I am trying to convert the OS disk on my server from CSM to UEFI but it fails. The reason I want to do it is because I need to enable resize bar support on there to allocate more RAM for the APU to use. And to do that the disk has to be in UEFI mode. When I enable resize bar the boot mode is instantly changed to UEFI which makes it unbootable. So that's my dilemma.

I have the log for MBR2GPT and I think the error why it failed is:



I don't know why its numbered as disk 5. Windows is on an M.2 NVME which is the main drive. How it assigned it 5 is beyond me. I'm beginning to suspect that disk 5 is one of the other drives in the system, not the OS drive. How do I find out what number its been assigned?

The rest of the log is attached.

I looked at the file directly under setupact.log, setuperr.log (also attached), and it contains:



So what can I do to convert the OS drive to UEFI? I am stuck and don't know how to progress further.



These are the specs of my server:

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

AMD Ryzen 3 2200G Raven Ridge 14nm Technology

16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR4 @ 1594MHz (16-18-18-36)

MSI B450M-A PRO MAX II (MS-7C52) (AM4)

W2261 (1920x1080@60Hz) 2048MB ATI AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics (ATI)


931GB Western Digital WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 (SATA)


931GB Western Digital WDC WD1002FAEX-00Y9A0 (SATA)

931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EADS-00M280 (SATA)


3726GB Seagate ST4000DM004-2CV104 (SATA)

Seagate IronWolf 10TB (ST10000VN000) (SATA)

Kingston 128GB M.2 PCIe NVMe 2580 SSD

AMD High Definition Audio Device

Hi, C0rtex

Identifying the Disk Number
To find out which disk number is assigned to your OS drive, you can use the diskpart tool in Windows:

Open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Type diskpart and press Enter.

Type list disk and press Enter. This will show you all the disks connected to your system.

Identify your OS drive based on its size and type.

Converting the OS Disk to UEFI
Here are the steps to convert your OS disk from CSM to UEFI using the MBR2GPT tool:

Backup Your Data: Before making any changes, ensure you have a complete backup of your data.

Check Disk Layout: Ensure your disk meets the requirements for conversion:

The disk must have at most 3 primary partitions.

The OS must be 64-bit.

BitLocker or any encryption must be turned off.

Validate the Disk:

Boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

Open Command Prompt.

Run the following command to validate the disk:

mbr2gpt.exe /validate /disk:<diskNumber> /allowFullOS


Replace <diskNumber> with the number of your OS disk.

Convert the Disk:

If the validation is successful, run the following command to convert the disk:

mbr2gpt.exe /convert /disk:<diskNumber> /allowFullOS


Change BIOS Settings:

Restart your computer and enter the BIOS setup.

Change the boot mode from Legacy to UEFI.

Enable "Above 4G Decoding" and "Re-Size BAR Support" in the BIOS settings.

Troubleshooting
If you encounter issues during the conversion, here are some common solutions:

Delete Extra Partitions: If your disk has more than 3 primary partitions, delete any unnecessary partitions.

Check for Bad Sectors: Use a disk utility tool to check and repair any bad sectors on the disk.

Rebuild MBR: If the MBR is corrupted, you may need to rebuild it before converting.

For more detailed instructions, you can refer to this guide and this tutorial.

Enabling Resize Bar Support
To enable resize bar support for your APU, ensure that your BIOS is up to date and follow these steps:

Enter the BIOS setup.

Enable "Above 4G Decoding".

Enable "Re-Size BAR Support".

 

Does this help?

MBR2GPT

Use MBR2GPT.EXE to convert a disk from the Master Boot Record (MBR) to the GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition style without modifying or deleting data on the disk.

learn.microsoft.com

 

I tried that but this error stops it:

MBR2GPT: Validating layout, disk sector size is: 512 bytes
2025-02-23 17:07:20, Error ValidateLayout: Unexpected partition style, expected 0, found 1
2025-02-23 17:07:20, Error Disk layout validation failed for disk 5
2025-02-23 17:07:20, Info MBR2GPT: Partition information at error point
2025-02-23 17:07:20, Info ===========================================================
2025-02-23 17:07:20, Info Partition layout for disk: 5
2025-02-23 17:07:20, Info Partition style : GPT
2025-02-23 17:07:20, Info Number of partitions : 5

I don't know how to fix the Unexpected partition style. That is what I need help with.

 

 

There are two recovery partitions. The other two are Windows and a 100MB EFI boot partition. Which makes for a total of four partitions all together. So there is one too many.
How do I combine the two recovery partitions to reduce the total number to three? Or can one of the recovery partitions be deleted?



edit:

I think I've found a solution. I can use Paragon Partition Manager Community Edition | Paragon Software

to Convert MBR disk to GPT and vice versa.

I'll probably have to combine the two recovery partitions. As it supports Merge/Split partitions.

 

When Windows upgrades to the next build, it creates a new recovery partition if the previous one is not big enough for the upgrade.

You can check which partition is being used by running this command in PowerShell (Admin):
reagentc /info

You can then delete the unused partition after determining which one is currently used.

