UEFI versus BIOS - will some vendors support both?

[VirtualLarry]

Since UEFI break compatibility with DOS-style booting, things like DOS boot discs and Windows XP won't install on UEFI boards. So will those major vendors also support a standard BIOS that you can flash to the boards too?

 

[RobDickinson]

I assume virtualisation still works so that sprobably the best path?

 

[bankster55]

P67 mobo - all are uEFI compliant and bisexual
EFI is an Intel spec
Intel boards in various (not all) Dell PC have been EFI compliant for years
MSI is the only one that had diff bios vers for ea with their one click bios P45 boards
During Win 7 install you can check GPT, and windows install will check the bios for compliance
You either CAN or CANT do GPT partitions which means how you install makes the dif.
If you do XP you cant do GPT even with EFI bios - O/S cant do it.
EFI is no big thing in bios code. The gigabyte D7 is only big drive EFI compliant as of a week ago in Bios F5 which allows >2.19TB drive in GPT
This indicates they werent even full EFI as of early Dec.
Based on my experience with old Dells, you can run XP fine on a regularly partitioned drive, Win 7 for sure.. I have looked at all the manuals and bios for all the big brand P67 and see nothing to indicate they are EFI exclusively.

I will know for sure when I get my 2600K for my ASUS deluxe
Does it make sense that the mobo people would configure their bios to block out 99% of their current user base? That Intel would leave out legacy support?

 

[Ross Ridge]

Since UEFI break compatibility with DOS-style booting, things like DOS boot discs and Windows XP won't install on UEFI boards. So will those major vendors also support a standard BIOS that you can flash to the boards too?

They'll support both at the same time. Traditional BIOS interfaces can easily coexist with UEFI.

 

[mclaren777]

So if I need to install XP on my ASUS P67, I should be able to do that, right? The UEFI won't prohibit me from doing so?

 

[BoozeCompany]

I was wondering if you can update a 32-bit bios to UEFI? The P67 boards from Gigabyte for example, they dont have a UEFI bios.

 

[Ross Ridge]

So if I need to install XP on my ASUS P67, I should be able to do that, right? The UEFI won't prohibit me from doing so?

If I'm right and Asus does use firmware that supports both the traditonal BIOS and new UEFI interfaces, you'd be able install Windows XP. You'd also be able to install the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, which also don't support EFI. I don't know if any of these motherboards will have floppy drive connectors though, so for AHCI support you'd need to create a slipstreamed install disk with the AHCI drivers on it.

 

[bankster55]

So if I need to install XP on my ASUS P67, I should be able to do that, right? The UEFI won't prohibit me from doing so?

Well, like I said, I had no prob with installing XP on EFI compliant Intel OEM big brand mobo (Foxconn)

The only dif now is that the P67 have extended EFI with all the graphical stuff which is why they had to go from 16MB bios to 32MB and write all the new code for that (in C++). EXCEPT Gigabyte which has no advanced graphiics, and its current F5 bios is just 1.28MB, but IS EFI.

3TB means EFI - no other way

EFI is just a very minor part of the new bios. If you go to wikipedia and type in guid and look at features and legacy you will see Intel baked in legacy support.
EFI is an old spec - its only now coming around again because the 2.19TB 32 bit drive LBA addressing limit has been reached
32 bit = 2^32 X 512B sectors = 2.19TB
The only way around that is EFI which in X64 allows 256TB partitions and 7 zettabytes capacity and thousands of partitions.

And you dont need floppies - the Win 7 install easily allows browsing to a USB stick, but you need to put the bare files in a single root folder - not buried in a bunch of subfolders.

In my ASUS deluxe user manual there is not one stinking word anywheres about MBR MSDos or GPT, nada nothing. Neither are they any bios options about that anywhere. Its just there, thats all.

 

[darckhart]

afaik, moving forward in the short term, they wont be EFI ONLY because that will exclude lots of older hardware. i assume most will support both for the time being.

 

[vailr]

My Intel branded G43 board's default setting is "uEFI disabled", but allows enabling it in a bios setting.
Was not aware that Windows 7-32 bit wouldn't install with uEFI enabled, but Windows 7-64 bit will install.
Is this correct?
Any advantages with it enabled, vs. disabled in Windows 7?

 

[=Wendy=]

From the manual of the Asus P8P67 Deluxe.

This motherboard supports (Windows XP/XP 64bit / Windows Vista / Vista 64bit / Windows 7 / Windows 7 64bit)

 

[Ross Ridge]

Was not aware that Windows 7-32 bit wouldn't install with uEFI enabled, but Windows 7-64 bit will install.
Is this correct?
Any advantages with it enabled, vs. disabled in Windows 7?

Microsoft only enabled support for EFI on its 64-bit operating systems.

The only advantage of EFI as far as how it affects Windows 7 is that EFI is necessary to boot Windows off a GPT partitioned disk and disks bigger than 2.2TB need to GPT partitioned to work with Windows. In other words, EFI is necessary to boot Windows off a 2.2TB or larger disk.

 

[bankster55]

Microsoft only enabled support for EFI on its 64-bit operating systems.

The only advantage of EFI as far as how it affects Windows 7 is that EFI is necessary to boot Windows off a GPT partitioned disk and disks bigger than 2.2TB need to GPT partitioned to work with Windows. In other words, EFI is necessary to boot Windows off a 2.2TB or larger disk.

^Exactly +10

Like I said, MSI is the only mobo manuf THAT SOLD TO HOMEBUILDERS that had the full EFI compliant bios - but they had 2 SEPARATE bios that you could flash to - one for MBR one for EFI.
The EFI spec has advanced since then, we now have 3TB drives for sale, so EFI is now necessary, and P67 marks the beginning of all (Intel) mobo having EFI compatibility WHEN TIED INTO WIN 7 X64 or Visata X64.
Win 7 has the GPT partitioning checkbox option during install. It then looks at the bios and gives the O.K. or not.
You GOTTA have X64 for 64 bit LBA block addressing
Win 7 X86 is DEAD MEAT.
You gotta have AHCI to get on the P67 chip
You gotta have the Intel 10.1.1008 Chipset drivers which support >2.19TB drives without bugs

The XP OPERATING SYSTEM does not support EFI - MBR ONLY!!!

From ASRock P67 manual