You may face this type to error “Windows cannot be installed to disk”, When you attempting to install windows. This is one of the common errors that might occur during Windows installation. When you try to install Windows 10/8/7 on your computer. Windows installation setup may show you the error like “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style.”
We Explain here some ways to fix this error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk”. It can be very helpful to resolve this error.
What are the Reasons of Windows cannot be installed to this disk error?
There are Several Reasons of the “Windows cannot be installed to this disk” error. In most cases, the error is caused by hardware incompatibility.
This error may occur when your hard drive partition style doesn’t match to your existing BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) Setting. In the old BIOS mode, Windows can only be installed on MBR disks, because standard BIOS cannot recognize GPT partitions, but read/write data from GPT disks can be used as long as Windows supports it.
These times, BIOS has two types of version: First Legacy BIOS and UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). UEFI is more modern while Legacy BIOS is very old. Each of these versions only works with a specific disk partition style. If there is a discrepancy, you get the “Windows cannot be installed to this disk” error.
1. Fix “Windows cannot be installed to this disk” Error using BIOS Setting.
To fix this error windows cannot be installed on this disk. first, you need to go into your BIOS setup and see what boot mode is currently set. Start/reboot your computer and press and hold the BIOS key to enter the BIOS before the Windows logo appears. Different computers may require different keys, so it’s best to See this article “How to Find Bios and Boot Menu Option Keys for All Brands Laptops & Desktops” to find the exact key.
BIOS Setting for “The selected disk is of the GPT partition style”
If you are getting this type of error “The selected disk is of the GPT partition style,” it means currently your PC has a Legacy BIOS. Legacy BIOS doesn’t support the GPT Partition Style, so In BIOS, Go to Boot Tab Set the UEFI Boot Mod, or Enable Secure Boot in your Bios. The following image is an example of this BIOS setting.
- Boot your PC.
- Now, you need to access the BIOS setup of your computer. You might need to press the F1, F2, or Del key to do this. However, the key for accessing the BIOS screen varies, depending on the brand of your PC. So, it is best that you consult your manual to know which key to press.
- Once you’ve accessed the BIOS setup, look for the boot configuration of your PC.
- Make sure that your Boot Mode is set as the UEFI in the Boot Mood. or Enable Secure Boot in Secure Mode.
- Save the changes you’ve made, then exit BIOS.
BIOS Setting for “Selected Disk Has an MBR Partition Table”
If you are shown this error “The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks,” it means your system BIOS has been set for UEFI BIOS or Secure Boot is Enabled and you are using MBR Base Bootable USB Drive, On UEFI System, you can install Windows only to GPT partition style disks. So In BIOS, Go to Boot Tab Set the Legacy Boot Mod or disable Secure Boot in your Bios.
- Boot your PC.
- Now, you need to access the BIOS setup of your computer. You might need to press the F1, F2, or Del key to do this. However, the key for accessing the BIOS screen varies, depending on the brand of your PC. So, it is best that you consult your manual to know which key to press.
- Once you’ve accessed the BIOS setup, look for the boot configuration of your PC.
- Make sure that your Boot Mode is set as the Legacy in the Boot Mood. or Disable Secure Boot in Secure Mode.
- Save the changes you’ve made, then exit BIOS.
2. Fix “Windows cannot be installed to this disk” Error using Diskpart Utility.
If you want to continue with the UEFI boot mode on your computer, then you can simply format the drive in the GPT partition style. Before formatting the drive Backup your all data to another Drive. You can use the Diskpart utility at the time of windows installation. You can fix the “The selected disk is of GPT partition style” on your computer, follow these steps.
How to Fix the “Selected Disk Is of the GPT Partition Style” Error
You cannot install Windows on a GPT partitioned disk if your PC uses legacy BIOS. In this case, you should convert the drive before installing Windows. When you are in BIOS, you should find the boot mode. Again, You have to check all the tabs, but usually there is a Boot tab and there you will find Boot mode.
If you do not see a notification that you are using a UEFI motherboard as shown in the picture below, you may be using an older motherboard that only supports legacy BIOS. The only solution in this case is to convert the GPT disk to MBR disk.
Convert From GPT Disk to MBR Using Command Prompt During the Windows Setup
You can use the Command Prompt if no other operating system is installed on the other hard drive. This method will delete all data stored on the drive which you want to convert.
- Press Shift +F10 Keyboard shortcut button to open Command Prompt.
- Type diskpart and press Enter.
- Type list disk to show a list of drives on your computer.
- Type Select disk 1 to Choose the disk which you want to convert to GPT.
- Run clean to clean all partitions and partition style.
- then convert mbr to convert the Drive to MBR Disk.
When done, exit the command prompt. Return to your Windows installation setup and run the windows installation again.
How to Fix the “Selected Disk Has an MBR Partition Table” Error
If your PC has UEFI BIOS, you will need a GPT partitioned disk to install Windows. If you have MBR partitions, you need to convert them to GPT partitioned disks. If you don’t want to convert the partition, go into your BIOS and see if you can disable the UEFI boot source. Once you’re in the BIOS, go to the Boot Order section and look for UEFI Boot Sources. Disable it and run Windows Setup. if you are not able to access BIOS, You have to Covert your disk into GPT Partition Style.
Convert From MBR to GPT Using the Command Prompt
- Press Shift +F10 Keyboard shortcut button to open Command Prompt.
- Type diskpart and press Enter.
- Type list disk to show a list of drives on your computer.
- Type Select disk 1 to Choose the disk which you want to convert to GPT.
- Run clean to clean all partition and partition style
- then convert gpt to convert the Drive to GPT Disk.
3. Fix “Windows cannot be installed to this disk” Error using UEFI Bootable USB Drive
It is very easy for novice users to create a bootable UEFI flash drive to install Windows using the popular tool Rufus GUI. Currently, Rufus version 3.21 is available on the developer’s website https://rufus.ie. The tool is very compact (about 1MB), no require to installation and is completely free. Moreover, it works much faster than analog. you can only solve the “Selected Disk Is of the GPT Partition Style” error with the help of this way.
- Run the Rufus tool with administrator privileges and specify the following settings:
- Device: select your USB flash drive;
- Boot selection: specify Windows ISO image file (you can create an ISO image with the latest Windows 10 build using the Media Creation Tool);
- Partition scheme: GPT;
- Target system: UEFI (non-CSM);
- File system: FAT32.
Click START to write a Windows image to a USB flash drive. After 10-15 minutes, your bootable USB flash drive with Windows install image for UEFI computer is ready.
