GFT Drive Partition Issue while installing Windows 7 on my HP 15- r014TX

[VJ1992]

Hi,
I have a new HP laptop which had windows 8.1 OS.That OS got corrupted and now when I am trying to install Windows 7 on the same I am getting this error stating 'Windows can't be installed to this disk.The selected disk is of the GPT partition style.'
So I saw some videos for the solution on youtube and found that I need to convert it to MBR mode and for which I would need to clean the drive and re partition it which will result in data loss.As I don't have an OS in my laptop I can't even take back up of my data.
Can some give me any alternate solutions by which I can back up my data or install windows without losing my data.
I tried the 'Repair Windows' option as well while installing windows7 but even that is not working as the recovery OS file is missing.
Any help would be highly appreciated.

[DavidPK]

Hi,

You can install Windows 7 on a  HDD that has a GUID Partition Table as follows.

Shutdown the notebook.

Tap away at the esc key as soon as you press the power button to enter the Start-up Menu and then select the Bios Menu ( f10 ).

Under the System Configuration tab, expand the Boot Options Menu.

You need to set Secure Boot to Disabled and Legacy Devices to Enabled.

When done, press f10 and select to save the changes.

You may then have to enter a 4 digit pin displayed on the screen to confirm the setting changes - enter the code and hit enter.

Insert the Windows 7 installation disc and Shutdown the notebook.

Tap away at the esc key as soon as you press the power button to enter the Start-up Menu and then select the Boot Options Menu ( f9 ).

Use the arrow keys to highlight the CDROM (uefi) option and hit enter - if prompted to 'Press any key to continue....' - do so.

Regards,

DP-K

[VJ1992]

I have already done these changes which is allowing me to run the setup but when I am trying to select the disk for OS to install I am still getting the same error 'Windows can't be installed to this disk.The selected disk is of the GPT partition style'.Is there any way to change the partition style without cleaning the drives that is what I am trying to find.Because I have some really important data in the hard drive.Which I am unable to backup.

[DavidPK · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Just to be sure, when booting in legacy mode, you will normally see two optical drive options:

CDROM

and

CDROM (uefi)

Are you seeing both options and if so, are you selecting the CDROM (uefi) option?

Otherwise, one option would be to remove the HDD, place it in an external caddy - an example is on the link below - connect this to another PC and see if you can access your files.

External HDD Caddy 2.5".

Regards,

DP-K

[VJ1992]

Isn't there any other option that could be done on software level.So that formatting or removal of HDD could be avoided.

While booting in legacy mode I am unable to see those two options.Although I am trying to boot using pendrive.

[DavidPK]

Hi,

What options are you seeing in the boot menu for the flash drive?

As with a disc, there should be 2 possibilities, ie

USB Flashdrive

&

USB Flashdrive(UEFI)

You need to be able to select the USB Flashdrive(UEFI) option to be able to boot Win 7 x64 to a gpt drive.

Regards,

DP-K