I have multiple Recovery Partitions? - Microsoft Q&A

I have noticed that my Windows 10 Pro has two Recovery Partitions, one of 450MB, the first partition, and another of 840MB as the last partition on my C: drive. I was just wondering why this might be? I include a screen shot from Disk Management below. …

answers.microsoft.com

 

When Windows upgrades to the next build, it creates a new recovery partition if the previous one is not big enough for the upgrade.

You can check which partition is being used by running this command in PowerShell (Admin):
reagent /info

You can then delete the unused partition after determining which one is currently used.

I have multiple Recovery Partitions? - Microsoft Q&A

I have noticed that my Windows 10 Pro has two Recovery Partitions, one of 450MB, the first partition, and another of 840MB as the last partition on my C: drive. I was just wondering why this might be? I include a screen shot from Disk Management below. …

answers.microsoft.com

I followed the links to the original source Multiple recovery partitions in Windows 10

but I don't understand which is partition 5 on his system. I see that there are 5 partitions but which is the 5th one? The screenshot of the elevated PowerShell that shows partition 5 is in use isn't clear. Which one is it in the disk management screenshot?

 

Can you do a screenshot of disk management.
Do you need instructions on how to do this?

 

Which one of these is in use?
I want to merge them together which I don't think would be a good idea. So I think deleting the unused one would be a better option. It would be handy if they put file dates on them so it would be much easier to tell which one is the latest one.

 

You can check which partition is being used by running this command in PowerShell (Admin):
reagentc /info

Post a screenshot of powershell

 

You can check which partition is being used by running this command in PowerShell (Admin):
reagentc /info

Post a screenshot of powershell

Its strange how there are 5 partitions but only 4 showing at the bottom. Is partition 5 hidden to Windows?

 

It looks like you have a hidden partition
Powershell shows Disk 5 Partition 5 yet your screen shot only shows 4 partitions which is why I think you still have a hidden one.
Going by the information I can find the Last partition 543MB should be the current partition.
So the front partition should bre the one to delete.
Do you have a system image of that drive?

Click on start
Type in cmd
Run command prompt as Administrator
Type in Diskpart press enter
Type in Select disk 5 Press enter
Type in List Partition press enter

How many partitions are listed?

 

So the one at the end (Partition 5) at the bottom in disk management is the latest and the one in use? And I can delete the first one (Partition 1)?

Now you know what the next question is going to be. How do I delete it?

 

Do you have a system image of that disk so you can recover if things go pear shape?

https://www.lifewire.com/delete-windows-recovery-partition-4128723#:~:text=Because%20recovery%20partitions%20are%20protected,partition%20override%20and%20press%20Enter

.

 

Not at the moment. I'm going to use Acronis to make one. I'll have to format that USB drive to create a working copy again. As it won't boot because of my foolishness of taking it out while it was booting. Once I've done that I will fix up the partitions.

edit:

So in my case I would delete partition 1 on disk 5? Is that correct?

 

I would definitely make sure you have recovery option - Just in case.
From what I can find by research you have 5 partitions on disk 5 which we proved with Diskpart.
The Shell command shows that Partition 5 is the current recovery partition
All the information also points to Partition 5 as it is the largest of the two (2).
So it should be safe to delete the first recovery partition.

Did the video I linked to earlier make sense on how to convert?

To leave diskpart type in Exit press enter

 

Did the video I linked to earlier make sense on how to convert?

Yes I've watched it a couple of times. But it'll be a little bit before I can do that. Once I have the backup done I will be converting. I will validate first of course to make absolutely sure its safe to do so.

Also how do I delete partition 1?

 

I think the USB drive I used is damaged. I formatted it (quick format) and I copied the Acronis files onto it. The same error occurs as before.

 

When done we can merge.

 

I just thought of something that I overlooked. I need to delete the hidden system volume information folder on the USB thumb drive. I think it keeps restore points on there which is why I keep getting that error.

Though that doesn't explain why the exact same error appeared on a different USB drive.

 

What error are you getting on usb drives?
I thought you are converting drive c from mbr to gpt.
I am not sure what usb drives have to do with anything.

 

This error:

https://www.techsupportforum.com/threads/mbr2gpt-disk-layout-validation-failed.1263214/?post_id=7883511&nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#post-7883511

The USB drive has Acronis on it. Which I'm trying to use to backup before I convert the drives.

 

The error means Acronis cannot find the hidden EFI partition. If you deleted it from the USB drive,
Start again and create a new Acronis Boot Flash drive

How to Fix Destiny 2 Broccoli Error on Windows 10/11

Many gamers have faced the notorious Destiny 2 Broccoli Error, a frustrating issue that results in crashes and disrupts the gaming experience. This error has been reported frequently on forums, with players expressing their discontent: one user stated, "Error code Broccoli has been my nemesis...

windowsforum.com

 

Yea I've done that several times. And on different USB drives. I checked that the files are on there. But somehow it can't find them lol. What a joke.

