I'm expecting delivery later in the week of my new laptop. I selected Windows 7 Professional option as installed OS but OEM are including Windows 8.1 Professional media, as well.
Not sure how this works, but I'm wondering if I will have UEFI or bog-standard BIOS to contend with for firmware interface.
Does a standard exist for this, or is it down to OEM requirements.
We would need to know the exact model laptop you are receiving to know what BIOS you will be getting. UEFI is the most likely (if new) but it depends on how new/old your laptop is.
Is the new laptop the one you added info for in the system specs or is that the PC you're using now?
If its not the new one, please post which Laptop/model you're getting
Open Disk Mgmt and look for EFI System partition. If there is none, only a 100mb System Reserved partiiton, then you do not have UEFI install.
To see if the BIOS is UEFI capable, enter BIOS setup to look for UEFI, CSM, Legacy BIOS settings or UEFI devices present in BIOS Boot Priority order. These are normally on Advanced or Boot tabs. Look for Secure Boot on Security tab which is the gimmick used to lock down Windows 8 BIOS.
It's possible if you ordered Win7 on an intended Windows 8 PC that these settings exist, although at least Secure Boot would need to be disabled in order to install Win7.
More here: Technical Note: UEFI BIOS vs. Legacy BIOS, Advantech(EN) - YouTube
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Forums
The new laptop is a Toshiba Tecra W50-A. It's most definitely not the one I'm using now as it's currently somewhere between Narita and Heathrow airports, according to carrier tracking information.
Reason I'm curious of this is because a firmware update, if needed, is the first thing I'm planning to do.
Can we have a peek at your Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image
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