New ssd clean install

[Choink]

Hello my old ssd died so I bought a Samsung evo 860 and just clean installed windows. It took awhile but I was able to figure out how to change my main os drive which is the new ssd to uefi mode so I could use ultra fast boot. However my hdd is is legacy even after a reformat does this matter and or is there any way to change my hdd to a uefi drive

[Chiyawa]

52 minutes ago, Choink said:

However my hdd is is legacy even after a reformat does this matter and or is there any way to change my hdd to a uefi drive

Well, to answer your question, I need to clarify a few things:

HDD or SSD will be formatted using GPT (GUID Partition Table) instead of MBR (Master Boot Record). The difference between GPT and MBR (generally speaking) is that GPT can handle more partition (more than 4) while MBR capped at 4 partition. Also, MBR can only support up to 2TB, while GPT can support more.

 

So, your question right now is if you can change your HDD from MBR to GPT. So, it is possible, but however, it is not just reformatting the drive and call it a day. You need to delete the disk partition of your drive first before you can convert the HDD to GPT partition. Note: This will wipe all the data from the HDD.

 

To do so, you need to access your computer management console also known as Microsoft Management Console (or MMC). There are a few ways you can find this program, but the easiest is to open file explorer, right click 'This PC' and click Manage. Click yes if a security prompt ask for your permission. At the Computer Management, click on the Disk Management under Storage. Wait for a while and you should see all your disks drives. Identify the disk of your HDD (Disk 0 or Disk 1, depends on how your system identify the Disk).

 

To check your disc, right click at Disk 0 or 1, select properties. The properties window should appear. At the volumes tab, you can see your disk information. Check the partition style. If it is GUID Partition Table (GPT), then you are using the GPT drives. If it still say Master Boot Record (MBR), then you are not using GPT (or what you call UEFI mode). Anyway, you don't need to do anything, but if you want to convert your HDD to GPT, then follow the next step.

 

Return to Computer Management, you'll notice that beside Disk 0 or Disk 1, there are a few box at the right (where some labels like (C:) or (D:). Those are your partition. So, make sure you know which Disk number your HDD use, then right click the box at the right and select delete volume. Again, this will delete all data in the partition. Delete all the partition until you only see a big box labelled as Unallocated. Then right click on the disk number then select convert to GPT. Once done, right click the Unallocated box and choose create New Volume. Follow the wizard and you now have your HDD in GPT mode.

 

Should you need help on converting into GPT disk, you can read the links below:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/deployment/mbr-to-gpt

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/change-an-mbr-disk-into-a-gpt-disk

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/convert-mbr-to-gpt-disk

https://www.dell.com/support/article/my/en/mydhs1/sln288683/converting-your-hard-drive-from-mbr-to-gpt?lang=en