GUIDE: How to install Windows 7 or 8 via USB on NP700Z*

Hello Maxerl, welcome to NBR.

You've been through a lot. Kudos for hanging in there.

Your PC was delivered with Win (UEFI/ & GPT) as you wrote. If I understand correctly, you stayed in UEFI mode when you installed Win7 and Linux -- since you say you still have Recovery on the disk, and it would have been wiped if you converted to MBR.

But then I understand you switched the BIOS to CSM mode, is that correct?

Switching to CSM mode while your disk is still GPT (and your Windows and Linux installations both assume it is GPT) is bound to cause problems. BIOS will not be able to boot from the GPT disk. So I would say definitely switch back to UEFI mode (or UEFI & CSM) if you want to get your current disk to boot. OR stay in CSM mode, and proceed to convert the disk to MBR and re-install Windows using the Win7 install guide (which contains steps for converting to MBR).

On your model, you will find it is best to install Windows from DVD (as opposed to USB), in order to avoid the ExpressCache issue covered in posts #1 and #2. If you have to install from USB, use the workarounds in those posts.

I am sure you are already familiar with the rules of UEFI/GPT vs BIOS/MBR. Otherwise the links in this post are important reading.

Specifically on your questions, see my answers below:

In your situation, I would try to get a secondary Recovery backup before nuking the disk: Re-enable UEFI first and see if the system behaves normally -- or at least will let you boot Recovery. (If you cannot boot Recovery because the F4 link was destroyed by some of the tools you used, you can try to boot it with Grub or one of the other tricks in this post).

If you are able to boot Recovery, I would create that Admin Tool on a spare USB stick, just to have a fallback if the Bootable factory Image backup should fail. This post explains how. Also save a regular (non-bootable) factory image on an external HDD.

Then follow the Win7 install guide, including converting the disk and changing your BIOS settings.

Please keep us posted on your progress

 

Hi Dannemand, thanks for the quick and comprehensive reply

I read through my post again, and I guess I didn't explain a crucial thing correctly (I worked the night through on my laptop, so I was a little bricked myself ):

I got it back from Samsung repair, they changed the motherboard, wiped WIN7 and reinstalled Win8 (with UEFI/GPT). So the current state of my laptop is:

Win8 installed, UEFI + GPT
BIOS secure boot: off
BIOS fast boot: off (do I also have to change something in Win8 here?)
Old Linux partitions intact, but not bootable due to missing linux boot loader GRUB
F2 BIOS, F4 recovery, F10 boot menu, all of them work

I'm not sure what you mean with secondary backup (special backup type or just a second one? ), but this is the list of backups I have already or I will be creating:

Bootable USB factory image backup: done
non-bootable factory image backup on a network remote harddisk: done
Raw data copy image of the whole harddisk on a network remote harddisk: done, will be tested for functionality by unpacking it to a spare 1,5TB harddisk on my Desktop computer (just checking for functinal partitions and then wipe it)
Normal copy backup of my linux data partition: in progress
USB admin tool: will be done

When I have finished all these backups, the first thing I will do is to use the USB factory image backup, to take the laptop to a known state to start from, like you recommended in an earlier post here (mainly to get rid of the linux partitions and to check out if the USB backup is functional, or do you think that in my case it would be better to leave it in the state I got it back from Samsung repair? The only thing I did change by now is to uninstall the Intel fast storage program inside Win8, I'm not sure if this name is correct, i can look it up when I'm at home).


The thing that frightens me the most is the fact, that when I bricked the laptop by changing from UEFI+CSM to CSM, it wasn't able to boot anything. This would be my thoughts to it:
The laptop couldn't boot the harddisk because it was (and still is) formatted in GPT.
It couldn't boot the linux USB because it needs UEFI for some weird reason? (Then seeing this thread earlier and using a Windows USB would have actually brought me out of this brick...)
It couldn't boot the DVD because either I haven't put it in the very first place in the boot order (I've read that putting it to second or higher place in the boot order can cause problems) or there are (like at my Desktop
computer) two boot options for the DVD drive, one "UEFI boot DVD" and one normal DVD boot, and I accidently put only the UEFI boot to high boot priority.

Does this make sense?



It might take till next week until I can report something new (and hopefully positive and encouraging ), because I'm busy tomorrow and for the weekend.


Thanks again ,
Maxerl

 

OK thanks a lot for that update. I think I understand better now.

