Windows 7 Help! Can't get uefi install to work!

[Brett Rackleff]

Hello all,

I decided to come here and try out the windows7forums and see if they want my company and helpful insight. I was banned from sevenforums for, you guessed it, no good reason. (They seem to have a track record of doing that.) I hope, as I have heard, that Windows7Forums will treat me better than such.


Now, on to my problem...

I have set up a usb UEFI windows 7 ultimate installer, dont worry It is legal I own the proper licenses and have a valid key, anyway my problem is it wont boot. It tells me it is missing winload.efi from the system32 but system32 is not present on the usb or the dvd iso i used??? why cant i get it to start the setup???

my specs are: asus p8p67 b3 rev. corsair 120gb ssd and intel i5 2gb ram.

 

[Saltgrass]

For a USB flash drive to boot into UEFI, you need to add a folder and file to the efi folder. Create a new folder called "boot" and add the file bootx64.efi. The bootx64.efi is a renamed bootmgfw.efi file.

The flash drive also has to be formatted as FAT32, NTFS will not work for UEFI.

 

[Brett Rackleff]

yup yup did all that. i am so lost as to why it wants the winload.efi because i cant find anywhere where it says it goes on the usb or dvd

 

[Saltgrass]

Are you saying you have a flash drive you are trying to install with, or do you have an install on a USB device?

If you are trying to install, during the boot, you will need to use the boot device menu, or the bios and then boot device to set the UEFI version of the device so it will boot. Do you see the UEFI options? Is your bios set to allow UEFI boots, or just legacy?

 

[Brett Rackleff]

everything is set to point to uefi boot correctly, i think it may have to do with my ssd... do i need to have my ssd formatted a certain way?

 

[Saltgrass]

The SSD is just like any other drive, but there have been some with special problems. You might check the community for that drive manufacturer. I use a Crucial M4 and it works fine. You could always test with a normal HHD. If can be a RAW drive and still install but you do need the AHCI controller being used.

So, if it is booting into UEFI, what happens during the install? Do you get to the page that asks where to install, any messages?

Edit: And just in case, do not put the flash drive in a USB 3.0 port.

 

[Brett Rackleff]

well the problem is it loads and then stops telling me it is missing winload.efi from system32 and there is no system 32 on the usb...? idk where to put the winload.efi file that i scavenged from my laptop

 

[Brett Rackleff]

Link Removed

This is what it is doing x.x=

 

[Saltgrass]

It appears it is trying to start Windows, not a Windows Install.

What procedure did you use to make the flash drive? A link to what you used or an actual step by step description of how and were you got the files you are using.

 

[Brett Rackleff]

looks like i got the wrong iso for the usb x.x my dvd drive is fried so i have to download an iso version of my windows... dont worry i have a valid key and licence for windows. anyway i guess the one i used was modded and had missing files so now i have to wait 5 hours to try again after it downloads the right iso... lame.

Anyway out of paranoia from being banned at sevenforums over supposedly supporting piracy, i was explaining how it is legal to download an iso if you have the valid key and licence purchased, I am stating, once again, so EVERYONE can see it i am doing this WITHIN the law I own a valid key and licence so dont jump the gun and slam down the ban hammer, mods

 

[Brett Rackleff]

well i got a new iso and now it says the bcd file in the efi\windows\boot is the problem x.x what am i doing wrong?????

 

[Saltgrass]

You said you knew how to make a bootable flash drive for the install, which included adding the extra folder.

You can download, if you need to, an .iso file from the link.

I asked how you were making the flash drive and you did not respond. So, I will quickly go over how to do that. Do not use the Microsoft .iso to flash drive tool.

Make a bootable flash drive using Diskpart and format in FAT32. Copy the files from the burned .iso to the flash drive. Use 7-zip to extract the bootmgfw.efi file and rename it bootx64.efi and add the boot folder and put that file in there. If you have access to a UEFI install, you can get the file there.

When you boot, you will see the UEFI option of the flash drive. Your hard drive should be clean, unless you are doing an upgrade, and even then, you can remove previous partitions during the install.

I am not sure what else I can help you with. It should work and boot into the installer. You cannot install Windows to an external drive without special software.

Good Luck...

Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River « My Digital Life

 

[Mike]

For the USB boot loader, have you considered Universal USB Installer? It also sounds like you have a corrupt ISO or something is not set up right with UEFI. The BIOS mode must be disabled and you have to make sure UEFI is turned on.

Installing Windows to an EFI-Based Computer

 

[Brett Rackleff]

yes i installed the iso to the usb correctly it is fat32 and all the good stuff i believe i may have, once again, gotten a bad iso so ill follow your iso link you posted and see if that fixes the problems... ill report back asap with the results

 

[Joe S]

After you download the new ISO do a hash check before anything else.
Joe

 

[Brett Rackleff]

sorry i had forgot to return and say yes it was indeed a bad iso