HP UEFI Support Environment or HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment

Got a question. I have a HP 2000-2b19wm laptop. I bought this system. It came with Windows 8. After I got it I completely got rid of Windows 8 and IMHO upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate. I deleted all partitions and let 7 configure the hard drive the way it wanted, got the drivers and so on and so forth. (not worried about warrenty, I can handel most hardware repairs and software fixes).
I looked to see if there was a new BIOS available and there was, However I also noticed that there are two things called HP UEFI Support Environment and HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment. I know they have to do with Diagnostics and recovering from a bad BIOS flash.
The question is this. Do I install HP UEFI Support Environment or HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment?
Thank you.
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Hi @bfldworker ,
Thank you for your query.
The UEFI is preinstalled on your notebook. It does not reside on the hard drive, so when you formatted and installed Windows 7, it should not have affected it.
HP PC Hardware Diagnostics
If you would like to verify this press the F2 key apporximately once every second on startup ( before Windows loads) and it should present you with the menu.
I hope this has answered your concerns.
Sparkles1
I work on behalf of HP
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Similar Messages

Does Compaq Presario CQ57 support UEFI?

I have Compaq Presario CQ57-425ER and want to use Windows 8.1 on GPT Disk. I made a bootable USB Flash Drive with Rufus (selected GPT-UEFI option), but my laptop can't start from this flash drive. There's a message - no bootable device. Among drivers for my laptop i found HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment. Here is a description: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp55001-55500/sp55477.html. I found 2 interesting points in this description: Provides support for GPT drives and Provides support for UEFI System Partition installation. I tried to launch that flash with windows on other notebook and it works fine. But in my laptop I always get the message that there's no bootable media. So, is there a support of UEFI in CQ57? And if yes, what should I do?
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abzal_ wrote:
I have Compaq Presario CQ57-425ER and want to use Windows 8.1 on GPT Disk. I made a bootable USB Flash Drive with Rufus (selected GPT-UEFI option), but my laptop can't start from this flash drive. There's a message - no bootable device. Among drivers for my laptop i found HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment. Here is a description: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp55001-55500/sp55477.html. I found 2 interesting points in this description: Provides support for GPT drives and Provides support for UEFI System Partition installation. I tried to launch that flash with windows on other notebook and it works fine. But in my laptop I always get the message that there's no bootable media. So, is there a support of UEFI in CQ57? And if yes, what should I do?
Here's the thing GPT is for HDD that are 2tb or bigger not for USB flashdrive. If your laptop came with Windows 8 it should have UEFI bios setup.
I am a Volunteer to help others on here-not a HP employee.
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T520 - Win7 Ent - UEFI - GPO Enabled to allow Bitlocker enhanced pin, but windows refuses it

