Microsoft basic data partition

Microsoft-defined GPT attribute flags for BDPs

Bit number	Meaning
60	The volume is read-only and may not be mounted read-write.
62	The volume is hidden.
63	The operating system may not automatically assign a drive letter to the volume.

In Microsoft operating systems, when using basic disk partitioned with GUID Partition Table (GPT) layout, a basic data partition (BDP) is any partition identified with Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) of Template:Mono.

According to Microsoft, the basic data partition is the equivalent to master boot record (MBR) partition types Template:Mono (FAT16B), Template:Mono (NTFS or exFAT), and Template:Mono (FAT32). In practice, it is equivalent to Template:Mono (FAT12), Template:Mono (FAT16), Template:Mono (FAT32 with logical block addressing), and Template:Mono (FAT16 with logical block addressing) types as well.

A basic data partition can be formatted with any file system, although most commonly BDPs are formatted with the NTFS, exFAT, or FAT32 file systems. To programmatically determine which file system a BDP contains, Microsoft specifies that one should inspect the BIOS Parameter Block that is contained in the BDP's Volume Boot Record.

When a Microsoft operating system converts a GPT-partitioned basic disk to a dynamic disk, all BDPs are combined and converted to a single Logical Disk Manager data partition identified with GUID Template:Mono. This is analogous to the conversion from partition types Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono, and Template:Mono to partition type Template:Mono on MBR partitioned disks.

Linux used the same partition type GUID for basic data partition as Windows prior to introduction of a Linux specific Data Partition GUID Template:Mono.

See also

• Disk partitioning
• EFI system partition (ESP), a reserved partition on GPT disk
• Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR), a reserved partition on GPT disk