MBR and GPT disks, differences between the two standards of today

Sure you sound the concepts MBR and GPT if you have ever installed a modern operating system will have appeared on the screen almost safely. We have created this post to explain all the most critical differences in a way as simple as possible.

Differences between MBR and GPT

MBR and GPT disks, differences between the two standards of today, MBR and GPT disks, differences between the two standards of today, Optocrypto

MBR and GPT disks, differences between the two standards of today

When we are going to install an operating system or install a new hard disk on our PC almost yes, we will be asked if we want to use the partition structures MBR or GPT. To understand their differences, we must first be clear that it is a partition structure.

The partition structure is responsible for defining how information is organized on the hard disk, to make it simple we can say that it is the way to classify information. From this, we can already deduce that it is something entirely important.

MBR (Master Boot Record) is the oldest and most compatible partition standard. Since it can be used in Windows, MacOS, Linux and the rest of the operating systems or almost all of them. MBR contains a boot manager for the operating system, as well as information about the different partitions of the hard disk. The most critical limitation of MBR is that it only supports hard drives of up to 2 TB. And that only supports up to four primary partitions if we want more partitions. So, we have to take one of the first ones and divide it into several logical ones.

What is UEFI?

Given these limitations has emerged the new GPT standard, this is much more modern. And that has come to replace the MBR. GPT goes associated with UEFI. So that in the equipment that is used we will find this firmware and not BIOS, which is also in disuse. The full name of this standard is GUID partition table; this is because I include a unique identifier for each partition. GPT eliminates the main limitations of MBR, it allows up to 128 partitions on a single disk and is compatible with hard drives of huge sizes. And in this sense, we will not be short in the medium term.

A disadvantage of GPT is that the partition and boot data are stored in a single space. So if it is corrupted you will have serious problems, to solve it several copies of this data are created. So that if damaged it is possible to recover the lost information Its creators have thought of everything!

The most critical limitation of GPT is that it can only be used on computers with UEFI firmware. And that runs only with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and 64-bit Server operating systems under GNU / Linux distributions. So, t This means that if your computer has a BIOS firmware you will not be able to use GPT and you will have to settle for MBR, the same happens if you use an incompatible operating system.

Final words and conclusion about MBR and GPT discs

Therefore we can conclude that GPT is better than MBR although not all users can use it. And if your team allows it, do not hesitate and apply GPT. Otherwise, MBR is still a good option.

Here ends our post about the differences between MBR and GPT discs. So, remember to share it on social networks so you can help more users.