Before I start -- I'm not sure if this is a windows issue or a lenovo issue, but had to start somewhere.
I have installed our standard image of Windows 7 enterprise using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit on a new T520. The drive is configured for and OS installed in UEFI mode. Bitlocker is enabled automatically as part of my standard deployment task sequence, but with a numeric PIN. We have a GPO in place that enables Bitlocker Enhanced PIN's, which can include alpha or symbol characters. Normally, after a deployment is complete, I go into control panel and change the bitlocker pin to a new pin which includes alpha, numeric, and symbol characters. When I try to change the pin on this T520, it refuses, stating that it can only accept digits (numeric) 0-9.
I've run into that error before if a laptop had not been placed in the correct OU, or the GPO's hadn't been applied to it for some other reason, but as best as I can tell that is not the case here. I've run a group policy results report from the DC, and one from a command prompt on the affected pc using gpresult, and both say the Bitlocker Enhanced Pin GPO is enabled and applied.
I have also just experienced this same issue on a Lenovo X220 Tablet. We've only recently started seeing/using the UEFI mode on newer laptops, so up until now we've always installed windows in legacy BIOS mode. As such, I decided to re-image the X220 forcing it to run in legacy bios mode. After the re-install of windows, it accepted the enhanced bitlocker pin without issue. I suspect if I reimage the T520 in legacy BIOS mode it will work as well, but have not yet tested this. I was hoping to find a solution rather than simply working around the issue by not using UEFI.
I found the sections below in an article on technet regarding bitlocker with UEFI and enhanced pins, and what I understand from this is that it is fully supported by windows, but if the laptop doesn't support the full keyboard in the pre-boot environment, windows will refuse the enhanced pin and force a numeric only pin.
Is this a problem with the laptop/UEFI version? Or with Windows? Or am I maybe just doing something wrong?
Any help would be appreciated.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee449438(WS.10).aspx
PIN and enhanced PIN
For a higher level of security with the TPM, you can configure BitLocker with a personal identification number (PIN). The PIN is a user-created value that must be entered each time the computer starts or resumes from hibernation. The PIN can consist of 4 to 20 digits as specified by the Configure minimum PIN length for startup Group Policy setting and is stored internally as a 256-bit hash of the entered Unicode characters. This value is never displayed to the user. The PIN is used to provide another factor of authentication in conjunction with TPM authentication.
For an even higher level of security with the TPM, you can configure BitLocker to use enhanced PINs. Enhanced PINs are PINs that use the full keyboard character set in addition to the numeric set to allow for more possible PIN combinations and are between 4 and 20 characters in length. To use enhanced PINs, you must enable the Allow enhanced PINs for startup Group Policy setting before adding the PIN to the drive. By enabling this policy, all PINs created can utilize full keyboard characters.
NoteTo use enhanced PINs, your computer's BIOS must support using the full keyboard in the pre-boot environment. Users can run the optional system check during the BitLocker setup process to ensure the PIN can be entered correctly in the pre-boot environment. You should verify that the computers in your organization are compatible before making the use of enhanced PINs an organizational requirement.
When setting a BitLocker PIN by using the BitLocker setup wizard, the Manage-bde command-line tool, or through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) remote administration, you can use the wide character set. However, system firmware, either BIOS or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), may only support a standard EN-US keyboard and keymap during system startup. Additionally, BIOS-based systems are limited to 7-bit ASCII input during PIN entry. Thus, the use of either non-English characters or keys that differ in position from the EN-US keymap, such as QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboards, may cause boot-time PIN entry to fail. If your computer is affected by this limitation, it should be identified during the system check run by the BitLocker setup wizard. If it is not identified during the system check and the PIN is not able to be entered, you will need to supply the recovery key to unlock the drive.
We recommend that users set their keyboard layout to EN-US during enhanced PIN entry to avoid PIN entry failure in the pre-boot environment. If you are unable to enter an enhanced PIN from your keyboard even after setting the keyboard layout to EN-US, you must use a numeric-only PIN.
The following list identifies characters that are not currently supported by system firmware:
Roman characters on keyboards with a non-EN-US keymap. For example, "Z" and "Y" on German keyboards and "Q" and "A" on French keyboards.
Characters that are not available in 7-bit ASCII. For example, characters with umlauts, grave accents, and tildes.
Symbols that are not available in 7-bit ASCII. For example, squared superscript, fractions, copyright, trademark, and international currency symbols.
<snip>
Yes. Starting with Windows Vista with SP1, BitLocker can be used with computers that use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)-based system firmware.
Will BitLocker work on computers that use UEFI-based system firmware?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Very interesting! I'm not sure if anyone has tried BitLocker with enhanced PIN on UEFI installation of Win7 64-bit. Please give me a couple days to repro this and investigate. Thanks for your patience.

MB BIOS 2.2TB MBR limitation: Can add-on drive controller BIOS enable UEFI/GPS on a non-bootable data drive?