You have been very thorough with regards to backups. If you also create that Admin Tool, you will have several ways to restore the disk (in case one of them should fail). And that was all I meant with secondary backup.

As for what caused the bricking, it could be simply that you changed to CSM mode while the disk was still GPT. Nothing will boot in CSM mode unless the disk is converted to MBR and everything re-installed from scratch. That post with UEFI/GPT information I linked provides some useful reading about that.

Why not just keep the current installation and add Linux? I don't know enough about Linux to tell you how, but I would think it should be possible. In UEFI mode all booting is from the EFI partition, which currently has a boot loader for Win8. You're looking at adding a Linux boot loader to that -- I presume with Grub, but maybe it's different for UEFI boot. Maybe you can even re-use the existing Linux installation once you're able to boot it. Again, I don't know Linux, but it sounds feasible.

And regarding Win8, if you add a 3rd party Start Menu, Win8 can be used pretty much the same way as Win7, but is a little faster in several situations. I personally use the free Start Menu 8 from IObit, which lets me boot straight to Desktop and disable all Win8 hot corners. I never see the Metro stuff (which I don't like more than the next guy). But there are several other Start Menu products, some free, some cost a few bucks. Just stay away from Pokki, it's spam.

If you DO decide to wipe the disk (either to test the backups or because you want to convert to CSM/BIOS/MBR) of course you will have a clean slate and can test anything you want. I do NOT think that neither Linux nor Windows can brick your laptop in CSM mode. Just be aware of the rules of UEFI/GPT and CSM/BIOS/MBR.

And with the backups you have, you should always be able to get back to the factory state. Just make sure you are in UEFI mode when you restore. You use the Bootable Factory Image Backup (or the Admin Tool) to re-partition the disk (which should convert it back to GPT) and create working Recovery partitions.

Again, keep us posted on your progress.

 

Hi there!
Thank you for your tread, nice job...
I have a laptop model 530U3C-A01UK with iSSD 24GB and Win 7 preinstalled. I get it without original HDD and now i am trying to install win 7 ( USB flash memory) with one new HDD. The big problem its: on windows installer at partition select screen i can see the iSSD like disk 0 (has 2 partitions, one of 4.5GB and another one 17GB) and HDD like disk 1. From this point i cant go further with installation, because if i select hdd i getting the message: windows can not install in selected partition, error code 0x8007045d. I tried to create some partitions on HDD, no results. I suspecting there some problems with iSSD, because i don't have access to it, even in DISKPART if i try to clean it always i get a error message.
What do you think? What should i try?
Thank you in advance for your advice and sorry for my english...

 

Hello gicos_com, welcome to NBR.

It sounds like UEFI could be enabled in your BIOS, but the disk you're installing on is MBR layout -- or vice versa. That could cause the problem you're seeing. This post has a little overview and some links to more reading about UEFI/GPT vs CSM/BIOS/MBR.

I recommend a Legacy BIOS installation for Win7 on your model: Check in your BIOS settings to make sure that UEFI is disabled. Depending on the BIOS generation, look for either UEFI Boot Support=disabled on the Advanced page, or SecureBoot=disabled and OS Mode Selection=CSM OS on the Boot page.

Then try installing again, using the exact steps in this Win7 install guide. Start with the steps under Win8-delivered model to CLEAN and CONVERT your SSD to MBR. Also clean the iSSD and convert it to MBR while you are there, it may help getting ExpressCache working later.

If you have a DVD drive, it is far easier to install from DVD on your model, since it avoids a problem with Windows Setup getting confused by the iSSD. If you MUST install from a USB stick, you need to follow the workarounds in the first posts of this thread, either this or this to make sure the Windows boot files end up where they belong.

And don't worry, your English is fine. Getting your computer working is all we care about here

 

Hi Dannemand! Thank you for your quick replay.
I try what you suggest and i have no luck. I used win7 and win8, hdd converted like MBR (win7) or GPT(win8), i disabled UEFI Boot Suport (win7) and enabled (win8), in every time installation proccess its stop in partition selection screen where i can not select none of the partitions listed there. If i chose hdd i get this message: We couldn't install Windows in the location you chose. Error code 0x8007045d. Maybe its important, in Diskpart i can see te iSSD (has 2 partitions on it) but i cant access it. If i use CLEAN command i get this message: ,,DiskPart has encountered an error: The request could not be performed because of an I/O device errror. See the System Event Log for more information.'' By the way, how can i see System Event Log? And, also maybe its matter, in win7 instalation iSSD is disk 0 and HDD is disk 1, and in win8 HDD is disk 0 and iSSD is disk 1.
I will try to find a external DVD to use but i'm afraid it will be useless. What you think? Any ideas?
Thank you!

