Clone and convert to mbr?
Hi All,
Is it possible to clone an existing system GPT format drive to an MBR format?
I want to use my system drive on an older PC which doesn't support GPT. I can clone but I then can't boot from the cloned drive on the older PC. My thinking is to clone the drive then convert it to an MBR somehow. Or maybe there is a better way?
Thanks, Jon


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Steve is correct - migration (via backup and restore - not clone) can only be done from MBR to GPT/UEFI with Acronis, but doesn't work the other way around. I have yet to find a tool that does this properly, although there is another competing application that the paid version says it will do this - I've never tried.
Also, an Acronis clone, will always give you the same format - a clone is a clone of the original and the result will be... a clone :)
The change from MBR to GPT/UEFI is accomplished with a backup and restore and takes place when you boot the offline recovery media in UEFI mode first (not legacy mode). AFter such a conversion, the system may not be bootable afterwards if the bios is not set properly to allow UEFI boot or if the boot order is not correct.
Although the conversion is possible, and does usually work, you're probably better off building fresh if you really want to move from MBR to UEFI... if nothing else, to prevent importing background flaws that may already be in the OS - especially if you've already upgraded the OS over the top (say from Windows 7 or 8.1 to 10).
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Thanks for the replies gentlemen.
I'll try a Acronis clone and then use EaseUS to convert from GPT to MBR. I've a lot of applications, reinstalling would take at least a day, fingers crossed this will work. I'll report back with results for anyone else wanting to do something similar.
Thanks again, Jon
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Good luck. As your changing hardware, you'll probably need to use Universal Restore as well. Don't forget to make sure the SATA mode in the bios is also the same on the older system to match the newer one. What about your OS license too - if it's an OEM license, it won't automatically register on the older hardware either, but you can try to activate it through Microsoft and see if they'll do it.
Lots of moving parts and going backwards in time with technology, but wish you well in your efforts.
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This is a little complex, so I'm going to list down my procedure I'm about to attempt (after I've posted this message).
I'll refer to 'Current PC' and 'Older PC'. My goal is to move the System Drive C from the 'Current PC' to the 'Older PC'.
1) Current PC. Use Acronis to make a bootable USB with True Image (rather than the Windows version - seems important).
2) Use Acronis to make a bootable USB with Universal Restore.
3) Boot using the USB True Image and clone the system drive.
4) Restart Current PC and use EaseUS to convert the cloned drive from GPT to MBR (as the older PC's motherboard doesn't support the newer GPT format).
5) Put the cloned drive into the Older PC and attempt to boot. I suspect this will not work so I will then go to step 6.
6) Boot the Older PC USB Universal Restore and attempt to use the utility to get the PC to boot.
If that fails then I guess I'll have wasted my time/money and will have to reinstall Windows on the Older PC and start from scratch. But hopefully it will help someone else who had a similar idea. :-)
Regards, Jon
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An update for anyone else wanting to try this or take it further.
Got to step 5, the Older PC went through BIOS, detected the drive but did not launch Windows. Instead I was left with a blinking cursor and no error message. I tried the USB Universal Restore, unfortunatly that didn't resolve the error and I was back to the blinking cursor.
I also tried the Windows 10 Repair option from a bootable USB drive, however it didn't give me an option to 'keep installed applications'. So would seem that it wanted to install from scratch.
I'm not sure why it failed to start, perhaps the conversion to MBR didn't copy over enough information to keep the drive bootable. But that is speculation on my part.
For me I'm reinstalling Windows.
Thanks to again to those who commented. :-)
Regards, Jon
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My guess is that the conversion from GPT to MBR didn't quite work either. The product you mentioned earlier is the only one I know of that offers this as a feature, but I've never tried it so can't speak to it's capability or reliability. If you really wanted to try again. I would clone the original desk and put it in the original system and run that tool on that system and see if it still boots after being converted to MBR. Then, I'd run UR on the drive and move it to the new system. I'd then make sure the SATA mode in the bios matches on both systems (RAID or AHCI or SATA - it needs to be the same)
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