I am working on older hardware that is not UEFI enabled so it is subject to the 2.2TB volume limitation under Windows Server 2012 R2 resulting in 11.6TB of unusable drive space. I installed an Adaptec Series 7 2274500-R 71605E controller card and created
a striped RAID 10 totalling 13.6 TB of drive space. During boot, the Adaptec BIOS is installed on the system, which prompts the following question:
Since the boot utilizes the motherboard BIOS, clearly the boot partition cannot exceed the 2.2TB limit. But what about a separate logical data drive? If I shrink the boot partition to 1TB, create a second volume at RAID level of 12.6TB formatted with GPT
NTFS, would the Adaptec BIOS enable UEFI/GPT (since the MB BIOS would not boot to the second logical drive) and Windows Server see the full 12.6TB second drive volume?
Yes, I am aware that I can create multiple 2.2TB partitions, but that would be an inefficient option for this installation.
Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Hi,
According to your description, my understanding is that you want to use add-on drive controller to enable UEFI/GPS on a non-bootable drive.
In order for an operating system to fully support storage devices that have capacities that exceed 2 TB, the device must be initialized by using the GUID partition table (GPT) partitioning scheme. If the user intends to start the computer from one of these
large disks, the system’s base firmware interface must use the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and not BIOS. Windows support for hard disks that are larger than 2 TB, and there are some prerequisites are needed.
Detailed information reference link:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2581408
Best Regards,
Eve Wang
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Searching for BIOS Update (UEFI) for HP 650 - need the right Version

Hey there,
my Bios is broken and for recovering I need:
BIOS Update Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)
for HP 650
Can someone help me?

Thanks for the information. It does help.
If you removed the original partitions then you are correct, UEFI is no more. That is why the Startup menu does not appear.
You will need to use the recovery disk set or USB thumbdrive media that you created and put aside. That was your plan "b". Booting into Recovery Manager and performing a factory image recovery will restore the original partitioning scheme and the UEFI environment.
There does exist a possibility of recovering a BIOS.
Put a BIOS ROM file on the root of a USB thumbdrive formatted in FA32.
Plug it into a USB port.
Plug in the power adapter and verify that the power led is lit.
Press the Power button and hold the Windows key and tap the "B" key
Your notebook may recover the BIOS at that point.
There is no guarantee that this will work. You may end up having to send it in to HP to recover the BIOS and operating system.
I will edit this and supply a link to a BIOS right here. Use the F.12 version on this page. You will need Winrar or winzip or 7zip to extract it from the softpaq and copy to the thumbdrive.
Best regards,
erico
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2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

How can I reverse the space assigned to UEFI to a primary drive which was shrunk?

Hi,
I had this layout of internal local hard disk:
C(O.S), D(all user accounts data), G(Personal Recovery partition).
I have moved all Newly and current Windows user account profile folders from C into D.
When I have installed HP System diagnostic (HP) Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) (Version 4.1.00), I was asked there was no sufficient space to create this partition, and then I was asked if I want to shrink primary partition (Which is D and not C since current Windows user account is on D) to create new partition for UEFI(HP Tools).
I've agreed, and then the partition was created with a size of about 2GB, and the label 'HP tools'.
Layout of my disk before installing installing HP System diagnostic (HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI):
Layout of my disk after Insallinng HP System Diagnositc(HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).
if you have a close look at my layout before installing UEFI, you will be seeing that 353GB free of 359GB for D drive.
However, if you have a look at my layout after installing UEFI, you will be seeing that 351GB free of 357Gb, which mean that D was shrunk with about 2GB used for UEFI.
My question is if I want now to reverse the 2GB to the D partition of which 2GB was shrunk, Then by only using a 3th-party partitioning software, I will need to first delete HP tools partition to an unallocated space, and then I will delete G partition(labeled with Recovery partition). After that, I will shrink 2GB from all unallcoated space, and merge it to D. Finally, I'll partition the remained unallocated space to be a G partition(Recovery partition).