 

Hi gicos_com, sorry it took awhile to get back to you. I have been scratching my head today, trying to think what could be the reason why it won't allow you to install. Following are the only reasons I can think of:

1) A corrupt Windows Setup download. According to this, that is what the error code means.

2) AHCI not working correctly. Make sure AHCI is enabled in BIOS (or set to Auto).

3) UEFI/GPT vs BIOS/MBR remain my main suspect: Regardless of whether you install Win7 or Win8, try disabling UEFI and follow the steps in the WIn7 install guide to use DISKPART to CLEAN and CONVERT MBR, both on the HDD and iSSD. After that, exit Windows Setup and shutdown. Now boot into BIOS and select the HDD as your Primary Boot Device, save and shutdown. Now boot Windows Setup again, using F10 to select a temporary boot device (Esc on some models). Create a Windows partition on the HDD using the Advanced screen (NOT with DISKPART) and see if it will install on that partition now. Or even try NOT creating any partitions, just select the HDD as install destination and let Windows create partitions itself (you can always shrink it later).

4) Gremlins in the BIOS data tables. Try resetting BIOS to default values, save, reboot back into BIOS, make sure everything is set the way you want. Try installing again.

5) Even more gremlins in the BIOS and CMOS data tables: Unplug the charger and disconnect the battery by inserting an unbent paper clip into the hole in the bottom till it clicks; with charger and battery disconnected, hold the power button for at least a minute; now reconnect the charger (which will re-connect the battery) boot into BIOS and ensure correct settings. If your model doesn't have a battery disconnect hole, you will have to remove the bottom battery cover and physically disconnect the battery. After the reset, try installing again.

6) A motherboard or SATA connector defect (or a disk or interface defect) causing errors when reading the disk, particularly the first sectors. However, this doesn't explain why you cannot wipe the iSSD.

In any case will installing from a DVD drive eliminate any issues with Windows Setup being confused by the iSSD -- which could make a difference, since these models with iSSD were not meant to be installed from USB.

I hope some of this helps. Fingers crossed. Please keep us posted...

 

Hi! Sorry for my late reply but i was looking for an external dvd, which i found today and i have good news: with external drive installation of win7 worked smooth and faultless. Even iSSD its there, windows is able to see it in disk management and also in Easy settings, the only thing which i must see in next days if is working like expresscache, now cache usage its 0 %. I tried to delete partitions on iSSD (has 2 partitions, one of 17,86GB named like primary partition and one of 4,50GB named like hibernation partition) in Disk Management and i wasn't able to do that, i get some error message and also interesting windows keep reported the iSSD like a faulty disk till i install Intel fast storage driver, after that faulty disk warning has gone. So, i am on the right way, at least seems so... I will keep you inform what happen with expresscache if its working or not.
Thank you for your help and i will keep you posted!

 

Excellent, good job getting that working!

When I got my first Samsung (a Series 5 ultrabook which I eventually returned) I also struggled to install from USB, and the web was full of posts like this claiming it was proven to be impossible. But after we found out what caused it, several workarounds were developed and posted, such as mine here and later hanime's opening post in this thread.

In other words, we always knew that installing from DVD was much preferred on ExpressCache models, but I think yours is the first time I've heard of an USB install being completely impossible, even with the workarounds. I am still puzzled why yours would be different; but you got it working, and that is what counts!

As for the other items you mention:

The iSSD is used by ExpressCache as well as Intel Rapid Start (NOT to be confused with Intel Rapid Storage -- see this post for descriptions of the various "fast this" and "rapid that" features). Intel Rapid Start is an improved hibernation feature, and like ExpressCache it creates a partition on the iSSD.

You should not have to create or change partitions on the iSSD, since ExpressCache and Intel Rapid Start do that themselves, with Easy Settings dividing the space for them. In fact, you have to uninstall them all in order to delete those partitions.

Use the ECCmd command to verify that ExpressCache is working, as described in this post. And if it isn't working right, try the steps in this post. Those posts are in our ExpressCache thread, where the opening post describes manually creating a partition with MacDisk. But you should not have to do that with any current versions of ExpressCache.

