Convert to GPT - can this be turned off?
I have ATIH 2014 installed on a new system running Win8.1, the HDD will be GPT
I have images created from older PC's where an MBR is used.
I burn the image to a HDD installed in a USB adaptor, but when I do this ATIH converts the disk to GPT which means the disk does not boot on the older PC.
I have another, older PC with ATIH 2011 which works as expected and does not convert the MBR to GPT.
Can this conversion be stopped?
I am guessing it's because ATIH assumes the disk is going to be installed/booted in the PC it's installed in.


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Using the recovery media did not help, the disk was created as GPT and would not boot. :-(
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I did some testing using TI 2014 Build 6673 with a WinPE recovery disk. I did a backup of a MBR disk (selecting the entire disk to backup). I then did a recovery selecting the entire disk to restore. I was given a choice to restore the disk as original or convert to GPT. See attached jpg. Selecting restore as original kept the disk as MBR.
I did another restore selecting just the partition on the disk to restore. I was not given the choice, but on restore the disk was still MBR. The only thing I didn't like was the partition was marked as Active. There was an option to change this, but it was grayed out. I could not uncheck the Mark as Active box. Other than that annoying feature, all worked well.
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Hi Mustang,
I am not using WinPE. I believe ATIH Premium is required to create a WinPE bootable disk, I don't have Premium.
I am using Build 6673.
Can you try with the non-Premium version and see if there is a way to not convert to GPT? Thanks
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I did the same set of testing using the Linux recovery cd. The results were exactly the same. I saw the same recovery screen I posted above.
I suspect there could be a problem because your tib files were created using TI 2011. Mine was created using TI 2014 Build 6673. This problem has been discussed in the past. See this thread http://forum.acronis.com/forum/43720 . Maybe the tib format was changed in build 6673 to correct this issue.
How were your tib files created originally? Were they full disk backups including the MBR or just backups of the partition?
Another thought. Your destination disk is connected via USB. Mine was connected to a motherboard controller. That could make a difference.
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My tib files were created using ATIH 2013. They are full disk images.
I have to use external USB as my PC is an all-in-one with no option for additional internal disks.
That thread seems to describe my scenario exactly.
What type of BIOS does your PC have?
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The PC I tested on has a UEFI bios and is running Windows 8.1.
The only thing I could suggest would be to connect a HDD having a MBR partition and making backup of it using the TI 2014 Build 6673 recovery disk. Then try to do a restore and see if you get the option to keep it MBR.
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I did some more testing. I connected the drive via USB. I was still able to restore keeping MBR. I then booted the TI 2013 Linux recovery disk and did a full disk backup. I was able to restore that backup keeping MBR with both the TI 2013 and TI 2014 recovery disks.
At this point, I can only suggest the problem is related to how TI is interacting with the BIOS on your computer. If I were you, I would complete the recovery and then use AOMEI Partition Assistant to convert the disk from GPT to MBR without data loss. Sometimes it's better to go around the wall instead of banging your head against it.
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Thanks Mustang for your testing.
"Sometimes it's better to go around the wall instead of banging your head against it."
LOL, I can't argue with that. I'll try this but as it's a time consuming task as I will want to copy the existing HDD, install the copy to verify I have a working HDD before any changes. It means opening up my All-in-One which may be a challenge.
I'll take this opportunity to change the HDD to a larger size at the same time.
I will do it at the weekend & feedback/update when done.
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What I mean is to do the restore in the USB enclosure and let TI convert the disk to GPT. Then use the free version of AOMIE Partition Assistant http://www.aomeitech.com/ to convert the disk back to MBR. The conversion is done without data loss. It happens in seconds and the disk will be just as you want it.
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Mustang wrote:What I mean is to do the restore in the USB enclosure and let TI convert the disk to GPT. Then use the free version of AOMIE Partition Assistant http://www.aomeitech.com/ to convert the disk back to MBR. The conversion is done without data loss. It happens in seconds and the disk will be just as you want it.
The free edition brought up a pop-up saying it doesn't support MBR/GPT conversion :-(
I'll look again at this at the weekend.
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