CherylG wrote:
You should be able to delete the HP Tools partition and add the space back to C. My point was that the Recovery partition function probably is broken & useless now. So why not add it to C? The HP Tools partition can be useful at times for diagnosing hardware, recovering from a bad BIOS flash.etc. ..using only 2gb of space.
Thanks a lot, it could NOT be reveresed 'merged' to C, since Installing 'HP tools' will always be adjacent to the partition from which it will be shrunk. In my case, it is D since I moved all accounts to D:
NB: Installing HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) will ask to shrink the primary partition where 'Existing user account' is now located if there is no sufficient space to create this partition. As a result, the partition 'HP tools' created by installing 'UEFI' would be adjacent to primary partition from which it was shrunk. In my case, it is 'D' .
Thus, if you want to reverse the space assigned to the UEFI partition, then you can simply merge 'the neighboring partitions 'D' and the letter assigned to the HP Tools.

Pavilion G6-1203ey: Hard Disk Test FAILED, but can still boot into Windows

Hello
I have HP Pavilion G6-1203ey laptop. After installing Windows (7 ultimate, 64 bit) and some drivers on it and after several restarts, it hanged at Windows logo and I had to turn it off with power button. Then after turning it on, it gave me the option to repair problems which are preventing it from starting up, from there I let it to restore the computer to an earlier restore point and after a restart the Windows was working again. After that I decided to do a hard disk check just in case.
The Hard Disk Self Test ended up with a message: Hard Disk 1 Full (305). Then I installed HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment and did hard disk from there. I chose the comprehensive test from the options, but it finished fairly quickly (in ~1 minute) with the following output:
Testing Drive: 1
Hard Disk SMART Check : PASSED
Hard Disk Short DST : FAILED
FAILURE ID : PTTU22-5T774L-MFPV4K-60S003
PRODUCT ID : A5Q15EA#B1R
Hard Disk 1
Hard Disk Test : FAILED
A bit more background:
The previous owner told me that the original HDD was faulty which is why he replaced it with this one last year. He said that other than that there has been no problems with the laptop. The Windows is working right now and this HDD is quite new so I would not have expected any problems with it, but the results from the previously mentioned tests seem troubling. Is there a reason to worry?
Thanks
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Hi Alnuir,
Welcome to the HP Support Forums, I hope you enjoy your experience! To help you get the most out of the HP Forums I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.
I read your post and looked into the failure ID that you posted regarding the failed Short DST test. That error is indicating a hard disk failure meaning that if it hasn't failed it might soon. If everything is working I would considering backing up your data on a regular basis just to be safe. You could have a local technician take a look at the hard drive to see how close it is to full failure.
Thank you,
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Thank you,
BHK6
I work on behalf of HP

"backspace," "g" and "h" key not working

Hello,
Suddenly the "backspace," "g" and "h" keys stopped working. Due to this issue, I can't log in to use my computer.
Please, help.
I have a Pavilion g7-1260 us Notebook PC, Windows 7.
Please help becasue I can't use my laptop at all.
Thanks,
Carlos-Manuel

Hi Carlos,
Well, to get logged in (assuming your PC is at least booting up to the Windows Logon screen), you can try to use the On-Screen Keyboard, just click on the Ease of Access button (should be on the lower left hand side of the logon screen) and put a check mark in the box next to "Type without the keyboard" and select OK. This should bring up the On-Screen Keyboard and allow you to enter your user name and password. Note that I'm assuming here that you couldn't get logged on because either your user name or password or both uses one of the keys that isn't working.
Alternatively you can also just connect an external USB keyboard, like what you might use with a Desktop PC.
That should at least allow you to use your computer somewhat.
To test your keyboard, reboot the computer and press F2 to access the UEFI diagnostics. You can find the full procudure in this document:
Testing for Hardware Failures (Windows 7, Vista)
If you don't have the lastest UEFI diagnostics installed on your PC, you can get the download here for your model PC:
HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment
There is a keyboard test under system tests, it may take a while to get through the test procedure, but it will verify if the keyboard hardware is functional or not.
If the keyboard test all pass, but you still have problems with some keys on the keyboard, check that the keyboard language has not been changed. Go to Start --> Control Panel, choose "Change Keyboards or other input methods", then click the Change Keyboards button. Based on your model, you should have the English (United States) - US option selected. If some other keyboard is selected, that can cause some weirdness with your keyboard.
Good Luck!
Although I am an HP Employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.

