Solved UEFI boot keeps changing; UEFI/Win7 handshaking confusion

[dianedebuda]

Trying to understand handshaking between UEFI & Win 7. Have Win7 Pro sp1 64 installed on SSD, mb=Asus F2A85-V Pro. Example: boot to flashdrive to do Acronis backup of SSD; remove SDD, insert spinner; boot again to flashdrive to do Acronis restore to spinner (to test backup); remove flashdrive, boot to UEFI, set UEFI spinner as default, save & reset; spinner starts boot (#1), Win logo shows briefly, reboots (#2) and shows Win repair/normal screen; choose normal; Windows desktop shows; new driver is loaded for spinner and asks for reboot (that part I understand); reboot (#3) starts and again briefly shows Win logo before yet again rebooting (#4) to the Win repair/normal screen; again choose normal & all is happy. But then I remove the spinner, insert the SSD, and have to go through the whole deal again. Why so many reboots?

Similarly, if I change any hd/flashdrive configuration, my UEFI boot selection is lost & I have to reset it again - sometimes with the multiple reboot scenerio, sometimes not. Sure wish I could force that the UEFI selection stay there as long as the selected drive is installed.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hello and welcome diana look I am having a little difficulty in following the train of the thread.

Now do you mean you just backed up the SSD to a USB stick ? then tried to transfer that USB stick back up to the spinner? If it was just a back up then I don't think it is going to work because it is only a backup.

To make the spinner the boot device I would be cloning the SSD to the spinner. I wouldn't mucking around with sticks as I cannot see why that is necessary.

 

[gregrocker]

I understand your frustration which is why many users not ready to mess with UEFI BIOS are choosing to Bypass UEFI to Install WIn7.

To help understand UEFI vs Legacy BIOS better watch this video: Technical Note: UEFI BIOS vs. Legacy BIOS - YouTube

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Good luck!

 

[dianedebuda]

ICit2lol, the flashdrive is just a bootable with the Acronis software. Don't like doing system backups from a live system. Scenerio is: boot to the flashdrive to back up the SSD to a "backup" HD, remove the SSD, add the "test" HD, boot from the flashdrive to restore the backup image from the "backup" HD to the "test" HD, remove the "backup" HD & flashdrive, reboot with only the "test" HD to verify. Sorry I didn't make it clearer in the orig post; was trying too hard to show the multi-boots.

gregrocker, I do realize that there are a lot of pains with UEFI and that it is much easier to work with the tried-and-true BIOS/MBR. But the new preloaded systems are coming out UEFI-style, so I need to learn how to deal with it. Case in point, I've got a new laptop that I want to explore before deciding if there's too much crapware and I want to rebuild from scratch or to just remove the unwanted software.

I've found a fair amount of info on UEFI itself, but not much on the UEFI-o/s interaction. Don't know right now if the symptoms I'm seeing are "standard" or ASUS/Win7 specific.

 

[theog]

As Windows Boot Manager is always first boot device, every time you change HDD/SSD, the UEFI/BIOS firmware will reset.



As the new MOBO's now have a uEFI/BIOS firmware.
How to install Windows 64 bit on a uEFI/BIOS firmware:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-7-a.html
or
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 8 with


For more info on uEFI:
Windows and GPT FAQ
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
UEFI and Windows
Technical Note: UEFI BIOS vs. Legacy BIOS - YouTube
Sample: Configure UEFI/GPT-Based Hard Drive Partitions by Using Windows PE and DiskPart

 

[dianedebuda]

theog, think I've read/viewed all of your listed links earlier except the "UEFI and Windows" which I will check out when I go to a Win7 box (on XP with Office97 now & it doesn't read that format). What I haven't seen anywhere (at least in a form that I understood) is that

As Windows Boot Manager is always first boot device, very time you change HDD/SSD, the UEFI/BIOS firmware will reset.

I'm assuming typo "very" meaning "every". That explains the symptoms. What a pain. But the UEFI boot is fast when you're in a static drive situation. Thanks.

Edit: Can't believe this is my first post. Been lurking here for years & didn't realize I hadn't registered. Thanks to so many for all the tips I've used.