NovaBACKUP requires GPT for hard drives that are 2TB and larger (GPT partition type for drives 2TB and larger in size utilized as the destination storage device)
NovaBACKUP
Question:
Does NovaBACKUP software work with hard drives that are 2TB and larger in physical size utilized as the destination storage device?
Answer:
Yes. NovaBACKUP supports drives that are 2TB and larger in physical size if utilized as the destination storage device, but those drives must be converted to GPT (GUID partition table) partitions as Windows has a limit of 2TB partition using MBR (Master Boot Record).
NOTE: Image Backup requires GPT (GUID) partition style to work effectively if utilizing a 2TB or larger hard drive as the destination storage device for your images.
The 2TB limit is the result of the 32-bit limitation of the partitioning scheme used by most Windows computers systems, which is called a MBR. To make more bits available, the storage device must be initialized using GPT, which uses a 64-bit partitioning scheme. For more information on how to initialize a data disk using GPT, view the Microsoft Knowledge Base or follow the instructions below:
- Go to your Start menu, and type in diskmgmt.msc in the search box, click on diskmgmt. You may need to run this as Administrator.
- In the Initialize Disk dialog box, click on GPT (GUID Partition Table), and then click OK.
- Verify that the disk has been initialized by looking at the Disk Management Window. In the lower section of the window, you should see a status for the disk. If it initialized, it will indicate that it is online.
- Now that the disk has been initialized, you will need to partition the disk and then format that disk using a file system. Right click on the un-allocated disk space on the right side of the status row for that disk and click New Simple Volume and then follow the steps provided in the partition wizard to assign a name and drive letter to the partition.
Here are additional full guides on how to do this:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/26193-convert-mbr-disk-gpt-disk.html
Here is a second guide on how to convert an MBR Disk to GPT Disk:
http://www.partition-tool.com/resource/GPT-disk-partition-manager/convert-mbr-disk-to-gpt-disk.htm
NOTE: Image Backup requires GPT (GUID) partition style to work effectively if utilizing a 2TB or larger hard drive as the destination storage device for your images, once in a while you can get it to image successfully with MBR partition style but it is not 100% reliable.
If you are running Windows 10 build 1703 or newer:
MBR2GPT.EXE converts a disk from the Master Boot Record (MBR) to the GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition style without modifying or deleting data on the disk. The tool is designed to be run from a Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) command prompt, but can also be run from the full Windows 10 operating system (OS) by using the /allowFullOS option.
MBR2GPT.EXE is located in the Windows\System32 directory on a computer running Windows 10 version 1703 (also known as the Creator's Update) or later. The tool is available in both the full OS environment and Windows PE. To use this tool in a deployment task sequence with Configuration Manager or Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT), you must first update the Windows PE image (winpe.wim, boot.wim) with the Windows ADK 1703, or a later version.
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/mbr2gpt-tool-windows-10
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/mbr-to-gpt
