Which statement describes the globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table (GPT)?

The statement that describes the Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT) is:

“It is a standard for the layout of the hard drive partition table using globally unique identifiers. All partitions are primary.”

This statement accurately encapsulates the key features of GPT. The GUID Partition Table is a standard for the layout of the partition table on a physical hard drive. Unlike its predecessor, the Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning scheme, GPT uses globally unique identifiers for partitioning and allows for a virtually unlimited number of partitions. In GPT, all partitions are considered primary, which eliminates the need for extended and logical partitions that are present in MBR.

The other statements refer to different aspects or different types of partitioning:

• “It takes the first 512 bytes on the disk and contains the boot loader, an executable program that allows a user to choose from multiple operating systems.” This describes the Master Boot Record (MBR), not GPT. The MBR is located in the first sector of the storage device and contains the boot loader and the partition table for MBR-partitioned disks.
• “It is a physical section of a hard disk. It can contain an operating system to boot the system and cannot be subdivided.” This statement describes a primary partition, a concept more commonly associated with MBR-partitioned disks. Primary partitions can contain operating systems and are directly bootable.
• “It is used to boot an operating system by default.” This statement is too vague and could apply to various boot-related technologies or configurations, including both MBR and GPT, but it doesn’t specifically describe what GPT is.