Regarding Intel Rapid Start, John's thread here is our definitive guide to that.

And regarding Rapid Storage, it's just a disk driver -- which I generally recommend installing, although there are a few cases that work better without it.

 

Hi again!
It seems i have jumped on conclusions to soon. That hdd failure message shows again: Windows detected a hard disk problem. Start back up your files...bla bla... That looks like iSSD its dying , right? Strange thing is that iSSD is visible for windows , i also managed to wipe it (with command clean from Diskpart) and when i installed Easy settings and expresscache, this software create and format partitions on it. But in ECCmd -info i get this message: HFS volume its not mounted and of course its not working like expresscache. I try with different versions of ExpressCache and Easy settings same result. Probably iSSD has some physical damage and that's it. Except that hdd failure message, machine its working quite ok, even time for booting without expresscache is not too long.
If you have another ideas, i would like to try it. Anyway, thank you for your help, and good job with this tread.

 

Try wiping the iSSD again (DISKPART CLEAN), but this time convert it to MBR (DISKPART CONVERT MBR) before re-installing ExpressCache. (This assumes that your Windows installation is non-UEFI on an MBR disk; if you made an UEFI-installation on a GPT disk, convert the iSSD to GPT).

Of course, as you've already been doing, uninstall ExpressCache and Intel Rapid start first so they're not using the iSSD when you wipe it.

If that doesn't work, I suppose your iSSD really could be defect. In fact that would explain why the Window installation from USB kept failing, because Setup was trying to create its boot partition on the iSSD -- and not being able to write it.

Unfortunately we have had several reports of ExpressCache issues that seemed to indicate defect or worn iSSDs. If the problem is from wear, it's better to stop using the iSSD immediately before it gets worse. If it fails completely, the computer will hang for several minutes every time you boot, while the BIOS and OS are looking for the dead iSSD. And the only fix is a motherboard replacement.

 

You can try this method (it works properly on np530u3c-a08):

In the BIOS Setup:

Disable “Fast BIOS Mode” from BIOS>Advanced
Disable “UEFI” from BIOS
Reboot, and in BIOS>Boot set your USB stick as the first device to boot from
Save and reboot

Download this RAID driver, unzip and copy in a folder of a removable USB: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/De...g&OSVersion=Windows 7 *&DownloadType=Drivers

Make sure you insert the USB stick with Windows 7 x64 installation ready to boot before restart your computer and the USB with the RAID driver.

In the installation setup when you will be required to select partition for install windows, choose the option "Load Driver" and select the RAID driver. Then you can install your Windows 7 x64 normally.

Good luck.

Ginés

 

Hi all, hi Dannemand,

due to some deadlines in my company it took me a little longer to report the results of my changes,
but here it is:

I successfully converted from UEFI/GPT Win8/Linux mint dual boot to
CSM/MBR Win7/Linux mint dual boot by following Dannemands guide
+ his other instructions to me.

THANKS A HUGE LOT!!!

Everything seems to work

(except that I cannot access my companies WIFI from Linux
which seems to be a kernel driver problem, maybe sombody knows where to look for that?
I have googled for ages...
Wireless: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235, Notebook: NP700Z7C-S03DE).

Just for completeness, one more thing: the admin tool which I created was broken,
it booted but inside the program itself it bugged then. Because of that, I wiped
my sytem with the bootable USB factory recovery image and recreated the admin tool.
Then, the admin tool shut down the computer right after having finished booting/loading
(I was still in UEFI/GPZ back then).


Again, thanks a huge lot, I now love my Laptop again:thumbsup:

 

Thank you for that update, Maxerl. Sounds like a great re-install job there.

I wonder if the problem you had with the Admin Tool was due to the USB stick used. Requirements are basically the same as for the bootable Factory Image: It has to be a stick that works as removable drive, not an HDD; and USB2, not USB3. 1GB size should be enough, though, maybe even less. What stick do you use for the Admin Tool?

But good you had that bootable Factory Image and it worked for you!

 

I'm having problems getting past the partition phase of windows installation with NP530u3c. Installation hangs after pressing next in the partition menu and wont move forward. This probably means that iSSD is faulty and the windows installation is unable to create mbr partition on iSSD. I've tried both win 7 installation and windows 8 installation. Installation passes if I use UEFI with windows 8, but then the partitions are created on my main SSD and no-one wants to use UEFI with these laptops.

