Upgrading Windows 7 (Legacy BIOS/MBR Disk) to Windows 8 (UEFI/GPT/Secure Boot)

Hi there,
I've recently purchased a W530 with Windows 7 pre-installed. Ultimately, I'd like to replace this with Window 8 + Secure Boot. I believe I can get Windows 8 via the Microsoft Upgrade offer for a reasonable price, since this was a recent purchase.
What's the best way to reach my goal?
The Windows 7 install uses Legacy BIOS to boot with an MBR disk.
I had a quick look at Acronis, and I can see that it's possible that the "OS will be automatically converted to support UEFI booting" (http://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/ABR11/index.html#14021.html) when using it's tool.
If I don't use this approach, what can I do? Can I:
1. Use Rescue and Recovery in Windows 7 (Legacy BIOS/MBR disk)
2. Wipe the drive and reformat it with GPT?
3. Install Windows 7 with UEFI enabled using the Rescue and Recovery made in step 1?
4. At this point, I would now have UEFI and GPT.
5. Perform an Upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and enable Secure Boot?
Any thoughts as to whether this would work?
Richard.

Hi richii,
The Acronis approach ends up in failure. Didn't give it a second look at the reason, since the tool it's not necessary. I also tried several other "automatic" tools without success.
The recovery approach will fail because it's tied up to BIOS boot.
But I've performed the conversion from BIOS to UEFI two times successfully. After some digging, is not SO hard. It's just... "undocumented". Very, very undocumented, hehe. I made a step-by-step guide: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/14286.converting-windows-bios-installatio...
Let me know if it helps you...
Anyway, if you don't have data/software, I would go for the clean install approach.
Cheers.
If I helped you, please give me some kudos! ^^

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$esp = EFI System Partition?
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Quote from: Chad_GT60 on 23-January-14, 01:54:53
Hey all I am in a bit of a pickle.
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https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=165501.0
Among others it would seem the main problem is the BIOS needs to be flash to the new version. My laptop is still under warranty so I contacted support and after many lengthy conversations they finally gave me instructions on how to upgrade the factory windows 8 bios to the new windows 8 bios which will hopefully solve this problem. They specifically said DO NOT flash to a windows 7 BIOS.
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Moderator note: this thread gets more Linux-flavored with each post Moved from the "T" board to the Linux board.

Hi, thanks for ans. Your specs are almost identical to my T530 ,which I should have listed. The only diff is
I have an i7 35something processor. Same intel card, RAM and HDD, not that that should matter I'm guessing.
I purposely avoided the Nvidia card because of all the heaadaches with Nvidia.
I have to teach a class tomorrow and I need to clean up my notes. (Definitely not computer related...LOL.) I don't want to be stressed out about this during class, so I plan to wait to attempt a new install tomorrow afternoon.
What I have done is find out some more info about dual booting with windows 7. I went in to windows 7 to shrink the C: partiition and it said I'd have to reserve at least 220 GB for MS! Not what I wanted; I don't really care a thing for MS. I was born and raised on Unix and Linux; I never really fiddled with MS after the demise of MS-DOS during my college days.
Given that, and the fact that I'd lose half my 500 GB HDD to the Borg, I may just chuck the entire dual boot thing and just load Linux on it.
If you say you're running Linux on it just fine, that would be a great encouragement. No HW problems at all? Everything working fine? Which distro are you using?
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I have Lubuntu I could give a spin, as well and Crunchbang and Bodhi, but they're all 32 bit. (I have an antique Dell desktop that I still use down in my woman cave.)

