Linux : GPT vs MBR

 

Modern Disk: GPT vs. MBR Partitioning Schemes

When setting up a new disk, you have two main partitioning schemes to choose from: MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table). Let’s break them down:

1. MBR (Master Boot Record)

✅ Best for:

  • Older systems (Legacy BIOS-based booting).
  • Disks smaller than 2 TB.
  • Simple partitioning needs (up to 4 primary partitions).

❌ Limitations:

  • Maximum disk size: 2 TB.
  • Can have only 4 primary partitions (or 3 primary + 1 extended partition with logical partitions inside).
  • Less resilient to corruption (bootloader issues can make the system unbootable).

🛠️ How to Check if a Disk Uses MBR?


sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdX

If you see Disklabel type: dos, it means MBR.

2. GPT (GUID Partition Table)

✅ Best for:

  • Modern systems (UEFI-based booting).
  • Disks larger than 2 TB.
  • Creating more than 4 partitions (supports up to 128 partitions).
  • Better error recovery (stores multiple copies of partition data).

❌ Limitations:

  • Not supported on very old BIOS-only systems.

🛠️ How to Check if a Disk Uses GPT?


sudo parted /dev/sdX print

If you see Partition Table: gpt, it means GPT.



Key Differences Between MBR and GPT












Which One Should You Use?

✅ Use MBR if:

  • You are working with a legacy BIOS system.
  • Your disk is smaller than 2 TB.
  • You only need basic partitioning (≤ 4 partitions).

✅ Use GPT if:

  • Your system supports UEFI boot.
  • Your disk is larger than 2 TB.
  • You need more than 4 partitions.
  • You want better data protection and performance.

How to Convert Between MBR and GPT?

⚠ Warning: Converting will delete all data on the disk! Backup first.

 

🔄 Convert MBR to GPT:

sudo parted /dev/sdX
mklabel gpt

🔄 Convert GPT to MBR:

sudo parted /dev/sdX
mklabel msdos


To know more about BIOS and UEFI, refer previous blog!

Thank you.















 




 		       


=======================================================================
Thank you, check out more blogs for such information..!
For any queries,feel free to reach out me on shubhammore07007@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nginx : Setting Up Nginx with Load Balancing

Image
This guide explains how to configure Nginx as a load balancer for multiple backend applications running on different ports. The setup includes three application servers running on ports 8001, 8002, and 8003, with Nginx balancing requests among them.   Nginx Configuration Details Individual Server Blocks Each backend application is configured as an independent Nginx server block: Server 1 Configuration ( server1.conf ) [root@server1 conf.d]# cat /etc/nginx/conf.d/server1.conf | grep -v "#"   server { listen 8001; server_tokens off; server_name _; client_max_body_size 35M; charset utf-8; large_client_header_buffers 4 16k; root /usr/share/nginx/server1; index index.html index.php index.cgi; access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log; error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log; } Server 2 Configuration ( server2.conf ) [root@server1 conf.d]# cat /etc/nginx/conf.d/server2.conf | grep -v "#"     server { listen 8002; server_tokens off;...
Read more

Nginx : Virtual hosting using Location directives

Image
This setup demonstrates a virtual container-based environment in Nginx where multiple locations are configured under a single server block, rather than a load-balancing mechanism. Each location serves a different application based on its respective directory structure. Nginx Configuration Server Configuration server { listen 80; server_tokens off; server_name _; client_max_body_size 35M; charset utf-8; large_client_header_buffers 4 16k; root /usr/share/nginx/server1; index index.html index.php index.cgi; access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log; error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log; location /server2 { root /usr/share/nginx/; index index.html index.php index.cgi; access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log; error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log; } location /server3 { root /usr/share/nginx/; index index.html index.php index.cgi; access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log; error_log /...
Read more

Terraform project with AWS to build infra within seconds! (Web Ec2 with eIP)

Image
1. Introduction: What is Terraform? Terraform is an open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool created by HashiCorp. It lets you define, provision, and manage cloud infrastructure using declarative configuration files . Instead of manually creating AWS resources in the console, you write code that describes what you want, and Terraform takes care of creating or updating it. Why use it with AWS? a) Infrastructure as Code (IaC) You can define AWS resources (EC2, VPC, S3, IAM, etc.) in .tf files. These configurations can be version-controlled in Git. b) Multi-Cloud Support Although AWS has its own tool (CloudFormation), Terraform works with AWS + Azure + GCP + on-prem at the same time. c) Reusability & Automation You can reuse Terraform modules to deploy the same AWS setup in different environments (dev, test, prod). d) State Management Terraform keeps a state file to know which resources it manages. Makes it easy to track and update changes in AWS without accidentally del...
Read more