So it is most likely faulty iSSD and I can send the laptop into warranty?

 

I don't think your SSD is broken. If UEFI installation works but BIOS installation doesn't, that probably means the SSD currently GPT uses layout, not MBR layout. And you will see a problem like the one you describe.

You need to follow the DISKPART conversion steps in our Win7 install guide (post #40 in this thread) to convert the SSD to MBR, THEN disable UEFI and THEN install Windows in BIOS mode.

For Win7 I would indeed recommend you install as BIOS/MBR. The same is true of Win8.x if your computer originally came with Win7. But if your computer originally came with Win8 (meaning it has the newer UEFI/SecureBoot implementation) I would recommend you install as UEFI/GPT.

Also on your model (and all models with ExpressCache) I HIGHLY recommend you install from DVD, not from USB stick. This is true even though you won't use ExpressCache (since you have a "real" SSD as your primary storage).

You can indeed use the workarounds in this thread (posts #1 and #2) and still install from USB stick, but ONLY if you install in BIOS/MBR mode.

 

I wish it was that but it really seems that iSSD is letting go. I installed linux on my main SSD and after checking with various tools my both drives use MBR. I also tried to partition iSSD from linux and the partitioning fails.

 

Oh, I see. Sorry to hear that, since the iSSD cannot be replaced -- or even disabled. If it dies, there will be delays during startup, and the only fix is to replace the motherboard.

Just to make sure: You converted BOTH your main SSD and the iSSD to MBR before installing Windows, right? Because otherwise a BIOS/MBR installation cannot proceed.

Of course this only applies when installing from USB stick. If you install from DVD (onto your main SSD) Windows Setup shouldn't touch the iSSD at all (though you still need to convert your main SSD to MBR, of course).

 

Both drives are in MBR. I'll try once more tomorrow just in case but after that I'll send my unit to warranty (luckily it is still under warranty for one month).

Probably wouldn't bother with the warranty since I haven't been using the iSSD for anything for a long time since I had disable ssd cache and I mostly use linux on it but reinstalling with this "bug" and not having external dvd drive makes it quite hard to live with.

 

Got it. Yes, it sounds like requesting warranty would be best. You don't want that iSSD to fail -- though it is puzzling that it would, if you hardly used it so far. I would highly recommend swapping in the original HDD before sending in the computer, both to safeguard the data on your SSD, and to make sure Samsung doesn't deny warranty on account of you having modified the hardware.

 

When i replaced my 1TB HDD for my 250GB SSD, I didn't realize that the drive cable wasn't completely connected. So when i loaded Windows 7 installation it didn't show up. When i went back to connect it I successfully reconnected the drive but, now the drive order is different. my drive 0 is the iSSD, the SSD is drive 1, and the HDD (1.5TB ODD bay) is now drive 2. Is there a way to refresh the drive order? please reply soon so i can get my machine up and running! Thank you for this post and thank you for your time! :thumbsup:

 

If you install from DVD (as opposed to a USB flash drive) the drive order should be correct, and Windows will install correctly.

Otherwise (if you MUST install from a USB stick) you have to use one of the workarounds in posts #1 or #2 in order to to avoid the boot problem arising from Windows Setup placing the boot partition on the iSSD. Those workarounds ONLY work for BIOS/MBR installations. But you don't want to install Windows 7 in UEFI mode on these machines anyway.

 

I tried using an external ODD to see if the driver order would be correct; but it was still incorrect. what should I do?

 

Seriously, I haven't heard a single case of that iSSD installation issue when members installed from DVD. OTOH it happens consistently when installing from USB. It's what I have seen on my own Series 7 as well. So if it's a legacy BIOS install I would trust it to work, since it's easy to do over if it should fail.

Otherwise you could try resetting BIOS settings to default. Or even go for re-flashing the BIOS to force a clearing of the NVRAM. The latter is described in our BIOS roll back thread.

 

I tried resetting the BIOS setting to default and then putting it back on BIOS setting reloaded Windows 7 installation and that didn't fix the problem. How do i Flash the BIOS without an operating system?

 

You have to create a WinPE USB flash drive. If you are NOT already at the latest BIOS version, you simple update. If you ARE already on the latest, you can either roll back to an earlier version, THEN update, OR you can use a trick we recently discovered to clear the NVRAM directly.

