bios - Boot of Windows 7 from GPT disk on non EFI motherboard

27
2013-10
  • Mikhail

    Looks like the answer is no but just to double check... Can I boot Windows 7 SP1 x64 from GPT disk (converted with Windows DISKPART) if my system built on BIOS (non EFI motherboard, ASUS P5WDH Deluxe)?

    • Answers
  • Rod Smith

    Ordinarily, no. There is one rather awkward workaround, though: You can use the Developer's UEFI Environment (DUET) to run UEFI as a sort of boot loader atop your BIOS. This is difficult to set up, it will slow down your boot process, and it doesn't even work on many computers, so it's really worth considering only as a learning exercise or if you're really desperate (say, if you've got an over-2TiB hard disk and can't add another boot device). If you're really interested, check this Web page of mine, which describes the process in detail. (It's far too lengthy to post here.)

  • Ramhound

    Windows does not support booting to a GPT disk unless your using a UEFI BIOS.


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    windows - 2TB external drive, disk initialization: MBR or GPT
  • poke

    I just bought a new 2TB disk drive I plan to use as an external drive (connected via eSATA). When I started my computer it recognized the drive fine, but when I got into the Disk Management, a popup told me that I have to initialize that drive and I have to choose between MBR and GPT layout.

    The drive will be primarily used on Windows 7 computers (both x86 and x64) as well as on a Windows Vista x64 computer (which is the one the message appeared on).

    I do not plan to create multiple partitions on that drive as it is only supposed to be a data storage disk.

    Which partition layout should I choose, MBR or GPT? The dialog itself recommends to use GPT on drives >= 2TB or on Itanium based computers, but I want to make sure that I will be able to access the drive later on my other computers.


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  • CJM

    GPT will not be usable by XP and earlier systems (I think), so avoid it if that is an issue. Not having seen an XP machine in 3 years it's not an issue for me so I use it in preference to MBR, but it makes little difference at this point in time. At some point, you will have to use GPT, until then, make a choice.

  • BloodPhilia

    As of now, support for GPT among common systems is limited. Check out the list of supported OSes here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table#OS_support_of_GPT