Originally introduced to the public in the late 1990s and developed by Intel, the GUID (globally unique identifier) Partition Table, or GPT, is the next-gen equivalent to the traditional master boot record (MBR) partitioning scheme. Although the MBR system has been used for decades, its limitations simply can’t keep pace with the technological innovations seen in the past few years.

Enter the UEFI Platform
The United Extensible Firmware Interface, or UEFI, was developed as a replacement for the legacy BIOS architecture seen in IBM PC-compatible hardware. Although it was originally known as the Extensible Firmware Interface when it was first conceptualized, UEFI, which it eventually came to be known, has utilized the GPT ever since its inception.

Users of GPT-based systems enjoy numerous benefits when compared to those who still use traditional MBRs, including:

• Support for drives larger than 2.2TB
• Increased system speed, particularly during the initial boot-up
• Enhanced system stability
• Support for more than four primary partitions

While MBR has proven itself more than enough for most computing needs up until now, the need for larger storage capacities and greater computational efficiency calls for updated systems like UEFI and GPT.

Operating System Support for GPT
Legacy versions of Microsoft Windows, including Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Sever 2008, and 32-bit versions of Windows 7, are incompatible with UEFI. As such, they're only usable with an MBR. However, many of today's operating systems are compatible with UEFI and GPT, including:

• 32-Bit Windows: Several 32-bit versions of Windows are supported, including Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows 10. Although read / write support is featured in Windows 7, Server 2008, Vista, and Server 2003 SP1, they do not include GPT boot support.
• 64-Bit Windows: Nearly every 64-bit version of Windows is compatible with UEFI and GPT. This includes Windows XP 64-bit, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, 7, Server 2012, 8, 10, Server 2016, Server 2019, Server 2022, and Windows 11.
• UNIX: Several different iterations of the UNIX OS feature support for UEFI and GPT, including macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, HP-UX, NetBSD, and MidnightBSD. Note that this includes 32- and 64-bit versions, where applicable.

The Future of GPT
Given its focus on speed and efficiency, as well as its native support for large hard drives and volumes, the future of GPT is very bright. Although MBR has been commonplace for decades, GPT is quickly becoming the standard across Windows, Mac, and Linux alike.

While newer computers already include support for UEFI and GPT, users with legacy systems can easily convert their MBR disk to the GPT format. However, most operating systems, including Windows, can only support an empty disk. As such, any important data will need to be backed up and any partitions will need to be undone before the conversion can take place.

You may read more about the GPT partition table in Wikipedia: GUID Partition Table.