Study member Fitztorious' Unbricking thread linked in the Sticky list at the top of the Samsung forum. Your situation is a little different because you are able to enter BIOS and boot an external device (some people cannot do those). That makes it simpler for you.

Edit: Here is a link to that Unbricking thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/762595-samsung-series-7-np700z5c-s03ca-my-last-hope.html

 

If i do this step: 3. "Remove the battery, it slides out in my case (NP700Z5C-S02UB). Also disconnect the backup battery connector (small circular black covered battery) with a black and red wire coming out of it. Leave the laptop for a few minutes. Flip laptop over and press power button a few times to drain power. This resets firmware so you can do some stuff.

Would it reset my drive order?

 

That step is the CMOS reset procedure which we used to recommend for unbricking in the past. But the truth is, I only remember one or two cases where it actually worked. Others had to either send it in to Samsung (who would replace the motherboard) or re-flash their BIOS (as discussed).

Whether that step would affect the drive order you are seeing I couldn't say. Again, I am surprised you are even having this drive number problem when installing from DVD. I have not heard of that before in my time here. But the reset is worth trying and shouldn't hurt. (I do remember one member who claimed it bricked his computer, but I believe that is an anomaly.)

If that doesn't solve it, I would do one of the following in your case:

1) Use the workarounds described in posts #1 or #2 of this thread to install Windows and manually put an MSR (boot partition) on your HDD/SSD (assuming Windows Setup incorrectly puts it on the iSSD, which we normally only see when installing from USB flash drives). Note that this ONLY works for BIOS/MBR installations, not for UEFI/GPT installations.

OR

2) Create a WinPE on a USB flash drive using one of the boot images linked in brainiak4431's guide.

Once some form of Windows is running, I would use that to EITHER re-flash the BIOS (roll back, then update) OR clear the NVRAM directly (using the sflash64 /cvar /patch command mentioned by Fitztorious). Both techniques require you to locate BIOS files for your model, as described by isosunrise's guide in the roll-back thread.

Edit: Something else to check: Are you sure your new SSD is MBR layout and not GPT? Admittedly, that shouldn't affect drive numbering, but all kinds of strange things have been reported to happen when users try to install in BIOS mode on a GPT disk (wrong) or in UEFI mode on an MBR disk (also wrong). You can convert it to MBR using the steps in our Win7 install guide (post #40 in this thread)

 

Both of my drives are unformatted. I tried an external ODD (Blu-Ray Burner) not the actual ODD on the system (as it is replaced by ODD to HDD adapter). I will try to use the WinPE to clear the NVRAM directly. If i have trouble with doing so, i will ask for more help. As I am knew to this I probably will have questions.

 

I understand. An external USB ODD should be fine.

Your SSD being GPT or MBR is not a matter of formatting, it is the partition layout style. If your new disk is GPT style (many new disks are) it must be converted to MBR before you can install Win7 in BIOS mode. I would try converting it before doing anything else. It is a simple step and could save you much work if that turns out to be the problem. Again, that Win7 install guide I linked has exact steps to do this (towards the end of the guide).

 

It tried converting the drive to MBR. Drive order is still incorrect. So, I will try to clear the NVRAM directly.

 

Ok, got it. Yes, clearing NVRAM is the next step.

 

When i create the WinPE Flash Drive, should I use Win8 like the guide says or would it be better to use Win7?

 

For the purpose of clearing NVRAM, it shouldn't matter which WinPE version, though I'd say Win8 versions are more likely to be compatible with UEFI models and Win7 versions more likely to be compatible with legacy BIOS models.

 

My unit by default is UEFI. But i am trying to install Win7 with BIOS/MBR.

 

Understood (and good choice). Again, I don't think it matters for WinPE and just for flashing the BIOS. But we have admittedly had a few members who were unable to flash their BIOS, for inexplicable reasons. I had wondered if the reason is that UEFI models need to be in UEFI mode in order for the flashing to work. But I never heard actual evidence of this, it's just a thought.

 

How do i go about clearing the NVRAM directly? As I said before I am new at this so i have no clue confused how to do it at all. Since the Guide is for Win8 and not Win7 I would like some instructions please! Thank You! :thumbsup:

 

I think you are referring to brainiak's guide ( here). I never meant to suggest you follow that entire guide, since it is specifically for users whose Win8.1 update failed due to their BIOS not being updated. It doesn't address the need to unbrick or clear NVRAM. I only referred to that guide as a source of WinPE images.

