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Partition table

The partition table records a block device's division into partitions.
The partition table traditionally used on PC BIOS platforms is the MBR. But see also UEFI.

Determining if having MBR or GPT

In order to determine if a harddisk has an MBR or a GPT, the following could do: 
sudo parted /dev/sda print
Note: print (in parted) can be abbreviated with a simple p.

Manipulating partition tables

Linux:
fdisk Well known, stable, recommended for the MBR-partition layout.
parted One of the first Linux utitilities that supported GPT partitions.
gdisk GPT enabled version of fdisk (?)
cgdisk
cfdisk curses-based with user-friendly interface (for example: it displays free space more clearly). The man page of cfdisk states that cfdisk provides basic partitioning functionality and that fdisk should be used for advanced features.
cgdisk GPT enabled version of cfdisk (?)
sfdisk
sgdisk GPT enabled version of sfdisk (?)
On Windows, partitition tables can apparently be manipulated with diskpart.exe.

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