RemoteFX Display problems with Windows 8.1 VM but not with Windows 7 VM running on Hyper-V VDI Server 2012R2

Has anyone seen anything like this?
After many, many, hours of wading through and eliminating potential variables the issue has been narrowed down to being present with a Windows 8.1 VM and not on Windows 7 VM.
The problem is with glitchy display issues (Random Pixellation, Fuzzy Screen areas, Entire Screen filled with random shapes/colors etc.).
This is a Server 2012 R2 environment it is running Hyper-V Remote Desktop Virtualization Host.
An Nvidia Quadro K2200 adapter has been enabled for RemoteFX and passed through.
Also have tried Nvidia Grid K2 adapter. Both adapters use same driver set and multiple driver versions have been tested.
Two Generation 1 VM's have been created. One for WIndows 8.1, One for Windows 7. All updates installed.
Each VM uses the same set of Hyper-V resources, Virtual Switch etc. (The settings for each VM are the same).
With RemoteFX disabled on each VM the issue is not present on either VM.
With RemoteFX enabled on each VM the issue is present on the Windows 8.1 VM and not the Windows 7 VM.
There is no difference if only one VM at a time is enabled and running. (Not GPU load related)
Talmage D. Holt

Hi,
Generation 2 virtual machines have a simplified virtual hardware model, and supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware instead of BIOS-based firmware. The majority of legacy devices have also been removed from generation 2 virtual machines.
You can check below article might helpful for your case.
Generation 2 Virtual Machine Overview
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn282285.aspx
RemoteFX vGPU Improvements in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2013/12/04/remotefx-vgpu-improvements-in-windows-server-2012-r2.aspx
Hope it helps!
Thanks.
Dharmesh Solanki
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RemoteFX Display problems with Windows 8.1 VM but not on Windows 7 VM. Both running on Hyper-V VDI Server 2012R2

After many, many, hours of wading through and eliminating potential variables the issue has been narrowed down to being present with a Windows 8.1 VM and not on Windows 7 VM.
The problem is with glitchy display issues (Random Pixellation, Fuzzy Screen areas, Entire Screen filled with random shapes/colors etc.).
This is a Server 2012 R2 environment it is running Hyper-V Remote Desktop Virtualization Host.
An Nvidia Quadro K2200 adapter has been enabled for RemoteFX and passed through.
Also have tried Nvidia Grid K2 adapter. Both adapters use same driver set and multiple driver versions have been tested.
Two Generation 1 VM's have been created. One for WIndows 8.1, One for Windows 7. All updates installed.
Each VM uses the same set of Hyper-V resources, Virtual Switch etc. (The settings for each VM are the same).
With RemoteFX disabled on each VM the issue is not present on either VM.
With RemoteFX enabled on each VM the issue is present on the Windows 8.1 VM and not the Windows 7 VM.
There is no difference if only one VM at a time is enabled and running. (Not GPU load related)
Does anyone have any ideas?
Talmage D. Holt

Hi,
Generation 2 virtual machines have a simplified virtual hardware model, and supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware instead of BIOS-based firmware. The majority of legacy devices have also been removed from generation 2 virtual machines.
You can check below article might helpful for your case.
Generation 2 Virtual Machine Overview
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn282285.aspx
RemoteFX vGPU Improvements in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2013/12/04/remotefx-vgpu-improvements-in-windows-server-2012-r2.aspx
Hope it helps!
Thanks.
Dharmesh Solanki
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected]

Dv4-2160 bios corrupted, how to repair from usb

I have a dv4-2160us that only powers up briefly, basically flashes, then shuts down. i have read and determined this may be a problem with the bios. i have created a usb uefi w/ HP_TOOLS label and have tried to follow the instructions to prep it for recovery. When i power up the dv4 using the win+b and power, it comes on and tries to access the usb drive but nothing happens. the process seems to repeat endlessly. can someone tell me the correct procedure to prep the usb drive for bios update or repair by usb?

