Please help me in providing a short guide to format ux31a

Guys i need you help, would someone please be kind enough to write a short guide on how to do a fresh win 7 install in ux31a? It shouldnt be that hard but there are few issues that i am in doubt. Usually with regular old hdd i will delete every partition & install manually which it will then create a extra system partition for backup purpose.

But now with ssd i am quite confused with these EFI partition & few others.

There are 4 partition in my ux31a currently, 1 EFI, 1 os & 2 other partition which i dont know is used for what. Could someone explain all the partitions & the effects of deleting it? Which should i delete & install or is it safe to delete everything & format freshly?

These are the drive partitions:

1) 200 MB - Healthy (EFI System Partition)
2) OS C: 104.92 GB NTFS - Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition)
3) 4.00 GB - Healthy (Primary Partition)
4) 10.00 GB Healthy (Recovery Partition)

 

Anyone? Please? I am sure the guide will benefit me & others as i saw a few others were asking how to do a fresh format for their ux31a as well.

What is the EFI partition btw? what is in it & if i deleted it how do i set it up back?

 

Our Zenbook use UEFI replacing legacy BIOS. If you paired it with a GPT partition hard drive, you have the advantage of blah-blah-blah... Google it to find out. In short, ASUS use GPT. That is why you see the EFI partition.

You can also use MBR partition without side effects. Well, at least I cannot see any. Just google and see if GPT partition is go for you. Let's move on.

First, Create a recovery disc just in case if something goes wrong. If you did not and wipe the disc, you have to call ASUS to order the replacement disc. So please do so.

I used the below process to install Windows 8 RP. So everything should be exactly the same.

Assuming you have access to Windows ISO, create a USB installation thumbdrive. The thumbdrive should be in FAT32 format.
- For Windows 7, you need to download the USB3 drivers, extract it, and put it in a folder on Windows thumbdrive. When the installation ask for it, point to it and install. For Windows 8, ignore this step.

Now off we go...
- Let's install the Windows on a GPT partition.
- The default ASUS installation is a GPT partition.

1. Turn off the Zenbook.
2. Pop the thumbdrive in. Turn it on. Hit F2 to BIOS.
3. Log into the BIOS. Go to the last page, use Boot Override to select "UEFI:Your USB"
--- If you do not want GPT partition, just select your USB Boot Override without "UEFI"
4. Your Windows installation should start with UEFI mode.
5. At the time when "Choosing where to install Windows", wipe the disk.
6. Select NEW, create the partition, you should see 3 partition created. IF it is 2, you are not in the UEFI mode of the installation.
7. Proceed as usual.

For drivers, I install everything from the download list at the website in the following order.
1. The ATK Package
2. Intel Chipset INF
3. Intel Management Engine
4. Intel Thermal Driver
5. ASUS Smart Gesture (I'm using Beta Version)
5. Everything else that seem necessary for you from the ASUS website.

 

i dont seem to have the UEFI option. Any way to get that?

update: ok nvm i figured that out, i followed this tip & it worked: Installing Windows 7 in native EFI mode from USB - bit-tech.net Forums

 

thanks man, but 1 final question. Do i need to configure the EFI settings or anything?

edit: also how come now my EFI partition is 100mb? Before it was 200mb, will this have any side effects? How to configure it to 200mb?

 

nvm i reformat it & configure the size by myself manually via cmd. Damn never know such thing as uefi existed, took me 1 day to research & read from different sources.

But i am not sure if its setup properly or not, could someone let me know how to check if my efi is working with my current windows 7? I mean how do i know if they are linked together & working well? I followed the guide above with minor modification i did to the efi/boot directory as suggested in the link i posted above.

 

Assuming you want to check whether you have a GPT or MBR after installation... The quickest way to check would be in the UEFI BIOS.

Go to Boot Override again. You should see...
MBR = "PO:"Your Hard Drive""
GPT = "Windows Boot Manager (PO:"Your Hard Drive")

Another way to check is via Disk Management, you will have the extra EFI partition if you are setting up your disk as GPT partition.
With a blank drive during installation, Windows will create 3 partitions for GPT, 2 partition for MBR.

The link your provided just list the extra steps to ensure you are running EFI mode BEFORE installation.

 

At boot override i manage to see only 1 option which is:
Windows Boot Manager (PO: sandisk....).

Then at Disk management there is a EFI partition, but i am not sure if its configured properly or setup right & working as expected. Because during installation i went to create the partitions all manually via cmd & then choose the primary partition & click next which then it installs win 7 in it. But not sure during the installation did it configure the EFI settings?

Anyways please take a look at my boot settings in the attachment i given, does it help? Otherwise let me know any other information you wish to take a look at. Thanks

http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=80887&stc=1&d=1343410941

 

Sorry. I was supposed to say only one option will appear for the hard drive on Boot Override. Only MBR or GPT. It will not show both.

The partition is not (technically) user configurable. It just contains the boot loader for the OS and other files like drivers and such for preload environment. Don't worry about it. As long as you can boot to OS, you are fine with the partition you manually created.

Also, if you disable UEFI, you will not be able to boot to your current GPT partition. But AFAIK, I do not think you can disable UEFI. The GPT contains an unique GUID for UEFI to boot.

 

So meaning if the only way to work is if i did it right, if i did it wrongly it wouldnt boot right? So as long as i can boot then everything should be fine right?

 

You can say that. Just have fun with it.

 

Hi,

Thanks for theses explanations.

I am running into a problem when I launch UEFI:USB drive in the bios.

I get an error : Winload.efi is missing or corrupt

And the installation cannot start.

Do you have any idea what is it about ?

Thanks

PS : Solved : I downloaded another windows7.iso and re-created a bootable USB and it worked.

 

I can't find any steps to re-installing WIndows on the GPT partitions using a USB stick on the UX31A and then deleting the 4 GB partition + recovery partition after installation.

 

I'm trying to figure out the best way to format my Windows 7 UX31A with a stock installation of Windows 7 using USB and was wondering if this is the best method since I'm fairly sure my model is using UEFI+GPT or if I should use this method that ignores the GPT:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/680250-asus-ux31a-fresh-install-guide.html

For the USB key, do I need to use a USB 2.0 8 GB+ and then later on install the Intel drivers followed by the Asus one? And if I use this method then can I delete the recovery partition afterwards?