The error message “Windows is not installed on this GPT disk” means “Windows cannot be installed on this disk. The specified disk has a GPT partition style.” It is one of the common mistakes. When you try to install Windows 10/8/7 on your computer, be it a desktop or laptop, Windows installation may report a configuration error “Windows cannot be installed on this disk. The specified disk has a GPT partition style.” In this case, the Windows installation cannot continue until it is resolved.
Cause of “Windows cannot be installed to this disk The selected disk is of the GPT partition style”.
When installing Windows, System using a partition style to create partition to install using the MBR or GPT partition style. When installing Windows on a UEFI-based PC using Windows Setup, the hard drive partition style must be set to support UEFI mode or legacy BIOS compatible mode. In short, if you decide to choose an MBR or GPT partition to install Windows on disk, You need to be clear about the motherboard firmware you are using and match the two terms.
- If you are using UEFI Mode than your disk partition style should be GPT
- If you are using Legacy Mode than your disk partition style should be MBR
If you see the message “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style”. it is because your PC Bios is set for UEFI mode, but your hard disk is not configured for UEFI mode. Here you can use two method to fix it.
- Keep the existing MBR partition style, but set the PC Boot Mode in legacy BIOS mode.
- Convert your hard disk MBR to GPT partition style to fit the PC’s UEFI firmware features.
Change the Boot Mode to fix “Windows cannot be installed to this disk
MBR partitioning style does not support UEFI boot mode, so you can switch to Legacy option manually. Here’s how to change the boot mode to fix the “Windows can’t be installed on this disk” issue:
- First of all, you can just restart your computer and press the BIOS key, which can be F2, F8, F10, DEL, ESC, or any other designated key as per your brand.
- Pc load its BIOS settings, you can use the arrow keys to navigate to the “Boot” tab.
- Now, you can navigate to the Boot Mode and change the option to “Legacy”. You can later restart your system and try reinstalling the firmware.
Solutions to GPT Partition Style Error “Windows Cannot Be Installed to This Disk”
All computers will boot in one of two modes: UEFI or Legacy. If your computer is UEFI based, you should install Windows on a GPT disk. If your computer is Legacy-based, you must install Windows on an MBR disk. Therefore, GPT is not compatible with legacy BIOS, which is why you get the error message “Windows cannot be installed on this disk. The disk specified is in GPT partition style.”
Convert From MBR Disk to GPT using Command Prompt (CMD)
If you don’t have another operating system installed on another hard drive, you can use Command Prompt. This method will erase all data stored on the drive being converted.
- Start by inserting Windows Installation Disk and wait for the Windows Setup screen. Press Shift + F10 to open the command prompt.
- Type diskpart and press Enter.
- Type list disk to show the list of drives on your computer.
- Choose the disk which you want to convert to GPT. This should be the disk on which you want to install Windows. You can choose the disk with select disk 0.
- Run clean to clean all partition and partition style
- then convert gpt to convert the partition to GPT.
Your computer uses one of the boot methods: UEFI-GPT or BIOS-MBR. Installing via MBR or GPT depends on your computer’s operating system. If you buy a BIOS-based computer, you can only install Windows on an MBR disk. If you buy a UEFI-based PC, choose GPT instead, and if your computer’s firmware supports both UEFI and BIOS, choose GPT or MBR depending on your needs.?