Thank you for your reply. Neither of these solutions applied to the malfunction i am experiencing.
When i attempt to power up the notebook, it flashes power for a second then cuts off. The volume touch control above the keyboard flashes briefly during this short time. I have tried removing pci-e cards, memory, drives, etc to see if that would allow the pc to boot and none helped. The only way to get any kind of resopnse out of this pc is by pressing win+B while pressing the power button. The pc powers on but to only a blank screen. If i have a usb drive inserted, it periodicly check this for something as if its looking for something to boot from.
Now i have read that you can create a bootable usb drive using "HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment" and "HP USB Recovery Flash Disk Utility" basically you get the uefi utility with the "HP_TOOLS" labeled partition. I have also read that it is possible to actually install bios revisions to this usb drive by using a option in some downloaded bios upgrade packages on a working pc so it may then be inserted into a pc with a malfunctioning bios and updated using the win+B feature.
When i create my usb drive, it appears it has a place for this including folders for flash programs and bios files. The latest bios for the dv4-2160 however, when run on a working computer with the "HP_TOOLS" usb drive inserted, does not give me an option to install the bios to the USB drive. Is there a way to put the flash program and bios files on a properly configured & formatted usb for the dv4-2160us?

ProBook 6440 Bricked

Hi all.
Wondering if i can get some help.
Was updating the BIOS in my ProBook 6400b and all did not go well. Now the laptop only shows a black screen, the caps lock LED just flashes continously, all other LEDs are lit except for NUM lock and after 5 seconds the fan goes from zero to full speed. There are no beeps.
I have tried hard reset (pull battery, hold power button for 1 min), pulling RAM, pressing power on with WIN plus B and also (separately) holding down 4 arrows. I have got the latest BIOS from the support site, put it on a USB stick and tried to get the machine to read the BIOS using the above methods. No luck on any front.
Also tried the HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment but could work out how to get it to run and where to put the BIOS files.
Are there any sugesstions out there would be greatly appreciated?
Thanks in advance

Hi gwalker,
Your particular product is a commercial unit to get your issue more exposure I would suggest posting it in the commercial forums. You can do this at http://h30499.www3.hp.com/hpeb/
Thank you,
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!
Thank you,
BHK6
I work on behalf of HP

What is the Windows 8/8.1 Feature in BIOS?

I have tried contacting MSI support and they keep dancing around the question. I'm certain that they don't even know the answer. They've linked me webpage to the new Windows 8.1 features as an answer. They've linked me a wikipedia page on UEFI. They've also told me not to worry about it. Completely incompetent support techs. I just want to know what this Windows 8/8.1 feature is. There is so little documentation on this.

From The manual:
Windows 8/ 8.1 Feature
[Disabled] Enables the supports for Windows 8/ 8.1 or disables for other operating systems.
Before enabling this item, make sure all installed devices & utilities (hardware & software) should meet the Windows 8/ 8.1 requirements.
[Enabled] The system will switch to UEFI mode to meet the Windows 8/ 8.1 requirement.
[Disabled] Disables this function.
How to Check if Windows is Booted in UEFI or Legacy BIOS Mode
eightforums.com/tutorials/29504-bios-mode-see-if-windows-boot-uefi-legacy-mode.html
How to Create a Bootable UEFI USB Flash Drive for Installing Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1
eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create-windows.html
How to Install Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 using the "Unified Extensible Firmware Interface" (UEFI)
eightforums.com/tutorials/2328-uefi-unified-extensible-firmware-interface-install-windows-8-a.html

My W540 is coming in this week, and I have some questions.

