gtx 970m upgrade, uefi mode questions

Hello everybody
I bought a 970m for my alienware 17 deployed in 2013 to upgrade it from a gtx765m. I've read many guides about this kind of upgrade, but I can't understand what exactly should I do to enable the uefi mode the way I need it.

Now, the alienware came with win 7 64bit on, one month ago I installed win 8.1 (not win 10 because I read it can cause some problem with the gpu upgrade). I'm trying to enable the uefi mode from the bios (setting from bios: secure boot>disabled, load legacy option>disabled, Boot list option> UEFI), as the computer restarts the sing "start pxe over ipv4" appears, I press esc, "start pxe over ipv6" sign appears, esc again, "no bootable device detected".
After this I have to return to the legacy Bios.

I don't understand why the ssd with the os isn't detected. Do I have to reinstall Windows 8.1 again with the Uefi setting (and I don't know how to do it properly), or do I just have to change some setting somewhere to make the ssd detectable? Also, how do I gpt format on my ssd?

Thank you in advance for you help

 

Your SSD must be formatted in GPT.

 

SSD must be GPT and not MBR. you will need to do a fresh install....win 10 will auto format your drive to GPT on a fresh install.

your BIOS must be pure UEFI: No legacy mode enabled otherwise it screws up everything.

 

Ok then, how do I exactly fresh install win 8.1 AND format gpt on my ssd? I read the woodstack thread and i've seen that windows 10 still has some issues, so I wonder if it is better to maintain win 8.1 until win 10 gets tested extensevely.
Now back to the ssd format, I' trying to do it with rufus to create a bootable usb, are there some things I should pay attention to, in order to re-install win8 with pure uefi?
Also, Rufus doesn't allow me to create a fat32 format on a 16 gb usb, saying that the iso is too big, and then forces me to use ntfs format. Is it right anyway, or it must be fat32? if so, ho do I do that?

 

Rufus is perfect. No need for fat32. Where did you get your iso from ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Installation of Windows 8.1 from USB in UEFI is really easy and can be done using official Microsoft tool:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media

Just choose the language, 8.1 edition, x64 architecture, then USB installation option. Restart you PC, make sure the BIOS is set to UEFI (legacy disabled, secure boot and fast boot can be enabled or disabled, it will not matter for the installation itself), save the configuration (F10) and start tapping F12 for the boot menu. You will see some options to boot from and might see your pen drive listed 2 times - choose the one, which says EFI or UEFI and off you go. You can then delete all the partitions on your SSD and proceed to install Windows without creating any partitions, Windows will create them automatically. Partitions can be later customized using Disk management tool or 3rd party software in Windows.

 

Thank you Mariussx, I did it!