UEFI BIOS Windows 7 do I have it??

[deshae78]

Hello everybody. I have a question I'm hoping somebody can help me with. I have a Dell XPS 8500 which will be 2 years old this August. I am looking into installing a much bigger internal hard drive but have found out that I need the newer UEFI BIOS to do that. Well I have been driving myself crazy trying to figure out if I have the older type BIOS or the newer UEFI. According to the system information it lists the BIOS Version/Date as Dell Inc. A12, 8/28/13. It does not list any other information that could tell me the type of BIOS. I cannot find any info on whether this is the newer BIOS or not, or what my computer shipped with, as that listed in the system information is an update I did from the Dell website. Would anybody be able to tell me or do I need to contact Dell directly?? Thank you so much for your help!

 

[derekimo]

A quick check in disk management can reveal some clues,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/274797-disk-management-post-screen-capture-image.html

If you post that screenshot it would help.

 

[deshae78]

screenshot

Thank you so much for your quick reply! Here is the screenshot (hopefully I did everything right)

 

[Dave Atkin]

The latest BIOS version looks to be 10/29/2013.

A download link can be found here:
Drivers & Downloads | Dell US

What sized Hard disk are you adding? In normal circumstance a BIOS update is not required.

How large is the drive that you are trying to add? Is it to replace an existing drive or add an additional?

 

[Arc]

Your BIOS is UEFI

According to the system information it lists the BIOS Version/Date as Dell Inc. A12, 8/28/13. It does not list any other information that could tell me the type of BIOS.

It seems to be UEFI.
Because of the installation instruction:

1. Run the BIOS update utility from DOS environment if UEFI Boot Mode (Non-Windows users)
.............
.............
.............
8. Change the Legacy to UEFI from F2 > Boot > Boot Mode.
9. Go to Exit > Save Changes and restart system to go back original UEFI Boot Mode.

Source: Driver Details | Dell US

So you can perform your desired operation there.

 

[deshae78]

Thanks to everybody for your replies. To Dave Atkin, I want to have a 4tb internal hard drive. Right now I have an internal 1tb drive with about 320 gigs left. Then I also have 2 external dives with 1tb & 2tb. Right now I would say that I have plenty of space but there are 2 problems. The 2 external drives make my computer start up very slowly. I understand why this happens & there isn't much to be done about it because the computer has to check the drives at startup. It is not an option to unplug the drives every time. But also secondly, I am very interested in just have one very large internal drive because my computer experience would be more cohesive with everything in one place instead of having to go to the external drives & IDK it just bugs me & also the drives malfunction sometimes & disrupt my flow. But more importantly, I am also having a hard time finding a good online backup program that will also backup 2 external drives & this problem is driving me crazy. So in order to have the 4tb internal drive I have to have the UEFI that will support that size. Otherwise, I can only go to about 2tb I believe. So that's my issue.

 

[deshae78]

To ARC, hmmmm, that is very interesting but I'm still not 100% sure because I def would not consider myself an expert in how to read computer stuff, so still not sure what all that means...could it be that the BIOS update could apply to both types of systems, like you just choose which one?? I really do hope it's UEFI but oh well if it isn't I'll deal =)) Just would be very nice to have that 4tb drive!

 

[derekimo]

The problem is it needs to be changed to GPT to use a drive over 2TB.

Windows support for hard disks that are larger than 2 TB

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/26193-convert-mbr-disk-gpt-disk.html

I just found this for you too,

How to check in Windows if you are using UEFI - Home is where I lay my head - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

 

[gregrocker]

You do not have a UEFI install since there is System partition with an Active flag which is not on a UEFI install.

This does not mean you don't have a UEFI BIOS as Archie finds documentation which indicates you might.

To confirm this reboot into BIOS setup by tapping the F2 key at boot. Look for UEFI settings including UEFI, CSM, Legacy Boot, Legacy BIOS on the various tabs, normally the Boot or Security tab. It is most likely set to Legacy or CSM if you have a UEFI BIOS that is currently installed as Legacy MBR as signified by the Active flag on System partition booting Win7.

In the Convert GPT to MBR tutorial Derek posted are pictures of how to click on a the Disk Mgmt drive map Disk # to see which it will allow you to convert to. This will tell you that you have the other mode. Remember that to do this will destroy your data so back it up first.

If you want a UEFI install then back up your files, change the BIOS settings to UEFI, boot the Win7 installation media as a UEFI device, then reinstall as shown in UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Forums. It shows how to delete all partitions or Clean the HD to assure it gets formatted as GPT required for UEFI install.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[Arc]

To ARC, hmmmm, that is very interesting but I'm still not 100% sure because I def would not consider myself an expert in how to read computer stuff, so still not sure what all that means...could it be that the BIOS update could apply to both types of systems, like you just choose which one?? I really do hope it's UEFI but oh well if it isn't I'll deal =)) Just would be very nice to have that 4tb drive!

Read what Greg pointed out, the mode is legacy here. Because the EFI partition is not there. But the BIOS version definitely is UEFI.

To enable UEFI, it will need a change in the BIOS setup, as said in the installation instruction in Dell's page. And, a clean install will also be required I think.

If you enable UEFI and go for a clean install, I would suggest you to pay proper attention to what Derek suggested, too. Format the HDD to GPT.

 

[SIW2]

Just use gpt partitioning on the big disk.

 

[deshae78]

Thanks everybody for your replies! You guys are very knowledgeable, that's for sure. I am a complete novice when it comes to this sort of stuff & I wouldn't be interested in messing around with it myself--I have a wonderful computer guy who does that for a very reasonable price--but I just needed to know whether or not the 4tb hard drive would be a possibility. So my takeaway is that yes, my computer can be set to UEFi, but it is not installed or set to UEFI, & in order to set my system to UEFI I would need to have it installed, format the hard drive to GPT & reinstall the OS, correct?
Sounds like a plan LOL. It is something I am considering for the not-too-far-off-future, I plan to have this computer for a very long time & the new hard drive would be a nice upgrade. I'm not totally understanding why it wouldn't be set to UEFI in the first place, but whatever, just glad it's possible.
Thanks again for all the replies, I learned a lot.

 

[Arc]

Before changing to UEFI, better you first follow post #11 by SIW2.

If it serves your purpose, you dont need to go for UEFI at all.