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GPT
GPT here means GUID Partition Table, the modern scheme for describing how a disk is divided into partitions.
A partition table records where each partition begins and ends on a storage device; GPT is the current standard, replacing the old MBR scheme with support for large disks and many partitions, each tagged by a globally unique identifier (GUID). For backward compatibility GPT includes a 'protective MBR' so older tools do not mistake the disk for empty. Note this is unrelated to the machine-learning 'GPT' — same letters, different world.
See also
- GRUBGRUB is a widely used bootloader — the program that loads and starts an operating system kernel at boot.
- firmwareFirmware is the low-level software that runs first at power-on and prepares the machine before the operating system takes over.
- file descriptorA file descriptor is a small integer the operating system hands you to refer to an open file, socket, or other I/O channel.