[SOLVED] Windows Can Only Be Installed on GPT Disks | 3 Methods
In this article, you’ll learn 2 effective methods and how to fix the “Windows can only be installed on GPT disks” error step by step. Or, directly bypass this error by cloning GPT disk to MBR.
Last Updated July 9, 2025
The Error: Windows can only be installed on GPT disks
“I bought a new laptop without windows. Now i want to install windows 8. I formatted entire hard disk (file format = NTFS) and then tried to install windows 8. When selecting the disk to install, the following error is displayed:
Windows cannot be installed to this disk. the selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI system, windows can only be installed to GPT disks.
What i can do?”
- Question from superuser
This error usually occurs when you try to install Windows on a disk that uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning scheme, but the system is using UEFI mode, which requires the GUID Partition Table (GPT) to work properly.
Thus, you can choose to convert MBR disk to GPT and continue the Windows Setup installation. Also, you can change UEFI boot mode to Legacy BIOS and install Windows on an MBR disk. So, which method should you use? You can get some basics before making a decision.
✅ MBR vs. GPT:
- MBR (Master Boot Record): An older partitioning scheme that supports disks up to 2 TB and 4 primary partitions or 3 primary partitions and 1 logical partition.
- GPT (GUID Partition Table): A newer standard that supports larger disks (over 2 TB) and allows for more partitions.
✅ UEFI vs. BIOS:
- UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface): A modern firmware interface that replaces BIOS and is required for booting from GPT disks.
- Legacy BIOS: An older interface that can boot from MBR disks.
Pro Tip: Old computers usually use the MBR partition scheme and Legacy BIOS mode, so you can choose to change UEFI to BIOS. For modern computers, which usually use GPT and UEFI, please convert the disk partition style from MBR to GPT.
Fix Windows can only be installed on GPT disks (Two Methods)
Here are 2 effective methods to fix the“Windows can only be installed on GPT disks” error.
Method 1: Change Boot Mode to BIOS (for Older Computers)
Step 1. Restart your old computer, using Windows 7 or previous systems, and press the BIOS key (e.g., F2, F10, Del, ESC) to access BIOS.
Step 2. Go to the Boot tab and look for an option like UEFI/BIOS Boot Mode. Then, select Legacy.
Step 3. Press F10 to save changes and exit BIOS.
Method 2: Convert MBR Disk to GPT (for Windows 8 and Later)
Step 1. Turn off the computer. Insert the Windows installation DVD or USB key and boot from it in UEFI mode.
Step 2. On the Windows Setup window, press Shift+F10 to open the Command Prompt window.
Step 3. In the Command Prompt window, type diskpart to open this tool. Then, type the following commands to select the MBR disk and convert it to GPT.
- list disk
- select disk
- clean
- convert gpt
- exit
- Notes:✎...
- The clean command will delete everything on the selected disk. Please be sure to select the right disk you want to format.
After exiting, you can continue the Windows Setup installation.
When choosing an installation type, select Custom. The drive will appear as an unallocated space. Select it and click Next to install Windows.
Clone GPT Disk to MBR without Reinstalling to Bypass This Error
The error “Windows can only be installed to GPT disk” occurs only while installing Windows from installation media or a recovery drive. However, you can directly bypass it by cloning everything on the GPT disk, including the operating system, programs, personal data, etc., to MBR, and reliable cloning software like AOMEI Cloner can handle different disk partition style issues well.
It offers users 3 cloning methods, among which Disk Clone supports cloning any type of disk, e.g., HDDs/SSDs, MBR/GPT disks, SATA/M.2/PCIe, etc.
By default, it uses Intelligent clone mode to clone only the used sectors of a drive, making it easier to clone large HDD to smaller SSD, such as clone 2TB HDD to 1TB SSD.
Its Edit Partitions feature helps to convert MBR to GPT disk during cloning, or vice versa, if the two disks have different partition styles. The cloned drive will remain bootable. You can still use it on a new computer, even with different hardware.
100% SecureStep 1. Connect the MBR disk to your computer and be sure it’s recognized. Then, open AOMEI Cloner after installing, and click Clone > Disk Clone.
Step 2. Choose the GPT disk and MBR disk, respectively.
Step 3. Click Edit Partitions to convert the destination disk from MBR to GPT, and click Start Clone to clone GPT disk to MBR without reinstalling Windows.
- Notes:✎...
- The partitions on a larger disk will be automatically resized. Optionally, you can click Edit Partitions to confirm this.
- The SSD Alignment feature helps accelerate the reading and writing speed of the SSD disk.
- The Sector by Sector Clone mode will clone all sectors of a drive and takes longer. Just leave this option unchecked if there are bad sectors on the MBR disk.
After cloning, swap the two drives and set the boot priority for the new disk to let Windows boot from it. Click cloned drive wont boot if you have any questions.
Download AOMEI Cloner for easy and quick Windows migration!
Conclusion
You can easily fix the “Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk” error in two effective methods, where converting MBR to GPT disk is more in line with modern computers. In addition, you can directly clone GPT disk to MBR to bypass this error.
A reliable cloning software like AOMEI Cloner is essential as it can transfer everything from HDD to SSD or SSD to SSD and handle different disk partition style issues well by converting them to be the same.