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============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================
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Disk /dev/sda: 55.9 GiB, 60022480896 bytes, 117231408 sectors
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Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
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/dev/sda1 1 117,231,407 117,231,407 ee GPT
GUID Partition Table detected.
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/dev/sda1 40 409,639 409,600 EFI System partition
/dev/sda2 409,640 115,752,999 115,343,360 Data partition (Linux)
Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sdb: 1.4 TiB, 1500301910016 bytes, 2930277168 sectors
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Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
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/dev/sdb1 2,048 718,847 716,800 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sdb2 718,848 882,276,351 881,557,504 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sdb3 * 882,276,352 2,930,272,255 2,047,995,904 af HFS / HFS+
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Device UUID TYPE LABEL
/dev/sda1 39D2-CCE0 vfat
/dev/sda2 0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc ext4
/dev/sdb1 780CD4910CD44BAE ntfs System Reserved
/dev/sdb2 105CD9745CD95556 ntfs
/dev/sdb3 bb50e1d4-cc4c-43cc-8597-54815366422f ext4
================================ Mount points: =================================
Device Mount_Point Type Options
/dev/sda1 /boot vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/sda2 / ext4 (rw,noatime,discard,data=ordered)
/dev/sdb3 /home ext4 (rw,relatime,data=ordered)
============================= sda1/grub/grub.cfg: ==============================
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
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insmod part_gpt
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menuentry_id_option="--id"
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menuentry_id_option=""
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set prev_saved_entry=
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set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
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fi
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fi
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel initramfs ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
menuentry "Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel (fallback initramfs)" --class arch-linux --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
fi
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod fat
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1 39D2-CCE0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 39D2-CCE0
fi
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel fallback initramfs ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
### END /etc/grub.d/10_archlinux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Arch Linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
set root='hd0,gpt1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1 39D2-CCE0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 39D2-CCE0
fi
echo 'Loading Linux linux ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
submenu 'Advanced options for Arch Linux' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc' {
menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-linux-advanced-0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
set root='hd0,gpt1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1 39D2-CCE0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 39D2-CCE0
fi
echo 'Loading Linux linux ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
menuentry "Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8 BIOS-MBR" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod ntldr
search --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 780CD4910CD44BAE
ntldr /bootmgr
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
### END /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
=================== sda1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
=============================== sda2/etc/fstab: ================================
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# /dev/sda2
UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc / ext4 rw,defaults,noatime,discard,data=ordered 0 1
# /dev/sda1
UUID=39D2-CCE0 /boot vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro 0 2
# /dev/sdb3
UUID=bb50e1d4-cc4c-43cc-8597-54815366422f /home ext4 rw,relatime,data=ordered 0 2
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================
cat: /tmp/BootInfo-2fUreQzU/Tmp_Log: No such file or directory
No volume groups found
mdadm: No arrays found in config file or automatically
As seen, windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and grub, using the chainloader should be able to boot it (i guess).
I have the following in my 40-custom.
menuentry "Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8 BIOS-MBR" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod ntldr
search --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 780CD4910CD44BAE
ntldr /bootmgr
where the first is "--hint-bios= ..." is given by
sudo grub-probe --target=hints_string -d /dev/sdb1
and the UUID by
sudo grub-probe --target=fs_uuid -d /dev/sdb1
When I try to boot the above configuration, I get an error saying that "ntldr cannot be found" - and indeed, while I find "ntldr.mod" in "/usr/lib/grub/i386-pc/" I cannot find it in "/usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi/".
I've also tried getting refind to identify "bootmgr" from windows without success. I guess it does not support NTFS or something.
Anyway, do anyone have any idea of how to get this to work - without reinstalling Windows in EFI-mode?
Thanks in advance,
elt

