The massive transition to UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) has already begun. Microsoft requires this interface to be used on all computers that will ship with Windows 8. More specifically, we are talking about UEFI with Secure Boot. At the same time, only the "eight" can work without problems on such PCs: neither Windows XP nor the "seven" can be installed on a UEFI machine without additional manipulations. You won't be able to boot from a Linux Live or Windows flash drive either. What exactly can happen if you try to start from the installation flash drive on a Sony VAIO laptop is shown in the picture above. And the problems with UEFI don't end there. Each manufacturer of hardware components configures UEFI at its discretion, thereby creating unnecessary difficulties for the user. Lenovo's IdeaPad laptop could not at all recognize the same flash drive as bootable media. At the same time, Lenovo has nothing to blame: the fact is that the bootable USB flash drive is formatted in the NTFS file system, and UEFI does not support booting from such media. If you connect the same drive to your HP EliteBook, it will boot up without issue and allow you to install Windows. The problem is that all the data on the EliteBook disc would be deleted after installation.
Each configures differently
Are you confused? No surprise: UEFI with Secure Boot sets new rules for installing and booting operating systems, and hardware manufacturers interpret these rules in their own way, which creates additional difficulties for the user. Therefore, within the framework of this article, we have set ourselves the goal of eliminating the confusion around UEFI. Using laptops from major manufacturers as an example, we will tell you how UEFI works, what role is assigned to the Secure Boot function, how to bypass the "pitfalls" set by the new interface, and what is needed in order to use bootable flash drives without fear of any destructive consequences.
How UEFI works
UEFI boots strictly according to the established rules. If the OS does not support UEFI, BIOS emulation mode is activated. The BIOS-based PC boot process is quite simple: pressing the power button launches the BIOS, which checks the hardware status and loads the firmware - simple drivers for individual hardware components. The BIOS then searches for the OS bootloader and activates it. That, in turn, loads the operating system or displays a list of available operating systems.
UEFI-based computers boot in the same way only until they look for boot options. After that, everything happens differently. UEFI has its own OS bootloader with integrated startup managers for installed systems. For it, a small partition (100-250 MB) is created on the disk, formatted in the FAT32 file system, which is called the Extensible Firmware Interface System Partition (Extensible Firmware Interface System Partition, ESP). It contains drivers for hardware components that can be accessed by a running operating system. The general rule of thumb is that with the exception of DVDs, UEFI can only boot from media formatted with the FAT32 file system.
UEFI is a complex mechanism
ESP has its advantages: thanks to the UEFI drivers and the OS bootloader, Windows starts faster and more adequately responds to critical driver errors. But the UEFI interface also imposes restrictions: it allows you to install the OS only on hard drives that are partitioned according to the GPT standard. The latter is not supported by any BIOS version, since, unlike the traditional partitioning scheme (MBR), it uses 64-bit sector addresses. Apart from Windows 8, only 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and 7, as well as Linux with kernel 3.2 and higher, support UEFI. Moreover, for PCs certified to work with the G8, Microsoft requires the use of the Secure Boot option. In this mode, UEFI only runs verified OS loaders that contain drivers digitally signed by Microsoft.
Along with Windows 8, only the Shim (Linux) bootloader has drivers with the signatures required for Secure Boot. They are absent in other operating systems. Therefore, if you want to install Windows 7 or Vista on such a computer in addition to the G8, you must open the UEFI menu and disable Secure Boot. If you choose a non-UEFI-compatible OS as your second OS, you will need to use the Compatibility Support Module (CSM), which can be enabled in UEFI. Unfortunately, manufacturers use different versions of UEFI, and sometimes it's hard to figure out how to disable Secure Boot and go into BIOS emulation mode. We will consider these questions further.
UEFI PC boot process
Depending on the configuration, UEFI either boots the computer on its own, or enters the standard BIOS emulation mode. Only then does the Windows boot manager start.
Installing Windows on a PC with UEFI and Secure Boot
On Windows 8 PCs with UEFI Secure Boot, other OS versions can only be installed under certain conditions. The user must select the correct boot mode in advance and prepare the installation flash drive accordingly.
Enabling BIOS emulation mode
A complete mess: the way to enter BIOS emulation mode depends on the UEFI version. On Sony VAIO (1) you need to activate the "Legasy" option, on ASUS Zenbook (2) - "Launch CSM".
