Windows 7 installation on Toshiba UEFI

[r00tb33r]

Hey all,

I bought a new Toshiba L70-BST2NX1 laptop and I am trying to install Windows 7 (Home Premium 64-bit) on it using UEFI method, not dual boot with Windows 8.1, just Windows 7 all by itself. I got stuck early in the installation process.

Here is what I did:

• Disabled Secure Boot in UEFI setup
• Removed all partitions from HDD
• Began booting from Windows 7 DVD while UEFI is enabled

Having done that, on the screen I see "loading files" text and a white horizontal progress bar. Then the animated Windows startup logo appears with "Starting Windows" text, but then it freezes in the middle of the logo animation. This is where I am stuck.

I certainly want help getting me through the installation but I also have a number of questions.

• Does Windows 7 normally support this type of UEFI installation?
• If UEFI booting is disabled (CSM) on UEFI-capable machine, what functionality do I give up?
• If Windows 7 installation is performed with UEFI boot disabled (CSM), can UEFI booting be enabled again after the installation process is finished?

These are the instructions that Toshiba has, and they say to use CSM booting, but does that mean that UEFI Windows 7 is impossible on UEFI-capable Toshiba machines?
https://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/TSB2C03F80002R01.htm

 

[Ztruker]

Try following these directions: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[AddRAM]

Enable Legacy boot to install 7.

You can switch between Legacy and UEFI anytime you want, you don`t loose that functionality.

 

[gregrocker]

I would first try to install to UEFI to enjoy all the features of your graphical BIOS and a little faster boot. If it fails (about 5% seen here) then you can turn to Legacy BIOS.

You must format the installation USB stick using Step 1 in UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows

Then boot that stick as an EFI device in the BIOS Boot menu.

Delete all partitions, create and format new as you please or just click Next.

If this fails, post back camera snaps of BIOS settings related to UEFI, CSM, Legacy BIOS, BIOS Boot priority order.

 

[r00tb33r]

Try following these directions: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-7-a.html

Those are the very directions I was following when I encountered the problem I am experiencing.

Enable Legacy boot to install 7.

You can switch between Legacy and UEFI anytime you want, you don`t loose that functionality.

Interesting.
But I thought the UEFI install would create GUID Partition Table (GPT), while legacy boot (CSM) won't...?
I have no idea whether that difference is important or not to be honest. :huh:

I would first try to install to UEFI to enjoy all the features of your graphical BIOS and a little faster boot. If it fails (about 5% seen here) then you can turn to Legacy BIOS.

You must format the installation USB stick using Step 1 in UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows

Then boot that stick as an EFI device in the BIOS Boot menu.

Delete all partitions, create and format new as you please or just click Next.

If this fails, post back camera snaps of BIOS settings related to UEFI, CSM, Legacy BIOS, BIOS Boot priority order.

Yep, going to try the USB media install, I was using DVD media thus far. I would very much like to take advantage of UEFI if possible.
At the moment the hard drive is blank, I erased MBR and cleared partition table using Super FDISK.
Yes, I'll get those UEFI setup utility screen pictures taken if install from USB fails.

Thanks!

 

[r00tb33r]

I would first try to install to UEFI to enjoy all the features of your graphical BIOS and a little faster boot. If it fails (about 5% seen here) then you can turn to Legacy BIOS.

You must format the installation USB stick using Step 1 in UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows

Then boot that stick as an EFI device in the BIOS Boot menu.

Delete all partitions, create and format new as you please or just click Next.

If this fails, post back camera snaps of BIOS settings related to UEFI, CSM, Legacy BIOS, BIOS Boot priority order.

Install from USB media failed.

I'd like to point out the line in USB instructions:

To boot from an external UEFI USB flash drive, be sure to temporarily disable Secure Boot and enable CSM in your UEFI/BIOS firmware settings until the Windows installation is finished.

So that's not really a UEFI boot anyway, it's legacy boot emulation.

That said, I created the USB installation media using Rufus.
I followed the instructions and switched on CSM boot and Secure Boot is disabled.
Machine ignores USB flash drive in CSM mode and goes straight to PXE network boot. I tried both using the "USB" option on the boot device selection screen at boot, as well as changing boot order in UEFI setup utility to USB->ODD->HDD->LAN. Just doesn't work at all.
Maybe it has something to do with USB3.0 of my laptop, and maybe USB just doesn't work that way in CSM. I did try disabling USB3.0 in UEFI setup utility, but that made no difference.

