What’s the Max Number of Partitions in a GPT Disk?

Overview of GPT and the counterpart – MBR

It’s a necessary step to partition a hard disk before you’re able to use it. GPT and its counterpart MBR are 2 different ways to store the partitioning info on a hard disk. The info includes the location of the head and end of the partition and thus, your OS knows which sectors belong to each partition and which partition is bootable.

What's the max number of partitions supported by GPT?

An obvious advantage of GPT over MBR is that it allows for more primary partitions on a hard disk. A GPT disk supports up to 128 primary partitions while an MBR disk supports only 4 primary partitions or 3 primary partitions plus 1 extended partition. So, in this case, you may receive the warning “You cannot create a new volume in this unallocated space because the disk already contains the maximum number of partitions” when you try creating another partition from unallocated space in an MBR disk that already contains enough partitions.

What's the max disk size of GPT?

Another advantage of GPT over MBR is that GPT disks support a much larger disk size. A GPT disk can be as large as 9.4ZB while the size of an MBR disk is limited to only 2TB. If you purchase a 3TB or larger SSD or HDD, GPT should be a better choice.

How to convert MBR to GPT to break the limit on max partition amount?

As mentioned above, MBR supports far fewer partitions than GPT. So, to have more partitions on your hard disk, sometimes, you may need to change your disk partition style from MBR to GPT. But how? In the following paragraphs, 3 practical ways are provided for you to refer to.

Method 1. Use DiskPart

DiskPart,  as the successor to fidsk, is a Windows built-in program utility that’s able to execute different operations to manage your hard disk and partitions via command lines users input. With this powerful tool, users can create partitions, delete partitions, and of course, convert hard disks from MBR to GPT.

1. Press “Windows + R” keys simultaneously and input “diskpart” in the blank box. Then, hit “ENTER” to launch DiskPart.

2. Type “list disk” and hit “ENTER” to let all disks as well as related info appear.

3. Input “select disk n” and hit “ENTER” to select the disk you want to convert.

4. Type “clean” and hit “ENTER” to remove all partitions on the hard disk.

5. Input “convert gpt” and hit “ENTEER” to begin the conversion.

As you can see, to start the MBG-GPT conversion, you have to delete all existing partitions on the hard disk beforehand. So, in case of any data loss, remember to make a backup of important files first.

Method 2. Resort to Disk Management

Disk Management is another program utility by Microsoft that’s able to manage hard disks and partition without rebooting the system and any interruption. Users can use Disk Management to change MBR to GPT in only a few clicks.

1. Right-click on “This PC” on the desktop and select “Manage”.

2. Select “Disk Management” under the “Storage” tab.

3. Right-click on the target disk and select “Convert to GPT Disk” as the screenshot shows.

Similar to DiskPart, you have to delete all partitions on the disk if you want to run the conversion process or the option “Convert to GPT Disk” will be greyed out.

Method 3. Try third-party disk manager without data loss

Since there can be severe data loss when you use either DiskPart or Disk Management, it’s imperative to find another alternative for MBR-GPT conversion. Here, I recommend AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, a powerful and user-friendly third-party disk management utility. It helps convert MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR without the need to delete any partitions. What’s more, it also includes many other useful features such as SSD secure erase and free space allocation.

How many primary partitions can GPT have in Windows? It’s much more than MBR! So, if you want to change MBR disks to GPT for more usable partitions, why not download the demo and have a try?

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Right-click on the target disk and select “Convert to GPT”.

Step 2. Confirm the operation by clicking on “OK”.

Step 3. Click on “Apply” to commit the pending operation.

In a few seconds, the conversion will be completed.

Conclusion

What’s the max number of partitions in a GPT disk? It’s 128! Compared with MBR that supports only at most 4 primary partitions, GPT deserves to be called a modern partition style! To have more partitions on an SSD or HDD, many users choose to convert MBR to GPT with DiskPart or Disk Management. However, in these 2 ways, partitions on the target disk must be deleted and under this circumstance, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional comes. Without the need to delete anything, this tool helps convert MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR in only a few steps. To use this software on Servers, please try the Server edition.