Any pitfalls to using GPT instead of MBR on a 2TB drive?

jnewegger23

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Everywhere I search on the internet it always talks about the basic idea that you should use GPT for drives larger than 2TB. Okay, got it! In fact I have a 4TB drive and already formatted with that and everything runs fine.
So, I bought a 2TB drive the other day because it was on sale and have been wanting an internal backup. I already have an external and understand the importance of having that.
Anyhow, back to my original question... I already went ahead and formatted the new 2TB internal HDD with MBR. Everything runs fine. I've been reading on other forums, searches etc that it GPT will also be useful should you run in RAID etc. I'm just using jbod atm. So, no advantage here either.
I'm just wondering, had I used GPT would there be any disadvantages? I already understand the difference between MBR and GPT in general and don't need a lesson on that. I just was wondering because one article suggested that GPT was less likely to experience data corruption. So, obviously, with drives larger than 2TB go ahead and use GPT. However, what if you went ahead and did this on drives that were smaller? Any problems? I don't see why. Any theoretical or actual experienced problems would be much appreciated!

My setup in more detail:
120GB SSD with Windows 8 64bit OEM
4TB HDD 7200rpm 64mb cache 6gb/s GPT formatted (games, other files, etc.)
2TB HDD 7200rpm 64mb cache 6gb/s MBR formatted (backup, truecrypt files, etc.)

If you have any questions that would help answer mine please feel free to ask!

Thanks!
 

jnewegger23

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So, you're saying there are no pitfalls at all to using GPT on drives less than 2TB?
 

GotSka81

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Jul 13, 2013
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I will have to disagree with das_stig here. When using GPT you will have difficulty accessing the drive from any Windows XP environment. This is usually not a problem, unless you try to slave the drive to a Windows XP device for data recovery reasons or some similar scenario. This is a minor inconvenience, but something you should be aware of nonetheless.
 

FuzzTone

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May 13, 2015
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FuzzTone

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May 13, 2015
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GotSka81:
This might be what I was looking for. For safety I will assume that this also applies to a Virtual PC (in Windows 7-64 Ultimate) running XP mode.
The data disk I use for XP mode is the only one I haven't converted to GPC. Now I won't.
 
XP stick to MBR, even under a VM.

Can Windows XP x64 read, write, and boot from GPT disks?
Windows XP x64 Edition can use GPT disks for data only.
Can the 32-bit version of Windows XP read, write, and boot from GPT disks?
No. The 32-bit version will see only the Protective MBR.