Reinstalling Windows 7 - EFI or BIOS (Legacy) Install?

Hello all,

WARNING - Choose your Windows 7 installation method wisely!

In 2011, I bought a laptop, downloaded a Windows 7 ISO (non-SP1), burned it to a DVD and did a clean install of Windows 7 with no problems. However, the same procedure did not work so well the second time around. Let me explain further and learn from my mistakes:

OK, so this time, I downloaded a Windows 7 ISO that included SP1, burned it to a DVD and "tried" to do a clean install but was unsuccessful; here's why:

My laptop has a BIOS that is EFI capable and somehow the DVD player is connected to that functionality (or the Windows 7 installer detects it but I'm not sure). Anyway, I kept getting 2 clear signs that something might be wrong. The first sign was that the installer was trying to configure 3 partitions (instead of the 2 partitions that I expected) so I wiped them clean and hit "next." The second sign was that the installer could not reboot at scheduled intervals so I manually powered down and restarted as necessary. Well, I ended up with mucho problems after the installation so I had to figure out what was going on because it worked perfectly in 2011. Note: I also tried letting the installer create the 3 partitions and continued the installation with the same results.

So, I finally found a thread in another forum by a guy who was having a similar problem and when I looked at his boot choices, it hit me like a rock! He actually had a DVD boot choice of either EFI or Legacy BIOS and when he chose the legacy bios option his installation went smoothly.

So, not having his exact choices (because of my cheap laptop), I copied the Windows 7 ISO to a USB flash drive and that gave me the legacy bios installation that I needed. This time it worked perfectly!

In summary, I just wanted to share my experience with others who may encounter a similar situation wit the hopes it may save them some time and frustration.

Cheers!

Thanks for reporting your experience.

We deal with this here every day. UEFI is not new but is just coming into the mainstream fully and since every mobo is different it provides a real challenge including retooling most of the installation/repair fixes and workarounds. most of which were developed here.

Your choices are to install to UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Forums...

...but many are not willing to mess with UEFI complications for the small benefit it provides so have all reported good results choosing to Bypass UEFI to Install WIn7

For those wishing to learn more about UEFI and understand it better, this video is informative:

Thanks for sharing.
I think I have similar problem with my bootable external HDD after change to new computer with EFI capable BIOS. It still mystery for me how EFI works specially with Windows 8.

Is there a setting in the BIOS setup under Legacy BIOS or Compatibility Support Module (CSM) that allows Dual modes? If so you can boot both modes including an MBR disk install. However a WIn8 PC must first have Secure Boot turned off.

In addition as always the Win7 install may need to be adjusted to the new hardware using an Adaptive Restore program or SysPrep to move HD to another computer .

A big problem will be that Win7 is not meant to boot from an external HD, so your best off installing the HD internally or reinstalling Win7.

Hi gregrocker and Nugroho,

Thanks for your comments.

plsrepli

Hi again gregrocker,

You seem to be very knowledgable on Win 7 issues so would your care to take a peek at my other unsolved issue?

Peridoic SSD Maintenance Using TRIM Functionality

Thanks,

plsrepli

Ask whs the author of SSD Alignment - Windows 7 Forums.