Difference Between MBR and GPT Partition

MBR vs GPT Partition

When you are creating a new partition, you have the option of choosing between GPT and MBR. They are used for basically the same thing except for a number of differences. “MBR” stands for “Master Boot Record” and was developed by Intel for their personal computers as a way to load the operating system. “GPT” stands for “GUID Partition Table,” also developed by Intel when they saw the inherent limitations of GPT. This limitation, which is the primary difference between MBR and GPT, is the capacity. MBR can only accommodate partition sizes of up to two terabytes. For GPT, Intel has raised this ceiling to about nine zettabytes. To put that into perspective, the limit for GPT is about four billion times more than the limit of MBR.

Due to the popularity of Intel and the proliferation of computer clones, MBR was rapidly adopted by different manufacturers and is still being used today. As GPT is much newer compared to MBR, not all computers are able to support it. So you should not consider using GPT for something that you would be moving from one computer to another on a constant basis. It is safer to use MBR for things like portable hard drives or thumb drives.

Even if a computer is able to recognize a GPT partition, there is still no assurance that you can boot from it. Only the latest versions of most operating systems are able to both read and boot from GPT partitions. MBR does not have this problem, and an MBR partition can be booted in virtually any PC, making it ideal for installations that are meant for recovery of files or fixing computers.

Nowadays, MBR is still widely used in desktop computers as we probably won’t be making partitions of over 2Tb anytime soon. Most hard drives do not even reach that capacity yet. GPT is largely used in huger servers where it is more appropriate. But GPT is beginning to appear in desktop computers as well. Still, there is no urgent reason to move towards GPT. MBR is perfectly adequate for personal computers.

Summary:

1.GPT has a higher partition limit than MBR.
2.MBR is readable on virtually all computers but not GPT.
3.All operating systems can boot from MBR but not from GPT.
4.GPT is widely used in servers while MBR is used widely in personal computers.

Sharing is caring!