Chances are, you’ve already partitioned and formatted your hard drive to divide your hard drive into different capacities and use each part for different purposes. You must have come across MBR and GPT while doing disk partitioning, but you don’t know enough about the difference between MBR and GPT formats. The operating system recognizes the partition structure of the hard disk in two formats, MBR and GPT, which provide different access to install software and use drivers.
The MBR format is the most standard and certainly the oldest hard partitioning mode, but it has limitations in the use of drive capacity, for example, it divides each drive into a maximum of 4 main partitions. In contrast, the GPT format is newer than MBR and offers more access to software and drives, for example, GPT allows hundreds of partitions to be created on each drive and it even supports drives larger than 1 billion TB.
You may be wondering what the difference is between MBR and GPT. Do they have an advantage in using one over the other? This article will answer your questions and we will examine the difference between MBR and GPT format in simple terms in this article.
Introduction to partitioning
Virtual partitioning of a computer’s hard disk, which can be HDD or SSD, is an explanation of the partition concept. The difference between HDD or SSD hard disk itself is a different discussion as we have already explained extensively about their differences and functions. Each partition is designed for different uses with different functions.
Users usually partition the hard disk when they want to dual boot Windows and Linux through the same HDD or SSD; Especially when installing operating systems, especially Linux distributions, they have the opportunity to partition the hard disk manually, which most of the time users set the partition and partition size by default.
When users buy a computer from a store with an operating system running on the computer, they encounter the default partition For example, in Windows operating system, Users are familiar with C: partition, which is the file system partition and other default partitions, and they install most of the software and main files in these partitions.
In Linux, partitions such as the large /home partition or the root partition (/) are known for switching between users and other management functions, and these partitions play a major role in software and file storage and memory management. It is interesting to know that 3 types of drives can be created in a hard drive under the headings Primary, Logical and Extended.
Primary drive is used to install operating system through which operating system can be booted. The primary drives are partitioned to form logical drives and the set of logical drives are called extended drives. Now that you’re familiar with the concept of partitions, we’ll get a brief overview of what the MBR and GPT formats are and how they work.
What are MBR and GPT?
To make the best use of the hard disk, they must be partitioned for different purposes. In the partition structure on a physical disk, the operating system encounters MBR, which stands for Master Boot Record, and GPT, which stands for GUID Partition Table. With these values, the operating system can identify the bootable partition and different partitions in each partition, so it is important to choose between MBR or GPT before partitioning the hard drive.
MBR format in hard partitioning
Master Boot Record means (Master Boot Record) is an old standard for managing hard disk partitions, and it is still the most consistent format, which is still widely used despite the limitations of users. Master Boot Record storage devices contain information about the organization of logical partitions, which are located at the beginning of the hard disk. It also maintains the executable code used to scan the active operating system partition and the code it loads to boot the operating system. Aimed at IBM PCs, Master Boot Record is generally the user’s choice of partitioning for Windows systems.
MBR format
The problem with MBR format is the limitation of hard drive capacity usage, that is, 4 types of primary drives are created when partitioning in MBR mode and it supports a maximum hard drive capacity of 2 Terabytes.
So remember if you are using a hard drive with a capacity greater than 2 TB, you can use up to 2 TB of size during partitioning with MBR format and the remaining capacity will remain unused. Of course, you can set the fourth partition as an extended partition, and you’ll be able to create several sub-partitions (or logical drives) on it.
Another disadvantage of the MBR standard is that it is not compatible with hard disks with very large storage spaces (for example, 100 TB) and does not provide good functionality for managing partitions. Also, you should consider that the MBR stores the partition and boot information of the operating system, so with any failure, which might happen, the entire hard drive becomes unreadable.
In some situations, system limitations do not allow you to use the GPT format for partitions and you must use the MBR standard; Fortunately, MBR supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows, with 32-bit Windows being used when your system has 3 gigs of RAM or less.
