UefiSeven: Easily boot Windows 7 on UEFI class 3 devices

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by manatails, Aug 3, 2020.

  1. gpguyperson

    gpguyperson MDL Novice

    Aug 11, 2020
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    #81 gpguyperson, Aug 15, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2020
    Well its...better. Appears to install the OS correctly (been a while so I forget what is supposed to happen) - restarts and goes back to the 'install ui' which I take to mean its done. Remove usb and reboot, goes to 'setup is updating registry settings' for a few minutes, goes to 'starting windows' and appears to hang just after the 'windows logo finishes forming' (the orbs merge and the window is formed)...then it just sits there.

    Just watched a win7 video, so it looks like after restarting, its supposed to pick up where it left off - but mine basically forgets it did anything and just wants me to install it again...
     
  2. manatails

    manatails MDL Novice

    Jul 23, 2014
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    Did you replace the bootloader with UefiSeven in your HDD after the initial reboot?
     
  3. gpguyperson

    gpguyperson MDL Novice

    Aug 11, 2020
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    I'm not exactly sure what you mean - I do Step 5, then it does the 10 second countdown and reloads back into the beginning of the 'install ui', there isn't time to change anything. If I remove the usb and restart, it hangs. So if you are referring to steps 6/7/8 I'm not sure when/how I'm supposed to do it.
     
  4. manatails

    manatails MDL Novice

    Jul 23, 2014
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    You should complete the steps 6/7/8 after the system shuts down with 10 second countdown.

    Anything that can do basic file operations can be used for it, EFI shell, Linux LiveCD, Windows PE etc.
     
  5. gpguyperson

    gpguyperson MDL Novice

    Aug 11, 2020
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    #85 gpguyperson, Aug 15, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2020
    Alright, so just pull the usb before it restarts to prevent it from cycling? Or just power off until I can get the next usb in there?

    What a headache...not matter what I do (I've got a puppy linux usb) it just keeps trying to boot windows.
     
  6. manatails

    manatails MDL Novice

    Jul 23, 2014
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    After the first reboot, rest of the setup process is loaded from the HDD (even though it looks just like the USB boot media),
    What you want is having UefiSeven in your HDD so that it will be active even when the computer boots from the HDD.
     
  7. gpguyperson

    gpguyperson MDL Novice

    Aug 11, 2020
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    #87 gpguyperson, Aug 15, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2020
    Finally got puppy to run, not seeing any file path even approaching "\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\", just windows/boot/efi. Also took 'Copy UefiSeven bootx64.efi to (HDD)\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi using EFI shell' to mean copy the file to that directory and re-name it - no change windows still hangs.

    I don't know what to do anymore, my brain is fried and I need to sleep
     
  8. andreidi

    andreidi MDL Novice

    May 24, 2020
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    If you installed win7 in GPT and not MBR, the EFI folder is stored on the small hidden efi partition. You can easily access it using the recovery console of win7 installation or simply booting a win10 pen edition so you can have gui by the hand.

    You certainly didn't integrate the right usb drivers. Which drivers did you use?
     
  9. andreidi

    andreidi MDL Novice

    May 24, 2020
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    I have another idea: wouldnt it be easier to copy uefiseven directly into the wim files so when win7 installs and reboots you have win7 ready to automatically run with uefiseven integrated?
     
  10. polygaryd

    polygaryd MDL Novice

    Nov 7, 2016
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    I know where and how to access efi partition using multiple different methods, That wasnt what my post was about. My post was saying that I cannot install windows 7 in uefi mode even with uefieseven 1.23t even though it gets past the windows logo into the setup. I can only install windows 7 in mbr so i know it runs on this hardware just fine and maybe installing windows 7 in mbr and then converting the msata to gtp and adding uefi information to the efi parition as well as uefiseven to make windows 7 boot as a possible solution.

    I also slipstreamed and tried multiple versions of intel's usb 3 drivers including one generic version suggested by manatalis in a previous post and definitely the supposed correct one for my system with series 7 chipset c216 confirmed to be correct by my windows 10 which is currently installed and running.

    I'm thinking you mis understood my post and or arn't listening to what I'm saying. Im thinking that something else is making it freeze.
     
  11. polygaryd

    polygaryd MDL Novice

    Nov 7, 2016
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    just tried yet another different usb3 driver based off the VEN_8086&DEV_1E2d, VEN_8086&DEV_1E26, and VEN_8086&DEV_1E31 for the series 7 c216 chipset and still freezes at the same spot right at the language screen of the windows 7 install. so ive tried the generic usb driver, one from dell that matches my chipset, one that matches my chipset and the ven/dev id's optioned via device manager in windows 10 currently running on the system, and a random usb 3 driver. All freeze or do not work at exactly the same point.
     
  12. gpguyperson

    gpguyperson MDL Novice

    Aug 11, 2020
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    @andreidi
    -Thank you for the heads up, much appreciated.