UEFI setup
Each manufacturer uses its own version of UEFI in laptops and ultrabooks. However, it does not provide access to all the necessary functions. Often, when you boot a PC or laptop, the name of the button is not displayed on the display, with which you can call up the UEFI settings menu. We propose to proceed as follows: in the Metro interface, go to the Options | Changing computer settings "on the sidebar and activate the item" General | Special download options ”. After restarting, the OS boot manager will appear, which will allow you to open the UEFI menu. An exception is HP's UEFI, which does not have this option. The following will help here: while loading, hold down the "Esc" key. In any case, you must first inquire which button allows you to enter the UEFI menu. If you change the boot mode to CSM or Legasy BIOS to boot from an emergency flash drive, you must switch from CSM to UEFI again after the restore operation, otherwise Windows 8 will not start. But there are exceptions here: Aptio Setup Utility on ASUS computers activates UEFI automatically if there is no BIOS compatible bootable media, so you just need to disconnect the USB flash drive.
Disabling Secure Boot is required if, in addition to the G8, you want to install a 64-bit version of Windows Vista or 7. Sometimes the so-called hybrid mode is supported, as in HP devices, in which UEFI can boot from all bootable media and, if necessary switch to BIOS mode. In the widespread version of UEFI InsydeH2O, this depends on whether the laptop manufacturer has provided the option to disable Secure Boot or not. This feature is not available in the Acer Aspire S7 and must be switched from UEFI to BIOS mode and vice versa to deactivate it.
Recovery difficulties
With the advent of UEFI, manufacturers have changed the way they deal with OS recovery. The Alt + F10 keyboard shortcut, which was previously used, for example, in Acer models, no longer works or is assigned to other functions. And the "F9" button on the new Zenbook loads not the ASUS Preload Wizard, but the Windows 8 recovery program with an extended boot menu.
VAIO Care recovery mode in Sony laptops can be accessed from a similar menu by selecting Control Panel | Troubleshooting | Recovery ". But if you start the OS boot manager and select Diagnostics | Restore "or" Restore to its original state ", the device will ask you to insert the original Windows 8 disc, which is not included in the package. On Acer models, the backup is performed using the preinstalled Windows program, and the restoration from the backup is performed from an external USB drive. However, you must first go to the UEFI menu and specify such a disk as bootable.
Go to the UEFI menu from Windows
If Windows 8 Advanced Startup is enabled, you can access the UEFI Firmware Settings menu by selecting Diagnostics (1) and Advanced Options (2).
Useful UEFI features
Each laptop manufacturer uses a different version of the UEFI interface and implements it in the system in accordance with their ideas. You can find out where the main UEFI features are in the table by model.
Solution to the problem: disable Secure Boot
In some cases, Secure Boot cannot be deactivated directly. In the Acer Aspire S7, for example, this function is not available. But if you switch to "Legasy BIOS" (1) and back again (2), Secure Boot will be disabled.
Anything is possible in hybrid mode
The HP version of the UEFI interface has support for hybrid mode, in which, depending on the bootable media, one of two modes is launched - either UEFI or CSM. This turns off the Secure Boot function automatically.
Running from a USB flash drive
Older Emergency Boot and Recovery flash media only work in BIOS mode. We will make them UEFI compliant.
Recently, USB sticks are increasingly used as bootable media for recovering or installing Windows. This is due to the fact that optical drives are rarely installed in modern laptops. If you have studied the UEFI settings on your computer, it is recommended that you upgrade your flash drives as well. With the advent of UEFI, all available bootable flash drives can no longer be used in the usual way. For example, if you created a bootable USB media in the UNetbootin program, you will need to start the PC in CSM mode. The same applies to all old flash drives, since the developers of Linux Live distributions (for example, GParted) began to add a UEFI-enabled bootloader and Secure Boot functions only in the latest, most recent versions of their applications.
The simplest method is to disable Secure Boot in UEFI, then create a UEFI-compatible flash drive using the free Rufus program, and then copy the latest version of GParted to it.
Microsoft program is outdated
Slightly different rules apply to Windows bootable USB media. For UEFI compatibility, they must be formatted with the FAT32 file system. Many users, even for Windows 8, create bootable drives on flash drives formatted using a program from Microsoft, which is part of the "seven". However, by default, this application formats the drive in the NTFS file system, as a result of which the system on the media cannot subsequently be installed on a computer with UEFI. To avoid waiting for an updated program from Microsoft to be released, you can manually create a bootable device. To do this, first format the USB stick using a free utility. Then open the ISO image in Windows 8 and copy the files it contains to the media.