Deviating from the USB install instructions and not using CSM, but rather normal UEFI (with Secure Boot still disabled), the machine attempts to boot from USB. It produces the same result as the DVD and freezes at the "Starting Windows" text and animated Windows logo.

Pictures of settings in my UEFI setup utility:

 

[r00tb33r]

Enable Legacy boot to install 7.

You can switch between Legacy and UEFI anytime you want, you don`t loose that functionality.

This turned out to be not true.

After Windows 7 is installed in legacy booting when the machine is switched back into UEFI-proper it finds no boot volume. Probably due to the fact that when installation runs from legacy boot no GPT partitions will be created.

 

[gregrocker]

I think Brian was referring to the choice one should have to initially install in either UEFI or Legacy BIOS. Once installed you must stay in that mode until reinstall.

I would install first to UEFI to experience the supposed added benefits of it including graphical BIOS interface, faster boot, and better BIOS security. Only if it can't be installed to UEFI would I install Legacy, and with the experience we've gained here in the past years those cases are down to nearly nil.

In some BIOS it requires enabling CSM to install Win7 at all.

I don't see Secure Boot disabled. It must be on a UEFI BIOS or it will never install.

Did you format the stick for GPT/UEFI using only Option One of UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows ? Then for Toshiba tap the F12 key at boot, boot the stick as a EFI device or you will not get an EFI install.

If the stick doesn't show up as an EFI device then it isn't written correctly so try it over or another stick. If that fails we may need to see more BIOS settings choices.

 

[AddRAM]

Enable Legacy boot to install 7.

You can switch between Legacy and UEFI anytime you want, you don`t loose that functionality.

This turned out to be not true.

After Windows 7 is installed in legacy booting when the machine is switched back into UEFI-proper it finds no boot volume. Probably due to the fact that when installation runs from legacy boot no GPT partitions will be created.

Correct Greg.

I never said you can switch once you have windows 7 installed, I said you don`t loose that function. You can`t install to legacy then switch to UEFI and have windows boot.

You must have misunderstood what I meant when I said you don`t loose that functionality in the bios.

 

[r00tb33r]

I would install first to UEFI to experience the supposed added benefits of it including graphical BIOS interface, faster boot, and better BIOS security. Only if it can't be installed to UEFI would I install Legacy, and with the experience we've gained here in the past years those cases are down to nearly nil.

That's the whole point of this thread, to get a proper UEFI install onto this machine.
I would very much like to scoop up something from that well of experience you guys gathered on this forum.
Here's a bit of info that I think will be of most importance: it's a 4th-gen Core platform of Haswell architecture, Insyde UEFI.

I don't see Secure Boot disabled. It must be on a UEFI BIOS or it will never install.

Staring at you at the very top of the first post. :shock:

Here is what I did:

• Disabled Secure Boot in UEFI setup

I even went further than that, I took a picture!!!

Did you format the stick for GPT/UEFI using only Option One of UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows ? Then for Toshiba tap the F12 key at boot, boot the stick as a EFI device or you will not get an EFI install.

If the stick doesn't show up as an EFI device then it isn't written correctly so try it over or another stick. If that fails we may need to see more BIOS settings choices.

The stick is done right. It begins booting under UEFI but the machine freezes at the same point as the DVD, on the splash screen with "Startind Windows" and animated Windows logo.
I later figured out why the stick is ignored under CSM boot, it's not supposed to work because legacy boot doesn't work with GPT-partitioned stick.
So my USB installation media is done correctly.
From what I gathered so far is that my hardware is very new, so new in fact that whatever UEFI compatibility Windows 7 has built into it is not adequate for my new hardware. I think graphics are the problem. Basically I think after I get the "freeze" on the splash screen, that's the moment where the installation is supposed to go graphical. It seems my keyboard remains responsive but I see nothing on the screen. If I could do a pure textmode installation I might get much further than that.
So I'm sure UEFI installation *can* be done on this machine, just not with unmodified Windows installation media. It's going to take some modifications, injection of some files, some slipstreaming, etc.