    @manatails
    -It works! *angels singing* Fantastic - thank you for developing these work arounds. My only tiny suggestion is to maybe insert a note between step 5/6 to make it clear that you need to do the rest of the changes before booting the OS again to get it to finish (which hopefully frees you up from questions by dumb dumbs like me).
     
  13. andreidi

    andreidi MDL Novice

    May 24, 2020
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    It was clear for me when I read the guide, but like I said, maybe it would be better to integrate uefiseven into the install.wim so that you don't have to do those steps anymore. But I don't know which efi files windows 7 installation uses when it creates the efi partition, where do these files come from: the EFI folder on the root of the iso of from inside the install.wim?
     
  14. polygaryd

    polygaryd MDL Novice

    Nov 7, 2016
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    #96 polygaryd, Aug 18, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2020
    I have heard of similar things being done but i am not experienced with that specifically. do i just copy install.wim from my windows 7 flash drive and overwrite the install.wim in windows 8 or 10 after i make a bootable usb install drive of windows 8 or 10?

    I will also try this tool you linked to.
     
  15. gpguyperson

    gpguyperson MDL Novice

    Aug 11, 2020
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    I just made a bootable Win10 64 PE (Hiren's Boot edition), pulling the install usb during the countdown, put 10pe in with another usb with the files on it, checked drive/partition info in Disk Manager, mounted the efi partion in CMD, and just did 6/7/8 (its just renaming/copy pasting at this point), restarted and removed win10pe/other usb, setup finishes the last steps.
     
  16. polygaryd

    polygaryd MDL Novice

    Nov 7, 2016
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    Ok so Here's my findings, I downloaded and used the windows image updater program linked on page six. It boots without any need for uefiseven or the like. it gives me my install usb 2 or usb 3 flash drive(both worked with same image of course), mouse and keyboard. I am able to complete the first part of the setup and restart.

    Upon restart I intervein and boot into windows 10, access the efi partition specifically for windows 7(windows 10 and windows 7 DO NOT share the same efi partition, this is easily achieved by making another 100mb partition in fat 32 and changing the uuid to be efi partition on whichever one i want to manipulate), and I rename bootmgfw.efi to bootmgfw.original.efi, copy uefiseven's version of bootx64.efi renamed to bootmgfw.efi and restart. it gets to the second part of the installer and boom HANGS exactly like before except this time the three dots on "completing install" are still in motion, cannot move mouse yet I can see the pointer(a slight improvement?), cannot do anything with the keyboard and I must hard shut down. I gave it 20 minutes sitting there on that completeing install screen and the status bar didnt move a millimeter.

    Another thing to note is that i couldnt dism mount the install.wim file after the windows image updater tool created the new windows 7.iso so i couldnt try to add uefisevens version of bootx64 renamed to bootmgfw.efi in the efi folder and commit the changes so i wouldnt have to interrupt the reboot after the first part of the windows install and add the uefiseven bootloader manually. Dism said the iso is in the wrong format.

    so... i believe something is going on between uefi seven and making the install hang, not sure how, or why, but when uefiseven is not used as with the initial boot off the usb after the updater program does it thing to the iso everything works. When uefiseven is used it doesnt. it cant be the usb drivers, chipset, or nvme drivers as we know they work from the first part of the install. something is blocking something, maybe a memory area for the vga emulator (uefiseven) is being used by some of the hardware windows 7 is trying to invoke?
     
  17. andreidi

    andreidi MDL Novice

    May 24, 2020
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    #99 andreidi, Aug 19, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2020
    Because you get past the boot sequence (win7 logo), it means uefiseven does it's job: allowing standard vga to run on uefi class 3.

    Completing setup freeze would likely be related to some driver or iso issue I guess. I personally have no idea, I would try without slipstreamed drivers and with an iso sp1 with all updates up-to-date already integrated. Also I would replace the boot.wim with boot.wim from win10 iso, instead of integrating drivers. Maybe someone else has other ideas.

    You could try to edit the wim file contents using 3rd party apps, I never did that myself, I have only extracted files from a wim without dism using 7zip. Maybe adding the uefiseven there will do the job since you wouldn't have to interrupt windows 7 installation anymore.
     
  18. andreidi

    andreidi MDL Novice

    May 24, 2020
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    #100 andreidi, Aug 20, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2020
    @manatails

    I successfully installed UefiSeven 1.23 on my Acer Spin 5 UEFI Class 3 machine. I already installed Win7 with vga disabled and slipstreamed signed video driver, but I wanted to test it an benefit from BSOD, diskcheck and Safe Mode. It works perfect! But how do I avoid pressing ENTER two times before the logo shows up, how to make it boot automatically? I already copied UefiSeven.skiperrors in the same folder as bootmgfw.efi.