But in order for a UEFI-compatible flash drive with 64-bit Windows 7 to boot without any problems, you will need to copy the UEFI bootloader to the desired directory on the flash drive. To do this, using the free 7-Zip archiver, find the Install.wim archive file in the ISO image that contains the Windows 7 installation files in the Sources folder and open it. After that, copy the bootmgfw.efi file from the 1 \\ Windows \\ Boot \\ EFI directory. Then save it to a flash drive in the efi \\ boot directory and rename it to bootx64.efi. After that, it will be possible to work with the USB drive in UEFI mode, and you will be able to install Windows 7 from it without any problems.
Create bootable USB sticks based on Live systems
For UEFI compatibility, flash drives must be formatted in FAT32. For example, UNetbootin (1) creates bootable media based on Linux Live distributions by formatting them to FAT. However, the Rufus (2) utility offers a more correct option.
UEFI PC Recovery Flash Drive
Flash drives based on fresh Live systems, such as GParted, are able to access UEFI PCs without any problems, as their built-in tools - such as GPart (1) and TestDisk (2) - can work with GPT partitions.
Formatting a bootable USB flash drive with Windows
Windows 7 64-bit can also be installed on UEFI PCs. If you want to perform this operation from a USB drive, you need to format it using the Windows program DiskPart in the FAT32 file system and make it bootable.
Removing the UEFI Boot Loader
A UEFI compatible flash drive running Windows 7 additionally needs a UEFI boot loader - bootmgfw.efi. It must be manually copied from the install.wim archive to a USB flash drive using the 7-Zip program or any other archiver.
A source
A new version of UEFI 2.1b has been adopted. Perhaps this fact does not really mean anything to most users, but very soon the presence of EFI support with a new motherboard will become an important argument in favor of buying it. Following the recent news of Microstar's "transition to EFI" - this word ( EFI) again, as it did a few years ago, became popular. Now, apparently, seriously and for a long time. Therefore, it makes sense to outline - where did he (she / it) come from, who he is and what will happen to him - about this in more detail.
EFI (E xtensible Firmware I nterface), a "revolutionary" BIOS replacement, is a product of Intel's failure at one time, when it warned everyone ten years ago that after a successful transition to 32-bit applications the same successful transition to 64-bit is coming. Moreover, it is not just a transition, but a complete refusal to support the "obsolete" x86 platform. The absolute dominance at that time in the field of processor construction was perceived by the company's marketers that the IT community would happily swallow the proposed ideology, which was terribly costly from all points of view, when support for "old" applications worked in emulation mode, which gave scandalously low performance at orders of magnitude higher price ...
The alleged x86 downer is Itanium (aka Merced nee) - when he was born he could not work in 16-bit mode, and therefore the standard BIOS did not suit him - after all, having exchanged the second ten years by that time, it was designed exclusively for Real Mode. As a result, I had to come up with something new. The bay horse of engineering gnawed at the bridle and beat with its hooves, therefore, for a revolutionary processor on a revolutionary platform, a revolutionary BIOS was also developed, called for greater revolutionism - "EFI" (for the same experts in English as I say - it reads "ifay", and not "efi", therefore it is more correct to write "efi" rather than "efi").
However, the slogans are a la "Let's hit the rambus on the sdram" and "Give the country gigahertz!" led to a bust, while the competitor pulled an ace to ten. It is possible to write off advertising money for a failed itaniumization company, but I did not want to write off the developed software for it. After all, after all, it is true, revolutionary. However, selling the "revolution" was not realistic at least for how much - it really turned out to be, and it was not necessary for nothing. Therefore, the discovery of unnecessary EFI sources did not give any tangible consequences. After all, if the hardware was run by Intel, then in the BIOS - by Phoenix (every three out of four computers, who do not know, work under its control). And Phoenix has its own not the worst (read - many better in some places) developments, albeit based on the "rotten" BIOS structure. Therefore, one gesture "take it from the master's shoulder for free" was clearly not enough. And even competitors Phoenix, which sharply supported EFI, in the person of AMI and Insyde, did not make the difference and the “ifaezation” declared at the time by 2004 went to the same place where the next “revolutionary” BTX platform (remember this one?), Which was supposed to “ change "ATX" (I remember very well - for a year now I have not been able to buy a cooler for one of the BTX-boards in view of its "popularity"). I had to use the deck artillery - to connect Microsoft to this. After all, it is one thing to seduce users to change the old computer by calling "It will be better", and another thing "It won't work otherwise."