So my W540 is arriving, and here is what I plan to do as soon as I get it:
Turn on computer and verify that all hardware works.
Update to the latest BIOS.
Replace the HDD with my own SSD.
Reinstall Windows.
Here is my configuration for reference:
Intel Core i7-4700MQ
FHD Display, no color sensor
8 GB DDR3L RAM (2 x 4 GB)
500 GB, 7200 RPM HDD
Optical Drive
NVIDIA K2100m
Fingerprint reader, no NFC
Intel Wireless AC 7260
WIndows 8.1 Pro
I have a few questions about this process and the computer in general:
Some review sites say that the primary hard drive must be mounted in a proprietary plastic piece that is unavailable for separate purchase. Can this be removed from the OEM HDD and attached to a third-party SSD? I have a Samsung 840 EVO.
When installing Windows, is there a difference between creating recovery media from the original HDD and recovering to the SSD versus simply installing Windows 8.1 from the ISO and downloading drivers from the Lenovo support site? Note that I do not want any junkware that comes with the computer. Only the Lenovo software/drivers that are required for the hardware to function optimally.
I have heard some things about MBR and GPT when using UEFI, but I have no idea what it means. The SSD that I will install is currently in use in my T510, and it is running Windows 8.1 Pro. I believe it is formatted as MBR. Do I have to do anything special with this? Will all partitions be erased?
I have never owned an Optimus laptop before. Currently using a non-Optimus T510, and I just download the latest drivers from NVIDIA's website. With Optimus, where do I get my drivers? Do I only install the driver from the Lenovo site? Do I download the drivers from Intel and NVIDIA? Is it possible to force all GPU activity on either GPU and completely disable the other?
Are special drivers required for the USB 3.0 ports to work at maximum speed?
Is it possible to use my current 90 W adapter for my T510 with the W540 with an adapter cable? I know that this should limit performance, but it would be helpful when traveling.
About how long does the battery last while web browsing and the CPU set to minimum performance?
What is the largest capacity M.2 SSD that will fit in this laptop?
If I want to add more RAM in the future, which 2 x 4 GB kits are compatible with what I already have?
W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

Djembe wrote:
UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface) boot requires Global unique identifier Partition Table (GPT) as opposed to the older Master Boot Record (MBR). If your existing drive is formatted in MBR, you will need to adjust BIOS settings to enable legacy boot in order for it to work properly.
Is there a performance difference between GPT and MBR? If GPT is better, I do not mind formatting the drive with it.
5. No special drivers are needed.
Thanks. What about the thunderbolt port?
7. I think Lenovo estimates 6 hours.
Lenovo says 6 hours with the 6-cell battery on its website.
BrendaEM wrote:
Hi,
There was a serious BIOS/UEFI problem with that SSD . Perhaps this thread will save you some headaches. Someone is recomending shutting off Rapid Boot in the setup, which would probable mean little with a SSD, anyway.
I read through this, and it looks like the problem was fixed in a BIOS update, which I plan to do. However, it also seems like Intel Rapid Start is not even worth it in the first place, as sleep consumes almost no power at all.
W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

Cannot install Windows 7 Pro; gets stuck on "Starting Windows" screen

I have read dozens of posts on this topic but none has helped yet.
My system has Windows 8 with UEFI. I want to install Windows 7 Pro on another partition. I have turned off Secure Boot in the UEFI/BIOS. When I try to install Windows 7 Pro from a DVD it shows "windows is loading files" and then gets stuck on "Starting Windows"
for ever. This happens even when no USB peripherals are attached.
I have already wasted many days on this. I hope someone can help.
Thanks!

