Convert partition (not entire disk) from MBR to GPT?

[teckneeculler]

Is it possible to convert just a partition from MBR to GPT?

All the info I've been able to find talks about converting 'disks', not partitions.

My HP laptop originally had one partition taking up the entire 150GB HDD.

I installed W7 Ultimate to that partition. I don't recall selecting MBR during the process, but that was the resultant partition type, even though the 'BIOS' is actually UEFI.

Yesterday I created a new partition (with AOMEI), splitting the HDD into two.

This new partition is - as would be expected, I guess - also MBR. It's as yet 'unallocated'.

I've own another W7 DVD containing W7 Pro and I'm trying to install it to the new partition. But I keep getting the message that I can't install W7 there because 'the partition is MBR and the system is EFI'.

This doesn't make sense. The first W7 Ult installed without fuss, so I don't understand why this message now.

Unfortunately the UEFI has no distinct method of selecting between UEFI or Legacy CD\DVD boot systems, so when I boot from the DVD drive, it automatically assumes it's UEFI.

So, I either convert the second partition to GPT, or, and this just has occurred to me, transfer the contents of the Win7 Pro DVD to the second partition while I'm running W7 Ultimate, then reboot to the new partition and run the installer from a command line.

Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[White]

Carefully that happens. At some point it comes to stop in those details in which you are, being the uefi like that. It helped me by following these instructions.

Convert a MBR Disk to a GPT Disk

 

[AK6DN]

Is it possible to convert just a partition from MBR to GPT?

All the info I've been able to find talks about converting 'disks', not partitions.

In a word, NO.

Disks will have either an MBR or a GPT header, it is like a table of contents.

The entries in the MBR/GPT will point to the individual partitions (like chapters) on the disk.

So 'converting a partition from MBR to GPT' is basically a non sequitur.

 

[Megahertz07]

As already mentioned, you can't make one partition GPT. Disks are Legacy - MBR or UEFI - GPT
As you already have a Win 7 ultimate, why you want to install win 7 pro?
To install win 7 on the unallocated partition, insert the DVD and launch the boot menu. You will have two choices to boot the DVD, Legacy and UEFI. Choose to boot the DVD as Legacy. Go to install - advanced - format the unallocated partition and install on it.

 

[SIW2]

Alternatively, you can apply the image and create the boot files and boot menu entry.

To save messing with commands, there are Ui you could use. One of them is here:

WinNtSetup

It is included in this boot media:
17514x64-v3.iso

 

[torchwood]

As the HDD is only 150GB, id opt to buy an SSD and put it on there

Roy

 

[teckneeculler]

Cast: Thanks but I don't want to convert the entire disk to GPT. There's already a working system on Partition 1.

AK6DN: Thanks for the explanation. I understand now.

Megahertz07: Sorry, I don't know what you mean. I've already inserted the DVD - 3 or 4 times - and there's no menu option to select MBR or EFI. The BIOS\EFI is already set to allow Legacy boots and Secure Boot is disabled. There's no other option to ensure that either MBR or EFI takes priority over the other.

SIW2: Thanks for the download. I'll work on that option.

Torchwood: The subject laptop is one of several that I use for experimentation. It's a 2014 HP14" D054TU, and the only notebook I've owned that required complete dis-assembly to access the hard drive. The original HDD was a 350GB and I changed it for a spare 150GB. It's not worth the time or cost to replace it with an SSD.