 

You do not copy the files to the usb
you create the usb from the program

 

But that doesn't work. It creates the wrong folders. And it doesn't create the efi folder or the files inside it. So using the program doesn't work.

I copied the files to it and it worked when I backed up my laptop. But its not working for my server 🤷‍♂️

 

That's for Windows. I'm not trying to install Windows. So what use is that guide? I'm trying to boot Acronis. Completely different program.

 

.

 

Use the Acronis Rescue Media Builder to burn to your Flash drive
How to create a bootable USB flash drive with Acronis True Image - WinUSB

Boot off of it to access the Saved Acronis Image you have created on a separate drive.
Or boot off of it to Create am Image of your computer to save to a third drive like a secondary HDD or USB HDD.

 

That program (YUMI) is bugged. There is no 'We will NTFS format' option.
I downloaded the latest version and there is a different option (Prepare this Device?):

Which erases the drive and creates unallocated space. It doesn't let me NTFS format and I can't select the Acronis image. So I'm stuck.

 

Here are instructions for burning an ISO with Yumi

How To - Create and Use a YUMI USB Drive to Install Windows 10

YUMI or Your Universal Multiboot Installer is a free tool that allows you to create a bootable installation USB drive. A single YUMI drive can contain installation files for multiple operating systems, thus eliminating the need of having a separate disc for each. However, although YUMI is an...

forums.tomshardware.com

In Windows, You can Right click the Acronis ISO image, and choose Mount.
This will create a Virtual DVD drive, if you want, you can browse that drive and select Setup.exe to install Acronis to your computer.

You may have a problem with that ISO image, so download a new ISO from Acronis

https://support.acronisscs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034000774-Acronis-True-Image-Download

You may need to register with Acronis' web site to download.

 

you can browse that drive and select Setup.exe to install Acronis to your computer.

There is no setup.exe.

 

Did you note what was said ... or just read through it ignoring the advice given ...

You may have a problem with that ISO image, so download a new ISO from Acronis

https://support.acronisscs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034000774-Acronis-True-Image-Download

Here are instructions for burning an ISO with Yumi

How To - Create and Use a YUMI USB Drive to Install Windows 10

YUMI or Your Universal Multiboot Installer is a free tool that allows you to create a bootable installation USB drive. A single YUMI drive can contain installation files for multiple operating systems, thus eliminating the need of having a separate disc for each. However, although YUMI is an...

forums.tomshardware.com

In Windows, You can Right click the Acronis ISO image, and choose Mount.
This will create a Virtual DVD drive, if you want, you can browse that drive and select Setup.exe to install Acronis to your computer.

You may have a problem with that ISO image, so download a new ISO from Acronis

https://support.acronisscs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034000774-Acronis-True-Image-Download

You may need to register with Acronis' web site to download.

 

Yea I read it. But as I said there is no setup.exe file.

 

Did you download the .msi file?

Acronis Support Portal

care.acronis.com

 

Ok forget the Acronis iso you have.
Go to this link supplied by @spunk.funk

https://support.acronisscs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034000774-Acronis-True-Image-Download

Download
Acronis True Image 2021:
Once it is downloaded run the exe file and install Acronis on the computer you wish to use it with.
Plug a usb drive into the computer and create the bootable usb drive.
If you have a serial key for Acronis use it.
If you do not have a serial key take the trial option.
If you do not know how to create the usb I will post a video for you.

The link supplied by @spunk.funk works.
I downloaded the file created the usb and booted a laptop with it.

 

Ok. I have successfully deleted the partition. I created a new volume and formatted it. I want to extend it but it won't let me. Its greyed out.

According to the instructions here

https://www.lifewire.com/delete-windows-recovery-partition-4128723#:~:text=Because%20recovery%20partitions%20are%20protected,partition%20override%20and%20press%20Enter

the unallocated space must appear to the immediate right of that partition in the Disk Management tool.

How do I move the 450MB to the right of C:?

 

Ok. I have successfully deleted the partition. I created a new volume and formatted it. I want to extend it but it won't let me. Its greyed out. How do I move the 450MB to the right of C:?

This program might be of some assistance. People have been using it since the Windows 7 days to solve partitioning issues that the Windows Disk Manager got stuck on.

'Extend Volume Greyed Out'? Tips for Extending Volume Easily

You can't extend volume or C drive when extending volume is greyed out in Disk Management. Are you trying to extend volume or expand volume in Windows 11/10, 8, or 7? Relax! A practical method is available here to help quickly fix this issue and extend partition volume.

www.easeus.com

 

Please attach a screenshot of Disk Management window showing the lower pane and this drives partition structure.

Any 3rd party Partitioning app, like Easeus Partition Manager, or Minitool Partition Manager will be able to Move the partition next to the Unallocated Space and then you can Extend that partition taking up the Unallocated Space,

Be sure to press the Apply button to save the changes.

How to Move/Resize Partition | MiniTool Partition Wizard Tutorial - MiniTool Partition Wizard

How to move/resize partition? MiniTool Partition Wizard Tutorial will give users detailed steps as well as corresponding notes.

www.partitionwizard.com