dieelt wrote:
Hi!
I'm trying to get my secondary drive with Windows 8, installed in MBR-mode to boot using either grub2, refind or any other suitable bootloader. "bootinfoscript" return:
Boot Info Script 0.61 [1 April 2012]
============================= Boot Info Summary: ===============================
=> is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb.
sda1: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: vfat
Boot sector type: FAT32
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /grub/grub.cfg /efi/arch_grub/grubx64.efi
/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi
sda2: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Arch Linux ()
Boot files: /etc/fstab
sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD
sdb2: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7: NTFS
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /bootmgr /Windows/System32/winload.exe
sdb3: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files:
============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================
Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sda: 55.9 GiB, 60022480896 bytes, 117231408 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System
/dev/sda1 1 117,231,407 117,231,407 ee GPT
GUID Partition Table detected.
Partition Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors System
/dev/sda1 40 409,639 409,600 EFI System partition
/dev/sda2 409,640 115,752,999 115,343,360 Data partition (Linux)
Drive: sdb _____________________________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sdb: 1.4 TiB, 1500301910016 bytes, 2930277168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Partition Boot Start Sector End Sector # of Sectors Id System
/dev/sdb1 2,048 718,847 716,800 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sdb2 718,848 882,276,351 881,557,504 7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sdb3 * 882,276,352 2,930,272,255 2,047,995,904 af HFS / HFS+
"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________
Device UUID TYPE LABEL
/dev/sda1 39D2-CCE0 vfat
/dev/sda2 0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc ext4
/dev/sdb1 780CD4910CD44BAE ntfs System Reserved
/dev/sdb2 105CD9745CD95556 ntfs
/dev/sdb3 bb50e1d4-cc4c-43cc-8597-54815366422f ext4
================================ Mount points: =================================
Device Mount_Point Type Options
/dev/sda1 /boot vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/sda2 / ext4 (rw,noatime,discard,data=ordered)
/dev/sdb3 /home ext4 (rw,relatime,data=ordered)
============================= sda1/grub/grub.cfg: ==============================
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
insmod part_gpt
insmod part_msdos
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
if [ "${next_entry}" ] ; then
set default="${next_entry}"
set next_entry=
save_env next_entry
set boot_once=true
else
set default="0"
fi
if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi
export menuentry_id_option
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
function load_video {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
font=unicode
else
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
set root='hd0,gpt2'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2 0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc
fi
font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi
if loadfont $font ; then
set gfxmode=auto
load_video
insmod gfxterm
set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
set lang=en_US
insmod gettext
fi
terminal_input console
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ] ; then
set timeout_style=menu
set timeout=5
# Fallback normal timeout code in case the timeout_style feature is
# unavailable.
else
set timeout=5
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_archlinux ###
menuentry "Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel" --class arch-linux --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
fi
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod fat
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1 39D2-CCE0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 39D2-CCE0
fi
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel initramfs ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
menuentry "Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel (fallback initramfs)" --class arch-linux --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
fi
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod fat
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1 39D2-CCE0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 39D2-CCE0
fi
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel fallback initramfs ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
### END /etc/grub.d/10_archlinux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Arch Linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
set root='hd0,gpt1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1 39D2-CCE0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 39D2-CCE0
fi
echo 'Loading Linux linux ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
submenu 'Advanced options for Arch Linux' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc' {
menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-linux-advanced-0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
set root='hd0,gpt1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1 39D2-CCE0
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 39D2-CCE0
fi
echo 'Loading Linux linux ...'
linux /vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc rw quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
menuentry "Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8 BIOS-MBR" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod ntldr
search --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 780CD4910CD44BAE
ntldr /bootmgr
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
### END /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
=================== sda1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
=============================== sda2/etc/fstab: ================================
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# /dev/sda2
UUID=0c5d5c14-1e89-44ec-af4d-7b180ed693bc / ext4 rw,defaults,noatime,discard,data=ordered 0 1
# /dev/sda1
UUID=39D2-CCE0 /boot vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro 0 2
# /dev/sdb3
UUID=bb50e1d4-cc4c-43cc-8597-54815366422f /home ext4 rw,relatime,data=ordered 0 2
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================
cat: /tmp/BootInfo-2fUreQzU/Tmp_Log: No such file or directory
No volume groups found
mdadm: No arrays found in config file or automatically
As seen, windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and grub, using the chainloader should be able to boot it (i guess).
I have the following in my 40-custom.
menuentry "Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8 BIOS-MBR" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod ntldr
search --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 780CD4910CD44BAE
ntldr /bootmgr
where the first is "--hint-bios= ..." is given by
sudo grub-probe --target=hints_string -d /dev/sdb1
and the UUID by
sudo grub-probe --target=fs_uuid -d /dev/sdb1
When I try to boot the above configuration, I get an error saying that "ntldr cannot be found" - and indeed, while I find "ntldr.mod" in "/usr/lib/grub/i386-pc/" I cannot find it in "/usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi/".
I've also tried getting refind to identify "bootmgr" from windows without success. I guess it does not support NTFS or something.
Anyway, do anyone have any idea of how to get this to work - without reinstalling Windows in EFI-mode?
Thanks in advance,
elt
UEFI GRUB(2) does not support booting BIOS boot loaders in non-Apple systems. For Apple Macs that support exists in form of 'appleloader' grub command. You might have better luck with rEFInd bios boot support but as per its author Rod Smith (srs5694) even that support is severely limited http://rodsbooks.com/refind/using.html#legacy .
You 40_custom is correct but that will work only in bios grub(2), not in uefi grub(2). 'ntldr' grub module is specific to bios grub(2).
Last edited by the.ridikulus.rat (2014-04-13 20:09:25)

