To successfully upgrade Windows 10 to Windows 11 on older hardware that supports UEFI, you must first change the disk from the old MBR partition scheme to GPT. Otherwise, the PC will not boot properly. If you have the “Secure Boot State,” set to Off and the “BIOS Mode” set to Legacy, you should make a backup of your computer, then follow the instructions below to convert the installation from MBR to GPT, and then proceed with the procedures to enable Secure Boot. To convert the partition type from MBR to GPT without reinstalling Windows 10, use the MBR2GPT command-line program. Here are some interesting guides: A brief Introduction to Linux and how to create disk partition in Ubuntu Linux, and How to encrypt a partition with Cryptsetup.
Here are other related guides: How to convert a GPT disk into an MBR disk – Error: Windows cannot be installed on drive 0 Partition 1, How to extend System Drive Partition on Windows, to create a disk volume see: How to create volumes via the Command Prompt in Windows, and How to upgrade Windows 10 with an unsupported CPU and TPM 1.0 to Windows 11​.
How to check the Partition Style on a System Drive
Follow these steps to determine the current disk partition style. To open Disk Management, press the Windows key + R to bring up Windows Run then type diskmgmt.msc and click Ok.
Right-click the drive on which Windows 10 is installed and choose Properties.
Click on the Hardware tab, in the lower-right corner of the page click on Properties.
In the Hardware Properties page, click on the Volumes tab. To view the Disk Information, click on Populate. In the “Partition style” section, if it says GUID Partition Table (GPT), the disk does not need to be converted; however, if it says Master Boot Record (MBR), you can use the conversion tool to convert.
Press the Cancel button and exit the Disk management.
Once you’ve completed the procedures, if the drive requires conversion, follow the instructions below.
How to Convert MBR to GPT Partition Style
To convert an MBR partition to a GPT partition in Windows 10, follow these steps:
Click the Windows Key to open the Start menu and search for Settings.
Click on Update & Security.
Click on the Recovery tab. Under the “Advanced Startup” click on Restart now.
After the system restarted, click on Troubleshoot.
Click on Advanced options.
Click the Command Prompt option.
Select your administrator account and sign in if required. Enter the following command to confirm that the drive meets the requirements: mbr2gpt /validate Use the mbr2gpt /? command to examine all of the possible choices.
Enter the following command to convert the disk from MBR to GPT: mbr2gpt /convert
Close the Command prompt and click the Turn off your computer option.
Following completion of the tasks, the command-line program will alter the partition type to GPT in order to meet the system requirements for installing Windows 11.
I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.