How do I deploy Windows 7 to UEFI or really boot in legacy mode?

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I used to deploy a windows 7 image to computers using clonezilla, after creating two partitions and setting the bootable flag on the system partition.

Now however, I've got some computers with an Asus H110M-K D3 motherboard, and what I used to do does no longer work.

I can do the deployment stage (copying from the server using clonezilla), but when rebooting I get initially a black screen and then the computer returns to UEFI.

I assume there is some simple option in the UEFI that would really allow me to boot as if there is a BIOS instead of an UEFI. An option I'm somehow missing even after going over all options several times.

If I switch to using GPT partitioning, do I need to create a new image, or can I add an EFI partition somehow and be done? If I do need to create a new image, is there anything special I need to do to make Windows 7 work with GPT? I'll create the image in virtualbox.

Ernst

Posted 2016-01-26T10:37:30.623

Reputation: 149

What do you mean by "really boot in legacy mode" exactly? You boot into legacy mode by enabling it. You boot Windows 7 into UEFI mode by not enabling Legacy Mode and of using a UEFI compatible version (i.e. 64-bit). If you use GPT then you are forced, at least with Windows, to NOT enable Legacy Mode. – Ramhound – 2016-01-26T13:20:35.417

Maybe its my lack of experience with UEFI. I expected the legacy mode to give at least some indication of Windows. One of our applications won't run in 64-bit Windows. So I understand from your comment that I need to stay with MBR partitioning and enable legacy mode. Remains the problem why it does not work. I guess I'll try to add some drivers to the image. It might just fix it. – Ernst – 2016-01-26T13:39:24.230

Windows 32-bit does not support UEFI. Windows 8 and above 32-bit versions do. – Ramhound – 2016-01-26T13:42:10.233

Given your needs, I recommend deploying as you always do, using MBR and installing a BIOS-mode boot loader to the MBR. Chances are it's not worked for you because of a firmware setting; your computer may be configured to disable the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) by default. The CSM provides BIOS-mode boot support for an EFI, so it must be enabled in your firmware setup utility. How to do this varies greatly from one computer to another, so I can't provide details. Look for a "CSM" or "legacy boot support" option, and enable it; or (more rarely) disable "EFI boot support." – Rod Smith – 2016-01-26T22:25:51.390

Answers

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In the end I did manage to solve it, although it's still unclear to me why this works. Instead of using fdisk to create the partitions I used parted. In addition, I did a reboot after every step in the deployment. Like this:

  1. Boot Clonezilla into shell and create partitions using parted, making sure they're properly aligned.
  2. Reboot
  3. Boot Clonezilla into shell and set first partition to active (bootable) using fdisk.
  4. Reboot
  5. Boot Clonezilla and clone the image on the server to the partitions.
  6. Reboot
  7. Boot into Windows 7

And then it's time to run into other problems such as no network, usb, usb mouse etc., but that's (partly) for another question.

Ernst

Posted 2016-01-26T10:37:30.623

Reputation: 149

Asked: 2016-01-26T10:37:30.623

Viewed: 1 004 times

Active: 2016-02-02T11:54:42.403