windows7 GPT MBR problem

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J

JDubbel

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Feb 15, 2017
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Hi
Hope you can help me, this is driving me insane.
I bought a new motherboard/cpu, and went to install Win7pro on my ssd, told me it needed to be a GPT disk. So I googled that, found out about it, my new mobo/bios is UEFI. So I converted it to GPT and the install went fine.
I want a dual boot system, so I partitioned the SSD, went to install another win7 on the other partition, and it told me it couldn't install BECAUSE it's GPT.
I don't get it. Even if I try installing the same copy of Win7, it wants the drive to be MBR. And the drive can't be both.

any idea?
thanks
 
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Colif

Colif

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why are you dual booting win 7?

It doesn't make any sense, did you mean you installed Win 10 Pro and it wanted GPT? That would make sense... but win 7 Pro shouldn't be able to boot using GPT

All versions of windows prior to 8 use MBR to boot off. even Win 7 Pro... Win 7 Pro can access GPT as storage but shouldn't be able to boot off it.
Win 8 & 10 both use GPT as boot drives

Win 10 can boot off MBR or GPT, but win 7 can only boot off MBR.
You cannot have GPT & MBR on same drive as they use different ways to boot.
 
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J

JDubbel

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I'm dual booting because I have an OS separate for audio recording.
I thought I read that Win7 pro 64 bit can boot using GPT. It certainly can anyway, the first partition installed fine and is working.
I'd be happy for it to accept MBR, I'd avoid all these problems.
 
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Colif

Colif

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It seems you are right, but to dual boot between 32bit and 64bit win 7 you would have needed to set BIOS boot method to legacy before installing the 64 bit version, that would have forced it to use MBR and then the 32bit version would install as well.

I always forget that its only the 32bit version that can't use GPT to boot off.
 
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J

JDubbel

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They're both 64 bit versions, just that the audio OS is a stripped down version, no internet connection etc.
But that was my next question - if I can figure out how to set the bios to legacy boot, I should be able to install them as MBR?
 
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Colif

Colif

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It seems strange that one 64bit version accepts GPT and the other doesn't. Who made the stripped down version?

Using legacy is how you get windows 7 onto UEFI motherboards (if they 32bit)

What motherboard is it? Most manufacturers have a copy of manual in PDF form on site, just look in the BIOS section and it might even have a subheading for boot menu which may show you how to swap boot method.
 
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