freebsd-questions Digest, Vol 875, Issue 7

[Walter Parker]

>On Fri, 19 Mar 2021 12:52:30 -0400
>Robert Huff <roberthuff at rcn.com> wrote:

>>
>> Duke Normandin <sidney.reilley.ii at gmail.com> writes:
>>
>> >   Other than being GUI-based, is there any distinct advantage to
>> >   using GPT?
>>
>>       Um ... I have used GPT for about 10 years.
>>       Never have I used it with a GUI.

>| was refering to for example:

>gparted-common/buster,now 1.2.0-1.0antix1 all [installed,automatic]
>  GNOME partition editor -- common data

>Isn't GPT and acronym for gparted?

Not GPT is not an acronym of gparted. It is for GUID Partition Table.
Seee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table
In has been in FreeBSD since version 7
It also works with MacOS (x86 and Apple Silicon), Linux, NetBSD<
OpenBSD, Solaris, HP-UX, and Windows x86 (2003 SP1,and Windows Vista
or new) Windows x64 (2003 or newer).
It has basically replaced MBR on most systems made in the past 10-15 years.
In FreeBSD, the CLI command is gpart.
It solves the 2TB problem that MBR has. It allows for more than 4
primary partitions (logical partitions are a hack best left to the
MS-DOS days).
I have multiple systems that are 10 years old,. use BIOS to boot and
use GPT partitions. In my experience, lots of older systems support
booting using GPT & BIOS. There appear to a few laptops that don't
(based on comments in last several years).
If you need to read data from a GPT based system, all you need is
another system that supports GPT (such as FreeBSD 7 or newer) and a
second drive bay.

I know people that still use MBR, but those fall into two groups:
Embedded systems and people that have not updated tools chains in
10-15 years.
As far as EFI/UEFI systems go, most of those use GPT. Some may support
MBR and others may not.

Gparted is a GUI based Disk partition editor that supports editing GPT
type partitions.


Walter
-- 
The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men
of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.   -- Justice Louis D.
Brandeis