In this situation, you’ll have no other solution than MBR because GPT only supports 64-bit versions of Windows. Also, MBR will not be able to boot the operating system with a graphical interface (UEFI) and when your system uses a non-graphical interface (BIOS), the MBR format may be the main choice for hard disk partitions.
GPT format on hard partition
GPT (GUID Partition Table) is the new and latest standard for creating and managing hard disk partitions. So it can be inferred that GPT has more access and less restrictions than MBR. GPT allows unlimited partitions of up to 128 primary drive types.
Unlike MBR where each partition is limited to only 2 terabytes, with GPT format, you can benefit up to 9.7 zettabytes of hard disk capacity. GPT uses a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) to define partitions and is related to the UEFI or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface standard.
Therefore, UEFI-based systems are forced to use GPT. An advantage of GPT over MBR is that, unlike MBR, operating system partition and booting information is not stored in one part of hard disk memory and it stores data in different partitions.
A primary GPT is located at the beginning of the hard disk and a secondary GPT is located at the end of the disk, usually, backup headers and partition tables are stored at the end of the disk so that in case of failure of the original table, it can repair and restore information and it makes it easier to turn on some data.
Note that a hard drive partitioned with the GPT format will not be helpful to use as a second hard drive to install an operating system on a computer. But GUID Partition Table (GPT) format supports both graphical interface (UEFI) & non-graphical interface (Bios) modes for operating system boot.
Check the difference between MBR and GPT
Knowing the difference between MBR and GPT will save you the confusion of choosing between MBR and GPT when partitioning a disk. Hence, in the following, we are going to compare GPT and MBR from different aspects. First, let’s take a look at their main differences and then we’ll have a more detailed review.
A quick look at some of the most important differences between GPT and MBR :
- GPT is newer than MBR, but users still find it necessary to use MBR.
- GPT format creates a maximum of 128 partitions on a hard disk, but MBR format creates a maximum of 4 primary drives. Of course, it should be noted that one of the partitions can be extended and split into 23 sub-partitions, and a maximum of 26 separate partitions can be created in MBR mode.
- The MBR format can only use up to 2 TB of storage space, and if there is extra disk space on the hard disk other than 2 TB, the MBR format cannot use it, but the GPT can use up to 9.7ZB (~9.7 billion terabytes) without limitation. Hard drive capacity.
- In GPT format, you can access only 64-bit version of Windows, while MBR format supports both 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows.
- The GPT format is more reliable than the MBR format because it keeps the partition information and operating system boot across the drive.
- It is easier to recover data in GPT than MBR format.
- GPT is added to newer UEFI systems, but since MBR is older, it supports Legacy BIOS systems.
Comparison of GPT and MBR in terms of capacity
SSD (solid-state) drives are preferred by most users today, although they are expensive because they offer multi-terabyte capacity. Especially when you use Windows VPS, most of the hosting providers offer Windows VPS with SSD hard drives for better performance. This issue is important when choosing between MBR or GPT on a hard disk partition because driver capacity is one of the factors influencing the decision.
Why is drive capacity an important factor in choosing MBR and GPT? The problem is that MBR imposes limitations on hard disk usage and the number of partitions that can be created, such that it partitions up to 2 terabytes of storage space and up to 2 TB of storage space. MBR format is unusable.
Also, MBR only provides 32-bit types for accessing logical partitions, while GPT also supports 64-bit and offers the possibility to use a maximum of 9.7ZB (which is equal to one trillion gigabytes) of hard drive capacity. As a result, by using the GPT format, you are not limited to the use of hard disk capacity and you can use all the space on any drive with any capacity.
Comparison of GPT and MBR in terms of partitioning
As we have explained earlier, a partition in simple terms is part of a physical drive that is created by partitions to store hard disk storage space and data. Creating a partition makes it possible to store data on the hard disk, so you need at least one partition on the drive to store data.
Before partitioning a drive, to configure the drive, you need to choose between GPT and MBR plans for the partition table. Now if we want to examine GPT and MBR in terms of partitions, we should say that GPT allows creating 128 partitions on a drive without limitations and without using a logical partition solution. It should be noted that while Windows operating system has a limit of 128 partitions, other operating systems may create more than 128 partitions. However, in practice, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll need more than 128 partitions.