By joint efforts (with gingerbread sticks), finally, at the beginning of 2006, Phoenix said the first "well, yes" to the already numerous promoters of the EFI standard, which had mutated by that time into UEFI. And last year, when the locomotive of Chinese computer thought, which was picking up speed, clearly buzzed that it would leave alone on the "open source" rails (in terms of EFI) - Phoenix finally said "for sure - yes". Therefore, now that the "owner" has allowed, and at the very end of the year Microsoft finally gave birth to and ("even") support for EFI in its SP1 for Vista - we can assume a rapid development of solutions for this segment.
What's up with this "simple user"? Yes, especially - nothing. Opportunities like watching movies "in BIOS" have long been realized, various recovery options from hidden partitions, which for some reason are positioned by some as "novelty" in relation to EFI-BIOS, are also not news at all. Except that support for disks over 2TB (limited by the standard MBR) and 4096-byte sectors, supposed already this year, are not difficult to do in the “old” BIOS either. However, now nobody cares about it, the presence of EFI on the board "instead of BIOS" is a good additional "feature", why not use it? ...
ps Someone will ask the question - what about this "difficult" user who is vigilant about his safety and treats "open source" with distrust, considering it only a breeding ground for hackers? But this is a completely different story ...
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To update the BIOS in such motherboards, it is most convenient to use the special ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility already built into the motherboard.
If your ASUS device is implemented on an older BIOS version (without ASUS EZ Flash utility), then follow the instructions How to flash ASUS BIOS (AFUDOS utility)
Step-by-step instructions for flashing (updating) BIOS using ASUS EZ Flash 2:
Before flashing, be sure to take care of the electrical supply of the device. If the system is powered off during the firmware process, the BIOS will be damaged. Therefore, try to connect your PC to an uninterruptible power supply or fully charge the battery (in case of laptop firmware)
1. First, you need to download the appropriate version of the BIOS firmware from the official ASUS website and save it on an external medium (from which the firmware will be carried out) in an unzipped form (often with the .CAB extension)
2. Go to BIOS. To do this, restart the device and hold down the DEL (for personal computers) or F2 (for laptops) button when turning it on.
3. After checking the current BIOS version, go to the advanced properties tab by pressing the "Advansed mode" button or the F7 button.
4. In advanced BIOS mode, go to the "Tool" tab
5. On the service tab, select the ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility
6. In the ASUS EZ Flash 2 interface, check the current BIOS version again and then select the prepared media with the firmware on the left side of the screen. Select the new BIOS file on the right side of the screen.
7. Confirm consent to check the firmware file.
8. After verification, you need to agree to the BIOS firmware.
9. Wait until the end of the firmware process (the progress bar of the process is displayed at the bottom).
10. After a successful BIOS flashing, a message will appear prompting you to reboot. Agree by clicking OK.
11. At the first start after BIOS flashing, the system will offer to make the initial setup. You need to check the current BIOS version - it must match the one selected for the firmware. Press F1 and make the desired setting or just exit the settings.
This completes the BIOS flashing of the ASUS motherboard.
After successfully updating my P8H67-m version with the latest 'bios' version, I ended up with a blinking cursor in the upper left corner of the black screen. No mistakes, nothing. The BIOS now only lists the SATA boot option:
Although I don't see any reason why something would change on my hdd while you were flashing the bios; After spending a wasted day doing this, the working solution was to properly reinstall grub-efi-amd64 (this is how I did it). Until now I thought the EFI Boot Manager would parse my EFI partition and return with whatever options are available, but it looks like I need to explicitly communicate this and that he will forget everything when he updates.
If so, it seems like a serious limitation to me. So: is this standard UEFI behavior, is it something specific to asus motherboards, or is linux incorrectly installing grub in the first place? Is the EFI OS bootloader information stored on some NVRAMs erased during a BIOS update? Will I have the same problem if I try to load my hdd from another computer?
PS: the BIOS version is not at fault, after the initial update I ditched the original version to no avail. Now that I have solved the problem, I am using the latest version just fine. This flashes the BIOS no matter which version is breaking the system.
One Solution collect form web for “Why does EFI“ BIOS ”update break the EFI boot manager?"
I had a similar problem after updating my BIOS and was asking myself why a full hdd restore via dd would not leave me with a bootable system.
It looks like when the boot loader is installed, the operating system must register an entry in the "EFI boot variables" inside NVRAM. No entry, no download. What's even more confusing is that with the UEFI 2.3 specification, the system can look for an EFI / boot / bootx64.efi file similar to booting from external media on the primary hard drive, so some UEFI versions can just boot without messing around.
