MBR or GPT on a 1TB storage hdd?

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Get_off_my_plane

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Jan 24, 2014
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I read an earlier thread where they convinced someone in a similar situation to go with MBR, but I don't understand why (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/272738-32-formatting-drive).

From reading an article like this, GPT sounds better.

I'm on a z87 motherboard (built last year), and this will be for storing media files (wd black). Running windows 8.1.
 
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Given those two articles linked, what I see is this:
1. All OS's can use a HDD partitioned under the MBR system, and can boot from it. (I suspect, OP, that you do NOT plan to boot form this unit since you call it a "storage HDD". Only the most recent OS's (Win 7 and up, for example) can use a GPT drive.
2. If you are trying to BOOT from the HDD, you can always do that from an MBR-Partitioned drive because all BIOS's now still support that. To BOOT from a GPT-Partitioned drive, you MUST have a mobo with a recent BIOS that includes UEFI Support.
3. MBR systems are suitable for HDD's with a capacity up to 2 TB or just a bit more. Although you could use the MBR system to Partition a HDD over that size, you would only be able to create one...
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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Jun 16, 2014
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gpt is the superior format. if you dont have anything on it yet go with it. if you do have stuff on it mbr wont hold you back at all and there is no need to change on a 1tb storage drive. you particularly want gpt on large drives 2tb+ or on operating system drives. mbr wont support a uefi bios.
 
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Paperdoc

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Given those two articles linked, what I see is this:
1. All OS's can use a HDD partitioned under the MBR system, and can boot from it. (I suspect, OP, that you do NOT plan to boot form this unit since you call it a "storage HDD". Only the most recent OS's (Win 7 and up, for example) can use a GPT drive.
2. If you are trying to BOOT from the HDD, you can always do that from an MBR-Partitioned drive because all BIOS's now still support that. To BOOT from a GPT-Partitioned drive, you MUST have a mobo with a recent BIOS that includes UEFI Support.
3. MBR systems are suitable for HDD's with a capacity up to 2 TB or just a bit more. Although you could use the MBR system to Partition a HDD over that size, you would only be able to create one or more Partitions with a TOTAL space of 2 TB. The remainder would be inaccessible.
4. GPT systems are necessary for HDD's over 2 TB. In fact, the limit of max size of an HDD unit for GPT systems is far larger than any HDD you could buy. Further, the max number of Partitions you could create under GPT is huge!
5. GPT-partitioned systems have some advantages in redundancy of several copies of key data tables that define and locate the Partitions and their Root Directories on the HDD. In some cases of data corruption of these tables the system can recover correct data from the extra copies and repair itself, whereas an MBR system cannot do that.

OP, for your purposes, the only advantage of the GPT system is point #5 - a GPT system may be easier to repair (not sure what tools one needs for that) in the event of corruption of the Partition Table info.
 
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