Compared to GPT, MBR does not support creating more than 4 main partitions on a hard disk, but there is a workaround to bypass this limitation. You can extend a partition using logical partitions and use up to 23 additional sub-partitions. Therefore, in this case, you would benefit from 3 main partitions and one extended partition for a total of 26 partitions.
The standard also has limitations for those who want to boot multiple operating systems on a single drive, and cannot use a logical partition as a boot volume.
Comparison of GPT and MBR in terms of recovery
Recovery is an important issue when it comes to data access and security, MBR is seriously disturbed if a minor problem is encountered as it stores all boot and partition information in one place. The entire drive’s MBR has a single “protective MBR” partition that spans it. Sometimes a small problem in MBR format can cause your system not to boot and you will realize the problem when there is nothing you can do to improve the situation. Also, recovering data in MBR mode will not be easy.
GPT offers valuable recovery advantages over MBR, which owes this advantage to storing information at the beginning and end of the hard disk partitioning table header. Now you ask why this method of storage creates an advantage. Because if one partition is disrupted, another partition is available for recovery, and storage is not done in just one place.
Another advantage that can be said about GPT is that it is equipped with an error detection code that can evaluate the partition table at boot time to identify and fix errors. Consequently, it can be said that GPT is more suitable than MBR in recovery.
Comparison of GPT and MBR in terms of compatibility
Devices are typically booted by BIOS and UEFI interfaces, which have similar functions and purposes but differ in some details. The main difference between them is that the BIOS interface is used to boot older devices and the UEFI interface is responsible for booting new systems that have entered the market since 2010.
You should choose between GPT and MBR depending on the interface you use to boot the system. MBR is the choice of older systems and GPT is associated with newer and more modern systems. If we want to look deeper into this issue, we must say that Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 32-bit versions require a UEFI-based system to boot via GPT. Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and Vista 64-bit operating systems require a UEFI-based system to boot from a GPT drive.
Consequently, all versions of Windows support the GPT format, but on the condition that they use a UEFI-based system to boot from a GPT drive. Other modern operating systems like Linux and Apple’s Intel Macs also support GPT. As a result, GPT can be considered a modern and robust standard when configuring drives in most operating systems, unless you are looking for a standard compatible with older systems, In that case MBR will fix your problem.
GPT vs MBR SSD? Which partition is suitable for you?
Since GPT is a new and modern standard and has fewer limitations, it provides better partition performance and management by detecting potential errors, it can be the best and most reliable way to configure partitions on a drive.
This may be the best and most reliable way to configure partitions on drives. Especially in situations where your storage memory is more than 2 TB, you must use GPT because the MBR partition is for storage memory usage up to 2 TB, And the remaining storage memory will not be usable. Regarding the choice between MBR and GPT, if you are using an SSD hard disk, one of its advantages over HDD is to provide faster Windows boot speed. To benefit from ideal SSD speeds and greater compatibility, you need to use a UEFI-based system, and the GPT standard may be a smarter choice than MBR. Now you may ask, when is it appropriate to use MBR? If you are using an older operating system, MBR is the best choice.
When to Upgrade from MBR to GPT?
Through our investigation from various angles, we have concluded that the best method for partitioning physical drives is GPT, of course, if it is compatible with your system. But if your system drive has an MBR partition table, it is not recommended to upgrade to GPT unless you encounter problems and failures. Because possible corruption in MBR cannot be fixed easily and restarting will be accompanied by serious problems.
Do not upgrade from MBR to GPT if you do not because it is a complicated task, but if you need more than 26 partitions on the drive or plan to upgrade the drive to more than 2 TB, after confirming if your system is GPT and UEFI standards, you should upgrade to GPT. When upgrading to GPT, first back up the data stored on the drive. Don’t worry about how to upgrade from MBR to GPT, there are tools to transfer the partition table with saved data that are both free and very easy.
