Installing Windows 7 on the pure UEFI systems without CSM

casio4ever · Sep 8, 2024

Installing Windows 7 On Pure UEFI Environment Using Flashboot, Still Behaves Identically Like Installing Hackintosh On Your Machine,

All Installation Can Be Performed As Long As You Have Nvidia Cards Up To GTX 10xx. All RTX Family Are Not Supported.

I Had To Pay 30$ To Learn This Ugly Truth.

Alexandros C. Couloumbis · Sep 9, 2024

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casio4ever · Sep 10, 2024

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biffick · Sep 17, 2024

mbc004 said: ↑

The following procedure works on Dell Vostro 3671.

1. Use NTLite to slipstream USB and storage drivers. Build ISO. Use Rufus to create a bootable USB pendrive from this ISO (mode GPT, UEFI). Let's say that USB pendrive is drive U:.

2. Obtain the following files:

a. vgashim.efi (driver1998's version) and vgashim.bmp

b. bootmgr.efi, bootmgfw.efi memtest.efi from Windows 10.

3. Create directory U:\newefi, copy bootmgr.efi, bootmgfw.efi, memtest.efi there. Additionally, copy vgashim.efi to U:\efi\boot\bootx64.efi and vgashim.bmp to U:\efi\boot\bootx64.bmp

4. Boot off the pendrive. You should see the vgashim logo animation and the installer should start.

5. The installer will run until reboot, and you will see a bootloader error 0xc000000d. Don't panic.

6. Boot off the pendrive, enter recovery mode, start shell.

7. Run mountvol to see your drive letter assignments. Note in particular EFI partition (hereinafer S: ) and USB pendrive (hereinafter U: ).

8. If EFI partition is not mounted, run mountvol S: /S.

9. Replace bootloader with Win10 version: copy U:\newefi\*.* S:\efi\microsoft\boot

10. Install VgaShim: copy U:\efi\boot\bootx64.* S:\efi\boot

11. Update the boot path: bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \efi\boot\bootx64.efi

12. Reboot off the HDD. VgaShim should load, and the installer should continue.

FAQ:

Q1. What is this sorcery?

A1. Win7 expects to have VGA hardware, and VgaShim emulates that. The trick is to boot into vgashim.efi instead into bootmgfw.efi, as is the default. vgashim.efi will
run \efi\microsoft\boot\bootmgfw.efi automatically after doing its magic. This must be done for both the installation disk and the installed system.

Q2. How do I know VgaShim worked?

A2. You'll see an animation, plus installer will work. Also, you can press V when booting, vgashim will enter debug mode.

Q3. Can I use vgashim.efi instead of bootx64.efi?

A3. Yes, just adjust bcdedit path accordingly. Check BIOS setting or use BootIce.

Q4. Why the bcdedit thing, and not just setting the path in BIOS?

A4. Because Win7 will see the mismatch between BIOS and its BCD record, and add a new BIOS entry, pointing directly at bootmgfw.efi.

Q5. Should I slipstream graphic drivers? Should I disable VGA driver after installing graphics drivers?

A5. It does not appear to be necessary. I would recommend against disabling VGA driver, unless you want to get rid of VgaShim.

Q6. Is the .bmp file necessary?

A6. No, vgashim will work fine without it, just no animation. Alternatively you can make your own .bmp file from your favorite cat gif.

Q7. Why replace the *.efi files with Win10 version?

A7. This fixes the 0xc000000d error. Win7 bootloader does not like the hardware, but Win10 bootloader has no problem with it, and will boot Win7 also.

Q6. Can I slipstream / automate this?

A6. I see no fundamental reason why not. I have a VgaShim-based installer booting off PXE.

Q7. Can I use a VGA-compatible grahics card instead of VgaShim?

A7. I don't see a reason why this wouldn't work. You still need to replace bootloaders.

Q8. How do I control which .efi file is booted?

A8. UEFI boot entry in BIOS contains a device identifier pointing at an EFI partion and a file name. You can have multiple entries for booting different files. If you want to modify "Windows Boot Manager" entry, do it via bcdedit, otherwise Windows will overwrite it, see Q4 above. If file name is not specified, bootx64.efi will be used. This is the case when booting off USB media. From Windows (live or PE), use BootIce to set boot paths.

Q9. Can I have more control over the boot process?

A9. Yes! Download UEFI shell, put it into your EFI partition and boot it instead. This will give you a command prompt and you can manually type which .efi fie you want to run. You can then create startup.nsh file which will be run automatically when the shell starts. The shell waits 5 seconds before processing startup.nsh, and will drop you to command prompt when Esc is pressed.

Q10. How do I edit stuff on EFI partition?

A10. From boot disk, see step 8 above. From a live system, run cmd.exe as administrator, then see step 8. Note you will have to run notepad etc. from admin command prompt also, normal user cannot see EFI drive. From UEFI shell, cd, cp and edit commands; see help command and shell documentation. (Tip: run fs0: first).
Click to expand...

Hi, man!
I wish you GREAT and GOOD health for this comment! Thanks for the instructions!

Fed mo · Sep 27, 2024

@PrimeExpert Software
Thank u so much for this great tool
My question is after using the tool n install windows 7 can i update display driver(intel.amd. nvidia) without problem ?
Or the resouloution still fixed to 1024

Installing Windows 7 on the pure UEFI systems without CSM

casio4ever MDL Member

Alexandros C. Couloumbis MDL Member

casio4ever MDL Member

biffick MDL Novice

Fed mo MDL Novice