My suggestion is you download and extract the latest BIOS update module for your model using isosunrise's guide in the roll-back thread.

Note: I made a mistake in an earlier response to you where I meant to link to isosunrise's guide, but mistakenly inserted (again) the link to brainiak's guide. I apologize for that (and just now fixed it in that earlier post).

Once you have that BIOS update module downloaded and extracted (make sure to follow isosunrise's exact steps) you can use the SFlash64 command to clear your NVRAM. It is described by Fitztorious in this post. If your BIOS module uses the afuwinx64 utility (instead of SFlash64) you may have to download an older BIOS version to get SFlash64.

I wrote a guide here which sums up all the steps, pointing to brainiak's guide (for WinPE images) and isosunrise's guide (for downloading and extracting the BIOS module).

I hope this makes it clearer. It is still a rather involved procedure, for sure, but such is the nature of BIOS surgery.

 

When I Tried to make the WinPE all I got was an installer drive not a bootable OS drive. What am I doing wrong?

 

I assume you are referring to the WinPE images linked in brainiak's guide. Are you saying you get Windows Setup instead of WinPE when booting those WinPE images from a USB stick? And you are sure it isn't just booting the Windows Setup DVD still in the DVD drive?

How did you put the WinPE image onto the USB stick? Since you are doing BIOS/MBR mode (OS Mode Selection=CSM OS), you can use either Rufus or Microsoft's ISO/USB tool. If you use Rufus, make sure you create it as MBR/NTFS (NOT as GPT/FAT32, which is for UEFI mode).

Also, Win7 PE may be the best choice for this, since maybe the Win8.x PE images insist on UEFI mode.

That's all I can think of.

 

I used my own Win7 ISO. The USB ODD Drive isn't connected. I didn't use Brainiak's ISOs. I will try to though if need be.

 

I used Rufus to try and make WinPE. How do i make Win7 PE? or should I use Brainiaks ISO?

 

This is now a few days old. Did you manage to boot WinPE and clear your NVRAM? And did that fix the drive order in BIOS?

Member wiley reported here that he had to use the Win8 WinPE image from brainiak's guide, not the 8.1 image. I have not tried any of those WinPE images myself, I am simply the custodian of information shared by other members.

Yours being an original UEFI model, maybe the safest way is to reset BIOS settings to default (back to UEFI mode) then put the Win8 PE image on a GPT/FAT32 USB stick with Rufus.

Notice in member evilsheep23's recent post here how he was able to use /cvar with WinFlash (not just SFlash64/32 as previously reported).

Once you have been able to clear your NVRAM and (hopefully) gotten the drive IDs sorted out, you can change to legacy BIOS mode (CSM) and try again with the Windows installation.

 

I am about to reset bios settings to default with F9. I am also about to put Win8PE on Flash Drive. Will I need to have the BIOS files or is this code "WinFlash.exe P00AAS.rom /v /cs /sd /sv /svs /cvar" to be put into Command Prompt?

 

You need to have the file "P00AAS.rom" in the same folder as WinFlash.exe.

John

 

my bios is P07ABJ. How do i locate the file? Also where is Winflash?

 

Then you will have to look for and extract the equivalent P07ABJ file from the P07ABJ BIOS update package. Winflash is one of the programs that does the BIOS flashing. Normally the user doesn't directly see it during a BIOS update because the command is built into the BIOS updater.

Read all of this thread and anything that it links to carefully to improve your understanding of the process involved. Then go and find the right files and then re-read the discussion.

John

 

@Gageinater: Since you are merely looking to reset NVRAM, have you tried running WinFlash /cvar without also flashing a ROM at the same time? If you do that, it shouldn't matter which BIOS version you downloaded, as long as it is a compatible version of WinFlash.

There may be other WinFlash parameters you can (or should) add. For example, member Fitztorious used /cvar /cache with the SFlash64 command in his trailblazing post here. But I don't know if that also applies to WinFlash.

 

I have read everything and I am still unsure as to where WinFlash is. I have the Bios Update file. I have no idea how to extract it.

 

It's step (2) in the guide in that thread linked by John. But the detailed steps are in isosunrise's guide in the roll-back thread.

Basically you run the BIOS Update file, which extracts it to a Temp folder. DON'T click OK to let it proceed with with the update, just copy that Temp folder, then CANCEL the BIOS update (which deletes the Temp folder). Again, exact details are in isosunrise's guide.