Hi friends of the internet
I have been reading several forums regarding the issue of installing windows 7 (64 bit) to a computer that have had windows 8 installed previously or just a GPT formatted disk.
My Case:
Windows version installed: Windows 7 Professional N with Service Pack 1 (x64) or Windows 7 Professional (x64)
Computer used: Samsung laptop
Model Code: NP53U4C-A02SE
See the specks here:
http://www.samsung.com/dk/consumer/computer-peripherals/notebook/notebook/NP535U4C-A02SE-spec
Create a USB install disk that not freezes at ”starting windows” screen:
First I followed this great guide (Thanks Daniel):
http://
hodgin.ca/2012/10/02/creating-a-uefibios-windows-7-usb-and-installing-to-gpt-partitions/
STOP AFTER STEP 13!
1. Open a command line in administrator mode
2. run DISKPART
3. type LIST DISK
4. Look for the disk number that represents your USB drive
5. type SELECT DISK # where # represents the number of your USB drive. Get this right or you will wipe a different drive out.
6. type CLEAN
7. type CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
8. type SELECT PARTITION 1
9. type ACTIVE
10. type FORMAT fs=fat32 quick
11. type assign
12. The drive should now be formatted and marked as active and fat32. Do not format the drive as NTFS or you will only be able to boot into the installer in BIOS mode.
13. Now you will need to copy the contents of the windows 7 install dvd to the USB with a regular copy paste from windows explorer.
Here comes a very weird hack... I do not know why it works, but I think it is all about flash drive data structure. I did these steps on a win 7 prof. computer.
(Let’s assume it’s drive E:)
Make a copy of your e:\efi\microsoft folder to e.g. your desktop.
Delete the e:\efi folder
Copy the \efi folder from a windows 8 installation disk (I used Windows 8 (x64) Professional) to the e:\efi folder. Sorry I cannot provide this for you.
Here comes the weird part. Then delete e:\efi\microsoft you just copied from the win 8 installation disk.
Copy the \microsoft folder form the desktop to e:\efi\microsoft
Resume the guide from step 18.:
http://
hodgin.ca/2012/10/02/creating-a-uefibios-windows-7-usb-and-installing-to-gpt-partitions/
18. Insert the USB in the machine and turn it on and boot into the UEFI/BIOS loader and check for boot options. On the ASUS Zenbook it detected two boot options on the USB drive. One was UEFI and one was regular BIOS. I made the
UEFI option the first choice and restarted the machine.
My bios setup was:
Secure Boot = Disable
OS Mode Selection = CSM and UEFI OS
Boot Device Priority = I made the UEFI option the first choice and restarted the machine.
The installation should start normal.
E.g. See this guide:
www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/186875-uefi-unified-extensible-firmware-interface-install-windows-7-a.html
What I did was:
Select custom installation (Advanced).
Click Drive options (Advanced).
Delete all partitions (this might not be needed). When I did not delete all partitions I was asked every time after the install, during start up by the windows boot manager to select ether win 8 or win 7.
Click new (DO NOT make Changes in the size of the disk), apply, see NOTE!
Edit the Primary partition as you want it e.g. divide it to more partitions.
Select the one you will install windows on and do a normal install.
I do not make changes in the Bios after install. The Boot priority is automatic set to “Windows boot manager”. If I change the boot mode back to OS Mode Selection = UEFI OS, the computer will freeze at the “starting windows” screen again.
All this worked for me, good luck. There might be more to it, but this is a start.
By the way, the start up time for a MBT install was 37 s. And for the GPT it was 49 s.
Remember if we stand on each other’s shoulders we will reach higher
J.
NOTE: Here the installation program should create three partitions automatically!
Partition 1 - System - The EFI System partition that contains the NTLDR, HAL, Boot.txt, and other files that are needed to boot the system, such as drivers.
Partition 2 - MSR - The Microsoft Reserved (MSR) partition that reserves space on each disk drive for subsequent use by operating system software.
Partition 3 - Primary - Where Windows is to be installed to.
If this isn’t the cast you are not installing in UEIF mode. To check for this (thanks again Daniel):
If you need to find out if you have booted into BIOS mode or UEFI mode when the installer starts you can press SHIFT+F10 when the welcome installer shows up to open a cmd prompt. from here you will likely be at X:\Sources. Type cd .. to
go back a dir and move into \Windows\Panther\
Then type notepad setupact.log
Within this file do a ctrl+f and search for
Callback_BootEnvironmentDetect: Detected boot environment:
It should either say BIOS or UEFI.
To check if your disk is in the GPT format.
Open the command prompt.
Type: DISKPART
Type: List Disk
See for the star (*) in the GPT column

HP UEFI Support Environment or HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Environment

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