As far as I know, there are two options:
If your MBR disk includes the current OS, you can use Partition Wizard Boot Edition to convert it to GPT disk. However, after conversion, you system may fail to boot(but it seems not your case).
If your MBR disk is only a data disk, you can convert it to GPT without data loss in MiniTool Partition wizard.:)
There is no reason to convert your OS drive to GPT, and I would not even try.
Any storage drive over 2.2 GB of course has to be GPT.
For Windows 7 I would go along with that opinion. If your boot drive is > 2TB then you should be looking at GPT. But why would you want that size boot/OS drive. Many are now using SSDs for their OS drive and I'd say they would selecting, 128BG, 256GB or 512GB. You can still have the advantages of UEFI firmware but still with leagacy BIOS/MBR booting.
I know virtually nothing about Windows 10 and the GPT/MBR boot decision may be different.
Good article
My favorite part and device to make life as simple as possible
Amazon.com: Vantec 2.5-Inch Dual Bay Trayless SATA III - 6G Mobile Rack (MRK-225S6-BK): Computers & Accessories
If you absolutely must have more than one OS per computer, at least have one OS per disk. If you’re reasonably comfortable with how BIOS-style booting works and you don’t think you need Secure Boot, it’s pretty reasonable to use BIOS-compatible booting rather than UEFI-style booting in this situation on a UEFI-capable system. You’ll probably have less pain to deal with and you won’t really lose anything. With one OS per disk you can also mix UEFI-native and BIOS-compatible installations.
Thanks for all the info guys, very helpful.
Thrash, I had a look at that item but it seems to be triple the price on Amazon UK.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...rds=Vantec+evo
Many companies make similar docks like that one so you should be able to find something you can use on your side of the pond that won't cost you a kidney or two.Thanks for all the info guys, very helpful.
Thrash, I had a look at that item but it seems to be triple the price on Amazon UK.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...rds=Vantec+evo
Thanks LF, have to admit I don't really know all that much about hotswap bays as I've never used one. What exactly are they for?
Is it to switch out different drives while the PC is still powered on?
Brds7t7
I don't believe anybody is telling your where to buy anything.
I personally use HotSwap Bays and recommend them. Of course if you choose to use them you can also choose where to buy them.
My HotSwap Bays connect to the motherboard Sata ports so the speed is good. Just like a internal drive. Which is quite handy when doing backups.
Yes you can swap HotSwap drive bays with the computer running.
Most of the time I still shut down and then do the swap. I'm paranoid.
It only takes a couple of minutes to shut down, swap drives and boot.
My SSD's don't seem to care one way or the other.
Older hard drive might care but I don't have any to test.
I'm think that the Lady uses hard drives.
@Brds7t7
In the OS, you treat a hotswap drive like any removable storage: it needs to be safely removed.
The only caveat is that your SATA controller must be in AHCI mode (or RAID mode) for hotswap to work.
Thanks Layback,
I don't think I'd buy one at the moment anyway, but always nice to get some info for possible future use. I have a new build coming up in the next few months, just got a couple more components to buy, so any suggestions are always helpful.
Is there any risk of data loss when using these hotswap bays whilst the system is powered up? Or do they treat the HDD's similar to a removable drive?
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