Forum Discussion
MBR2GPT Disk layout validation failed
I hear what you're saying, but it sounds tougher than "reverse the instructions." Following the instructions to grow or shrink dead space in a partition is relatively pedestrian. But I don't have any instructions on hand that let me shift an entire partition rightwards by 17K, data and all. How do I do that?
macsrweDon't think of the process as how you described. Think of simply decreasing the volume size.
Read my instructions again. The instructions don't get specific about using Disk Management since all those who had posted were well versed with that portion, apparently. You're really not "reversing" the instructions. You are simply using the same instructions to reduce the volume and allow Windows to determine the "where" to move things around.
Open Disk Management (use the search bar in Windows - it will appear as "Create and format hard disk partitions" - click and look around to get used to where things are, labels, options, etc.
When you're comfortable that you have at least an idea of what you are going to do, then "select" (click on) the volume you want to edit.
Since you've already determined where you need space, you are going to reduce the volume by the amount you have determined using the "log" information where it states how much the volume size is over - or, too close to ?
Right click on the volume that needs to be reduced in size. You will have an option appear in the list from your right click where you can click on "Shrink Volume".
When you click on that another window will appear. In that window you will see the size of the volume and a field you can change the numbers (size) of the volume. Change that number to comply with what your "log" said (something like "too close to XX").
There is a calculation between the size of the volume and what the log says it should be. In your case, your log will state something like "...too close to beginning of disk. Should begin at offset X or more, found at X.
So you want to calculate the difference between "Should begin..." and "...found at..."
The difference is the amount you will "shrink" the volume (change the numbers in "Shrink Volume") so that the volume matches what the log is telling you. If you make the volume slightly smaller than recommended, that's better - just don't go more than a few digits smaller than recommended (unless you have lot of space on the drive that's not used).
When you have manually changed the volume numbers, click "Shrink" in the little window and Windows will do the work.
When that is completed, run the MBR2GPT test again. You should see that the test is happy with the volume at that point.
- I hope I didn't offend you with my last posting. I really don't understand your instructions. If you can explain how you expect me to modify a partition that I don't think is modifiable, I'm perfectly willing to try anything that seems to make sense. Otherwise, I'm up the creek?
macsrwe- I'm guessing you haven't found the "log" file and that's what's causing the confusion. So start there.
But, before I provide all these instructions, let me recommend you simply ignore everything about Win11 and stick with Win10. Why? Read the last portion of this reply and you'll know why.
Find and review the log: C:\Windows\setupact.log (NOTE: Use "Notepad" to view the file - right click and "Open with...", then select Notepad.Once you locate and read the file, you'll probably be more confused. But it's not necessary to understand what "any" of that information already posted means. What you want to see is anything related to the validation. After you have run the MBR2GPT Validate and it failed, open the "setupact.log" file. The last line in the file should state why the validation failed.
For me, the last line was this: ValidateLayout: Last partition too close to the end of the disk. Should end at offset 1000204869120 or below, found at 1000204886016
So, that tells me the partition (if you can right click and see "Shrink" in the list that is not greyed out, you may shrink that partition) needs to be reduced in size.
Use a calculator and enter the larger number minus the smaller number. The answer to that calculation is the amount you want to "shrink" the "volume" (partition).
With that information you can open "Disk Management". If you are not sure how, use the "Search" field in the task bar on Win10 and search "Disk Management". The system will show "Create and format hard disk partitions", but if you click on that it opens "Disk Management".
Once you open Disk Management, in the lower section you'll see outlines of any drive you have in your computer. Single left click on the partition (just to highlight that partition) that you wish to shrink.If the partition "can" be shrunk (and I can almost guarantee the one causing the problem "can" be shrunk), when you "right" click on the partition you will immediately see options. If "Shrink Volume" is an option (not greyed out), then click on that.
Another window opens and you see "Total size before shrink in MB:", "Size of available shrink space in MB:", "Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB:" and "Total size after shrink in MB:"
If you have done your calculation, "Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB:" is the only field you can change and that is where you want to enter the adjusted number in MB (megabytes). After you enter the amount to shrink, click "Shrink" at the bottom (it's like "Save").The "difference" between the 2 numbers in the "setupact.log" is the number you want to input in the field "Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB:"
So enter the number you calculated (when you subtracted the smaller number from the larger number found in the log showing you the error) into that field. Then click "Shrink".
Follow the prompts and you are finished.
Now run the MBR2GPT Validation (using Command Prompt as administrator run this command: mbr2gpt /validate ) one more time. If you followed the instructions and entered the correct number into the only field you can make a change for shrinking, then you should find that you "Passed".
I can't think of any reason the above won't work for you since it's been used by so many who found they passed after the shrinking.
BUT!!!!! I'm going to say this and you should hear / listen. FORGET about the entire mess! Windows 11 is NOT ready for the general public! I don't care what you hear or read or even have information from Microsoft. If you have read or spoken to "experts" of the software, you'll hear them say you should just stick with Windows 10!