This registration should be done with efibootmgr but modprobe efivars is not modprobe efivars for me, according to ubuntu. So I also just chroot and reinstall grub-efi and hope for the best.
Big difference. What is UEFI and how is it different from BIOS?
Usually, users don't think about a PC or laptop device until it fails. For example, when the word "bios" is used, some users vaguely imagine an archaic blue interface that does not support mouse control. For most users, this is just another computer abbreviation, from which the head is already spinning. Few people have heard of UEFI, and only a select few know how it differs from BIOS.
In short: what is the difference between BIOS and UEFI
BIOS - Basic Input / Output System ( english Basic Input / Output System), which is stored on the computer's motherboard. The BIOS starts working as soon as the PC is turned on, the system starts the hardware components and the program to boot Windows or another operating system.
BIOS was developed back in 1975, when no one could have imagined a 2 TB hard drive. Today, this is the usual amount of memory for a home computer. The BIOS does not support hard drives of this size - this is one of the reasons why it is gradually being replaced by UEFI.
New computers use UEFI - Universal Extensible Firmware Interface ( english Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), but it is still called "BIOS" in the old fashioned way, so as not to confuse users once again. UEFI is a modern solution that supports larger hard drives, boots faster, has an intuitive graphical interface and supports mouse control!
Why is a BIOS needed?
The BIOS is used to boot the OS, check the health of the hardware and configure the PC. For example, to change the configuration of the hard disk, the OS boot order (from a hard disk, flash drive or other media) and set the system time. These settings will be saved in the motherboard memory.
In addition, the BIOS conducts a POST - a self-test after power-on ( english Power-On Self Test) to check the hardware configuration. If something is wrong, an error message or beep is displayed. When the computer does not turn on and you hear a "squeak" from an 8-bit game, this is BIOS operation. To understand what exactly broke, you need to find the instructions for the motherboard, which will explain the meaning of this or that sound signal.
Why is the BIOS outdated?
Since its inception, the BIOS has hardly evolved much. There were separate additions and extensions. For example, ACPI is an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface.
This interface simplified BIOS setup and power management and hibernation. However, this was not enough, the BIOS was hopelessly stuck in the days of MS-DOS. For example, the BIOS can only boot from drives smaller than 2.1 TB. In addition, it has problems with the simultaneous initialization of multiple hardware devices, which leads to slower boot times on computers with modern components.
In 1998, Intel first thought about a BIOS replacement and began work on the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) for the underrated 64-bit Itanium series. Distribution of the new interface required broad industry support. Apple chose EFI for the Mac back in 2006, but other manufacturers haven't followed suit.
UEFI comes to us
UEFI supports BIOS emulation, so users can still use legacy operating systems ( approx. ed. - It is not safe!)
The new standard avoids BIOS limitations. UEFI can boot OS from disks larger than 2.2TB. The actual limit for these is 9.4 zettabytes. This is about three times the estimated amount of all data on the Internet.
UEFI supports 32-bit or 64-bit modes, and its address space is larger than that of BIOS - which significantly speeds up boot times. In addition, the UEFI setup screen is more flexible with mouse support and user interface.
Secure Boot support allows you to verify that the OS boot has not been modified by malware. UEFI allows remote configuration and debugging. The BIOS can't do that.
Essentially, UEFI is a standalone operating system that runs on top of a PC's firmware. It can be stored in flash memory on the motherboard, or loaded from other sources (hard drive and other media).
UEFI motherboards from different manufacturers will have different interfaces and functionality. It all depends on the specific model, but the basic settings will be the same for any computer.
How do I open UEFI settings?
For ordinary users, the transition from BIOS to UEFI went unnoticed. The new PC will just boot up faster when turned on. However, if you need UEFI access, it will differ depending on the operating system.
Windows 8
- Press Win + C
- Settings - Change PC settings
- Under "PC Settings" select "General"
- In the Advanced Start section, click Restart
- After reboot, the Windows 8 boot menu appears
- From the boot menu select "Troubleshoot" - "Advanced Settings" - "UEFI Firmware Setting"
In Win 10, you can try to enter UEFI the old fashioned way:
- Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds
- As soon as the logo appears on the screen, quickly press F2 or DEL (on some laptop models, the keys may be different)
Operating system access:
- In the search box, enter "Options"
- Settings - Update & Security - Recovery
- In the "Special Boot Options" section, click "Restart Now"
- The system will reboot and show the Windows 10 boot menu
- Troubleshooting - Advanced Options - UEFI Options