Extended partition on old MBR HDD makes Windows 7 UEFI boot fail

There seems to be a bug in Windows 7 Pro x64 that prevents it from booting on a GPT partitioned HDD when the same machine also has an MBR partitioned HDD with an extended partition.
I have a UEFI bootable PC with two HDDs:
Disk 0 is GPT partitioned and contains Windows 7 Pro x64 and openSUSE systems.
Disk 1 is MBR partitioned and contains Windows XP Pro x64 systems and bootable ISO images.
Both the disks also have separate partitions for data and for booting.
They are normally booted via rEFInd on disk 0 as follows:
UEFI => rEFInd => Windows 7 or GRUB2.
UEFI => rEFInd => disk 1 MBR => GRUB4DOS.
I had previously installed Windows 7 when it was first released, but abandoned it in favour of XP and openSUSE instead. With the end of support for XP I decided to re-install W7. Before doing so I unplugged disk 1 to ensure that W7 booted completely
independently of XP. After installing W7 I installed SP1 and all the Windows updates. The new W7 system could be booted without problem via rEFInd => \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
However when I plugged in disk 1 W7 would no longer boot. It displayed the message "Windows is Loading Files" as the bar progressed twice before returning to the rEFInd menu. On selecting W7 again it presented the option to "Launch
Startup Repair", but on doing so it too just displayed "loading files" and returned to the reEFInd menu.
I UEFI booted from the installation DVD and ran Repair. When re-booted W7 presented a menu with choice of new and recovered systems, but both failed as before. Neither could be booted in safe mode. Booting directly from the UEFI firmware menu
into W7, instead of via rEFInd, gave similar results.
Investigations showed that the problem is caused by the extended partition on disk 1. If it is deleted, or just hidden by changing the partition type from 0x0F to 0x00, then W7 boots OK. Plugging in an external USB HDD with logical partitions also
prevents W7 from booting.
This all seemed to be similar to the problem described in KB979374, so I downloaded the hotfix (404153_intl_x64_zip.exe), which is supposed to be applicable to Windows 7 as well as WindowsServer 2008 R2. However when the hotfix was run it displayed "The
update is not applicable to your computer" and logged the following error:
error 2149842967 "" (Command line: ""C:\Windows\system32\wusa.exe" "<pathname>\Windows6.1-KB979374-x64.msu" ")
Is this because the version of files mentioned in KB979374 is older (6.1.7600.20617) than the version of Winload.exe in my system (6.1.7601.17556)?
According to http://www.techienewsnetwork.com/247/22/ SP1 included hotfix 979374, but it doesn't appear in the list of Installed Updates given in my W7 control panel. Should it, are hotfixes included in a service pack listed individually? If
not is there any way to tell whether or not hotfix 979374 has been applied?
How can W7 be booted without having to change the partition type code of extended partitions every time, is there a newer hotfix that will fix the problem in Windows 7 SP1?
Almost all the references I can find to this problem are at least 2 years old, which suggests it might have been fixed. Does anyone else with an up to date Windows 7 SP1 have this problem with extended partitions. An easy test is to plug in an external
HDD with logical partitions and see if W7 will still boot.
I don't want to convert disk 1 to GPT as that would make XP un-bootable. Also GRUB4DOS only supports MBR, and it is very useful for booting ISO images as well as XP.
Cheers.