Even technical support told me (after I described I have 2 drives, one with Win 10 and one with Win 11) to just boot into Win 10. I had asked some technical questions and described what I just installed and the agent simply stated (more than once), just boot into Win 10. I didn't even ask why...I just said, "Understood."You have to wonder, why is Microsoft already working on and has a rough delivery date of 2025 for Windows 12?
"I" can confirm that Win11 is not ready because no matter what's been done, the OS (operating system) video is NOT smooth. It's jerky. Most who do "some" on their computer may not notice. I spend an inordinate amount of time on my computer daily. I can see if something is not right. And I can easily notice how the screen is "jerky" - not smooth at all. I switch back to Win10 and everything is very smooth, working perfectly. It's not my hardware which is all new just 3 months ago. My video card is enough to easily edit videos. So it has the power and quality to run very smooth...but doesn't in Win11.
Additionally, I've run updates at least a dozen times in Win11 and each time there is a problem. Most often, updates freeze the Windows Update screen and there is nothing I can do but close the updater and reboot - "hoping" that will fix the issue. But it doesn't always. So if Win11 can't update properly, and the screen is jerky, WHY would I want to use Win11? It's just a problem waiting to happen.
I switch to Win11 about once a week just to update the drive. I spend a couple of hours on Win11, get frustrated with the jerky performance and boot back to Win10.
I'm telling you all of this so that others will also note, if you get your PC to be Win11 compliant, don't expect to have everything working perfectly like Win10.
And if you have not made changes to your PC for Win11, don't. Just keep using Win10. It will be updated through the time when Windows 12 will be released...which should also tell you something about Win11.OK, it looks like you may have missed much of the description of what I have already done and reported, with all that I have found out so far.
First (technovicenot), I did find out that you need to remove all but three partitions max, and I did that early on. (That's the origin of that free space that ended up in the middle of my disk, which used to be a recovery partition.)
Second (Mr. G), I surely DID find the log, and previously reported the error message it is showing. It states that the FIRST (GPR protective) partition begins too close to the FRONT of the disk and has to be moved about 17K further back -- not that the LAST partition is too close to the END. If you missed this detail (which is the crux of my problem), it may be advantageous to review my earlier post, because there is a lot of other related information in it.
Third (technovicenot), I can't shrink "all" the partitions, as partition 1 is unshrinkable, and it's the one giving me errors.
So just to put this "solution" to rest, I shrunk my final partition (C:) to the bone (apparently that's the default if you forget to tell SHRINK how much you want shrunk... but whatever, it should still work) and reran MBR2GPT. No dice (see images). The log still says the FIRST partition is too close to the BEGINNING of the disk. There's free space all over this disk, so if MBR2GPT had any idea of how to redistribute it where it think it is needed, it would have been able to do that.
So I still don't know how to beat the problem of the GPR protective partition being too close to the BEGINNING of the disk.
I do understand your point about "why upgrade to W11," but right now I have VM images that are still running under legacy mode. I would AT LEAST like to upgrade that. Someday, W11 will get reliable enough to use in production (in the meanwhile, I can experiment with it -- after all, it's only a VM) and I'll just have to do it then anyway.
Upgrading my W10 to W11 instead of just creating a new W11 VM means my OS license and my user files will carry forward without extra cost and migration inconvenience.
- Mac,
I know I am not part of this conversation. Anyway I want to help.
My appoach is a bit unprofessional, I know that.
Have to tried shrinking all partitions on the disk by at least 1 GB?
Also i strongly recommend to have max 3 partitions in total. I read that somewhere.
In my case i shrinked both partitions. I executed the validate step. and after the MBR2GPT process I had some fixed system reserved 200MB space at the beginning of the harddrive and after the boot partition (500MB) and at the end of the hard drive ( i dont remember how much).
i hope i could help.
- I'm sorry, but your suggestion makes no sense to me.
The "First partition too close to the beginning of the disk" is not my data partition, which I can resize — it is my "GPT Protective Partition" which is 200MB long. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to diddle with the size of that. (Please refer back to the image I posted, noting the diagonal lines through the image of that partition.)
I have already attempted to shrink my data partition, as it is the single most common suggested solution to this general error message. It had no effect at all, nor should it have been expected to, given that the error message I later discovered specified the first partition, not the data partition.
Note that I have spare unallocated space to the tune of 621MB mid-drive. If MBR3GPT were going to do "magic" and relocate the two leftmost partitions higher on the drive, there is already plenty of space available from which it could borrow a paltry 18K. It doesn't seem inclined to do so.thx for your input.
you say my suggestion doesnt make any sense. Maybe, actually i dont care if it makes sense to you or to anybody else.
I can say it solved this problem for me.
You can do whatever you want with this info.
Happy 1 st of May, may the party prosper !
- Hi, my response was not to your posting.
