Windows 7 - UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with

   Information

Quote:

In addition to better interoperability, UEFI firmware provides several technical advantages:

• Compatibility with operating systems that support only BIOS
• Ability to boot from large disks
• CPU-independent architecture
• CPU-independent drivers
• Flexible pre-OS environment
• Modular design

Two of the most notable Windows features for UEFI systems are the following:

• Multicast deployment, which enables large scale network-based image deployment in manufacturing and enterprise settings.
• Fast boot and resume from hibernation, which improves user experience.

The rich UEFI interface provides ample room for innovation in the development of operating system features. Along with the other members of the Unified EFI Forum, Microsoft is investigating the following:

• Rootkit prevention
• Network authentication

-Microsoft Corporation

   Tip

This tutorial process will convert your disk to using GPT instead of MBR. See bottom (starting from Step 2) for details.

   Note

You will need to satisfy the following requirements in order to proceed:

• A Windows 7 compatible system
• A Windows 7 x64-bit installation media. 32-bit is not supported.
• A UEFI v2.0+ compliant PC. Check your chipset manufacturer/firmware documentation.
• A blank, partition-free, hard disk for installation.

Unfortunately, the method of booting to UEFI varies from system to system. Some can boot to UEFI automatically once enabled. Others require you to enter the *.efi file to boot from manually in to a command prompt. Some need a file specifically named shellx64.efi or bootx64.efi. Please refer to your firmware documentation for this.

• On the Windows 7 installation media, the .efi file is located in efi\microsoft\boot\cdboot.efi
• This file is equivalent to any *x64.efi.
  • Here are example pictures of UEFI options on a G73SW laptop:
    (Yellow Circle): UEFI Enable. (Red Rectangles): Boot options for UEFI showing after UEFI is enabled

    
    

  • UEFI was last on my boot list so it would boot an OS before it has a chance to boot UEFI. So I utilized my Boot Overide option to manually select a device I want to boot in. Note the "Launch from EFI shell..." option. This allows me to manually input a directory where my *.efi file is located.

    
    

Once you have booted the installation media via UEFI, proceed with Windows 7 installation as usual. Make sure the disk you would put your installation on is fully blank without any partitions whatsoever. The reason is explained later for your information.

Your disk should be unallocated as shown below.

Once you click "New", you will notice it created 3 partitions compared to the usual two. That is because Windows has automatically formatted the Disk to GPT, not MBR.

   Information

Unlike MBR (the "normal" disk), GPT requries 3 partitions. The 3 partitions are:

• Partition 1 - ESP

  -The ESP contains the NTLDR, HAL, Boot.txt, and other files that are needed to boot the system, such as drivers.
  

• Partition 2 - MSR

  -Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) reserves space on each disk drive for subsequent use by operating system software.
  

• Partition 3 - Operating System

  -Your data and everything else
  

You cannot see the second partition in Windows except for DISKPART. You can see the first partition in Disk Management.
It is imperative that these 3 partitions remain in the exact order as they are

NOTE: Select Partition 3 for your OS installation. You might receive a "cannot install here" warning, but as long as you can click the "Next" button, you're fine.

And that's it. You have successfully installed Windows 7 on a UEFI system. Please take note of the following:

1. This method can also be used for the installation of Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Vista SP1.

   Warning

1. Disabling UEFI will make the system unbootable as there is no MBR on the disks.
2. You CANNOT make a sector-by-sector copy of GPT disks. The Disk and Partition GUIDs will no longer be unique. This must never happen. You can make a sector-by-sector copy of the contents of ESP or basic data partitions.