Hi Wade,
To be sure that openSUSE, XP, or any other software on my PC isn't part of the problem I decided to do a new install of Windows 7 on a blank HDD. As I don't have a spare one I had to backup everything on disk 1 (MBR) and then wipe it, including the MBR,
with zeros (using AOMEI Partition Assistant).
I unplugged the original disk 0 so that the PC had just single completely blank HDD (previously disk 1), UEFI booted the Windows 7 DVD and installed W7 again. Unfortunately at this first attempt W7 partitioned the blank HDD as an MBR disk and booted
in legacy BIOS mode, even though I had booted the DVD in UEFI mode. So I deleted all the partitions it had just created and converted the disk to a GPT one.
The next time I installed W7 it was a UEFI one, with an EFI system partition. After installing SP1 and re-booting it a few times to make sure it was working OK I plugged in the external HDD with an extended partition before re-booting. The result
was exactly the same as reported above for the main GPT disk: it briefly flashed "Starting Windows" then displayed "Loading files" for a few seconds as the bars progressed; when Startup Repair was launched it failed as well.
After removing the HDD I booted the new W7 and added some missing drivers and installed all the Windows Updates, including the optional ones. Many hours later the result was a new up to date installation of Windows that worked perfectly (no errors in
any log files), with no other software on the PC. However as soon as the external HDD was plugged in it failed to boot, as described previously.
I then ran Bootrec from the DVD, trying all the commands, but the results were exactly the same: everything worked successfully but no Windows installations were found, and it didn't fix the problem.
The documentation on how to use Bootrec describes how to backup the BCD store that is on the C: drive (e.g. "ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old"). However the BCD store for UEFI based systems is in the EFI system partition, NOT on the C: drive. This suggest
that Bootrec does not apply to UEFI based systems.
Are you sure that the MBR is used when booting in UEFI mode? From what I have read in several places (not MS pages) the protective MBR on the GPT isn't used, but instead the UEFI firmware runs \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi which looks in the BCD store
in the EFI partition. Can you point me to any MS documentation please that explains exactly how UEFI booting works for Window 7, including its use of the MBR.
Do you have a Windows 7 system that can boot from UEFI when an MBR disk with an extended partition is attached. If so how is your installation different from the one I have just set up, i.e. Windows 7 installed on a PC with just
a single empty GPT HDD?
Do you work at Microsoft? If so perhaps you could find out if anybody with a straightforward UEFI booted Windows 7 has problems when an MBR HDD with an extended partition is attached.
Sorry for the delay in responding, but a lot of work was involved.

HP Phoenix h9-1110t Windows 8 bios update available but where?

Per HP links.
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Operating-Systems-Software-Recovery/HP-PCs-Basic-Input-Output-S...
https://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c04393276
According to those 2 links. A update is available for my PC. But, it is not on the product page for my PC. Doing some google work. I came across the following 2 HP links.
ftp://h18013.www1.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp68501-69000/sp68932.html
http://www.mmnt.net/db/0/11/g6u0081c.atlanta.hp.com/ftp1/pub/softpaq/sp68501-69000/
Second link has the actual bios. But, its questionable for me as this is NOT on the support page for my PC. Even though the softpaq number matches the table with the second HP link in my post. I will even post a picture for reference. This is a critical update as I am running Windows 8.1 and I want to get this installed. Since it will also allow me to finally upgrade to a newer series of a video card.
Big_Dave is also trying to assist in this and has reached out to HP. Who ever gets the news first. Please post here. Greatly appreciated and other users will also be armed with this information.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

@FattysGoneWild
HP has more or less informed me that the "chicago" motherboard will only see a version 7 BIOS.
HP DV9700, t9300, Nvidia 8600, 4GB, Crucial C300 128GB SSD
HP Photosmart Premium C309G, HP Photosmart 6520
HP Touchpad, HP Chromebook 11
Custom i7-4770k,Z-87, 8GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650,GTX 760
Custom i7-4790k,Z-97, 16GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Plextor M.2 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650, GTX 660TI
Windows 7/8 UEFI/Legacy mode, MBR/GPT

Upgrading Windows 7 (Legacy BIOS/MBR Disk) to Windows 8 (UEFI/GPT/Secure Boot)

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