 

[r00tb33r]

Making progress.

Looks like this is down to the *.efi files on the installation media as well as the WinPE files.

It appears to be okay to swap in all of the Windows 8.x *.efi files except the "bcd" file.

I am currently messing around with boot.wim contents.

 

[r00tb33r]

I made even more progress!

I managed to do a UEFI install, GPT volumes and all.

Unfortunately I have only delayed the problem...

When I boot the UEFI-installed Windows 7 on this machine, I've got no video past the boot splash screen. This is where I will need help going forward. Is there a graphics driver I need to slipstream?
My machine has Intel HD Graphics 4400.

I feel like I'm getting close here.

 

[gregrocker]

I have never heard of the need to do that for any device with Win7. There is 7Lite to slipstream in drivers but we've never used it here that I've seen except early in beta to see if editing the OS had any efficacy (it didn't).

How did you see the installation media's progress on screen if there is no display? Those same drivers that allowed the install display should be available in the OS at the minimum. Then you'd pull in the latest driver from Windows Updates or if not provided during Updates from the PC's Support Downloads webpage.

Are there display-related settings in your BIOS setup?

Do you have the latest BIOS firmware?

 

[AddRAM]

I`m dieing to see/hear what the benefit to Windows 7 will be when this is all said and done.

 

[r00tb33r]

I have never heard of the need to do that for any device with Win7. There is 7Lite to slipstream in drivers but we've never used it here that I've seen except early in beta to see if editing the OS had any efficacy (it didn't).

Well now you did.

How did you see the installation media's progress on screen if there is no display? Those same drivers that allowed the install display should be available in the OS at the minimum. Then you'd pull in the latest driver from Windows Updates or if not provided during Updates from the PC's Support Downloads webpage.

I didn't. And that kept me from doing the installation the normal way. Then I had a choice to make, I either give up and go legacy(since nobody else knew anything) or I get creative and invent a new way to install Windows 7. And I did. I made a hybrid installation media that uses the EFI and WinPE from Windows 8.x (hence why I could see during installation). It's quite amusing when the installer GUI shows Windows 8 but I'm actually installing Windows 7. Of course there was a catch after I did that part of installation, Windows 7 was still not producing anything on the screen. Slipstreaming Intel graphics drivers with the installation did not work.
I had to create an external drive with a bootloader so I could do a legacy boot of Windows 7 to install the driver, as the legacy boot mode on this machine only boots from MBR which the UEFI GPT install lacks.
Windows Update found no drivers of any kind this time around, just the trackpad. Usually I get a bit more out of it than that.

There's still a caveat afterwards, there is no video in Safe Mode because Windows 7 really, really doesn't work with this UEFI+graphics chipset combination. My guess was that Windows 7 uses vga.sys or vgapnp.sys or something like that (I don't know for sure) for basic VGA/SVGA output, but Windows 8.x doesn't have those believe it or not. Got a solution for this?

Yeah, this was the most difficult install of an OS I've ever done.

Are there display-related settings in your BIOS setup?

Just output display settings, the LCD panel, VGA output and HDMI, nothing else. I tried those but they made no difference when using Windows 7 installation media.

Do you have the latest BIOS firmware?

Oh comeon, I'm not a n00b!

I`m dieing to see/hear what the benefit to Windows 7 will be when this is all said and done.

 

[r00tb33r]

Here's something I need though. Since this install was so difficult to do, I definitely won't want to do it again. I want to create bootable restore media that will do a complete restore, with all of the partitions.

Is there a software product that does that?

 

[Ztruker]

Macrium Reflect Free dos this well.

Use it to create a backup image on an external USB hard drive then create the rescue media from within Macrium that you can boot to restore the image with.

I use Acronis True Image but it's not free. Macrium is free.

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, simply store a backup image to external hard drive, then if Win7 ever becomes irreparable reimage C in 20 minutes and you're back up and running. Macrium Imaging - Windows 7 Help Forums

If you keep data on a separate partition then it will be safe in its own vault and waiting for the new OS to link using User Folders - Change Default Location or Library - Include a Folder - Windows 7 Forums and Library - Set Save Folder - Windows 7 Help Forums.

Just be sure to keep the data backed up externally too in case of HD failure: Backup User and System Files