”或“新建简单卷”来创建GPT分区。 6. Mac用户能否使用GPT分区？ 是的，Apple的Mac OS X从10.5 Leopard版本开始默认使用GPT分区。 7. Linux发行版是否支持GPT？ 大多数现代Linux发行版都支持GPT分区，可以在安装过程中选择GPT作为分区方案。 8. 如何恢复损坏的GPT分区表？ 可以使用专门的磁盘修复工具，如TestDisk或Disk Drill，它们通常能够恢复丢失或损坏的GPT分区表。 9. GPT分区与MBR分区有何不同？ - MBR最大支持2TB的硬盘和最多4个主分区，而GPT没有这些限制。 - MBR使用传统BIOS启动，而GPT使用UEFI。 - GPT包含备份分区表，增加了数据安全性。 10. 我需要将现有的MBR磁盘转换为GPT吗？ 这取决于你的需求。如果你需要更大容量的硬盘或更高级的安全特性，可以考虑转换。但请注意，这可能需要重新安装操作系统。

Apart from partitioning a GPT disk, deleting GPT partitions, or converting a GPT disk, you might have more queries about GPT disks. Here are four common questions regarding GPT disks; feel free to read on if you're interested to find the answers:

How do I remove the GPT protective partition?

To resolve the “protected” issue with a GPT partition and make it accessible again, either of the following two methods might help.

Option 1: Utilize the Diskpart Command-Line Tool

• Open Diskpart.exe (you can learn how to do this in the "Delete the GPT Protective Partition" section).
• Type list disk, then press Enter.
• Type select disk *, then press Enter.
• Type clean, then press Enter.
• Type convert mbr, then press Enter.

Option 2: Use a third-party GPT to MBR conversion software like Partition Master. For details, refer to the article Access GPT Protective Partition Without Losing Data.

2. How to convert GPT partition to BIOS?

The main reason most people want to convert a GPT partition to BIOS is because they can't directly switch from GPT boot mode to BIOS while running Windows.

Therefore, the best way to change GPT UEFI to BIOS is to convert the GPT partition style of the system disk to MBR.

You can use a Windows installation media with CMD or utilize the Partition Master tool to reliably create a bootable USB from your disk.

For more details, check out Converting GPT to MBR without an operating system.

3. How to convert a GPT partition to NTFS?

To convert a GPT partition to NTFS, you have two options:

1). Format the GPT partition to NTFS using tools like File Explorer, Disk Management, or Diskpart. 2). Convert FAT32 to NTFS without data loss using utilities such as Partition Master.

< strong > How do I resolve the issue with the selected disk being in GPT partition style?

The "Selected disk is of GPT partition style" issue usually occurs when you try to install the Windows system on a GPT disk that is not supported by BIOS boot mode. To solve this problem, you can convert GPT disk to MBR, and then the issue will be fixed.

For more information, refer to the article How to Check if the Selected Disk is GPT Partition Style in Windows 10/8/7 for assistance.