Cannot install Win7 on same disk as Lion

[lovelyzoo]

I've successfully installed Lion, using [url="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/279450-why-insanelymac-does-not-support-tonymacx86/"]#####[/url], on a machine I'd like to triple boot from. I'd now like to add Windows 7 64 bit. I select the partition I created to do so in the Windows Installer and I receive the following warning:

 

"This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."

 

Here's the Microsoft kb entry which doesn't seem especially relevant given what follows.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925481

 

I'm trying to install to a single 1 TB disk with four partitions. These four partitions were created using the OSX Disk Utility during the Lion install. Subsequently, I reformatted my target Windows partition to be NTFS using a utility on a Ubuntu install disk. I did this because the Windows installer was insisting on an NTFS partition.

 

My motherboard is a GA-Z68-UD3P-B3 F4. I have set the BIOS to boot from an EFI CDROM. There is only one boot device set, the HDD. I initiate booting from CDROM using the F12 menu that is standard on Gigabyte boards. Note also that there the two relevant BIOS settings that configure the SATA ports to be AHCI are set to be so.

 

Can anyone suggest a solution here?

[tinux]

Hi your post is not clear at all.

If you are trying to install windows 7 on EFI system, You cannot install Windows to UEFI-based computers in BIOS mode, so make sure that EFI is active and not returned to bios mode, you can tell if you put 3TB drive and try to install it in a Guid mode the computer will say no otherwise windows in efi mode will simply go ahead and install happily.

In order to install windows on EFI, you need to convert your disk to GTP and create EFI and MSR partitions according to Microsoft document.

see More information here - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...21(WS.10).aspx

Is your drive partitioned in MacOsX Diskutility in MBR or Guid or Hybrid?

[lovelyzoo]

Hi tinux,

 

If you are trying to install windows 7 on EFI system, You cannot install Windows to UEFI-based computers in BIOS mode, so make sure that EFI is active and not returned to bios mode, you can tell if you put 3TB drive and try to install it in a Guid mode the computer will say no otherwise windows in efi mode will simply go ahead and install happily.

There is a setting in the Gigabyte BIOS named EFI CD/DVD Boot Option which has options: [Non-EFI/EFI/Auto]. I have set this to be EFI. Furthermore, when I set Non-EFI in the BIOS above the Windows installer error message warns me that the disk is formatted as GPT.

 

As I understand it Gigabyte's UEFI 2.0 implementation is non-standard, hence this mechanism to support EFI installation. Can anyone confirm this?

 

In order to install windows on EFI, you need to convert your disk to GTP and create EFI and MSR partitions according to Microsoft document.

see More information here - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...21(WS.10).aspx

Is your drive partitioned in MacOsX Diskutility in MBR or Guid or Hybrid?

Disk Utility setup was GUID. Inspection using the Ubuntu Disk Utility reveals the presence of EFI and MSR partitions.

 

I was under the impression that OSX can only be installed on GPT disks, hence I made no explicit mention of the fact. Is this not the case? Or is there anything else that I need to clarify?

[lovelyzoo]

More on this, I reran the Windows installer and tried the Startup Repair. An existing Windows install was detected and I ran the repair which failed. When I inspected the diagnostic window it came up with the following message:

 

Repair action: Partition table repair

Result: Failed. Error Code 0x490

 

Is it possible that the OSX install has modified the GPT table in a way that offends Windows? If so, how might I fix or even investigate the table?

[tinux]

Hi mate all clear now thanks

you are touching the bleeding edge technology if you ask me. I know Gigabyte added Efi on top of bios as a Hack and not really 100% EFi to support 3TB HDD.

I have a hybrid gigabyte Mobo and can not boot into EFi and i do not know why.

I now that if you format drive under Macos you get EFI (200MB) partition and if you format it under windows you get (GPT protected partition) also 200mb.

if you have a spare drive copy your mac and linux over to other drive and try your windows clean install in efi to see what happens with plain HDD. you can use a great program called partition guru or Minitool partition both support GUid and free. the aim of the exercise is to see if your mobo does indeed install in EFI under windows. make sure your DVD listing has d:\efi\boot\bootx64.efi ad if not you can extract it from sources\install.wim in system32 by using 7-zip. the other problem is if the dvd is not burnt in efi mode it won't work.

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=184349

Good luck

[lovelyzoo]

I now that if you format drive under Macos you get EFI (200MB) partition and if you format it under windows you get (GPT protected partition) also 200mb.

Do you mean protective partition?

 

if you have a spare drive

Good idea, unfortunately it's the if part that catches me out.//

 

From the link you quote:

 

 

.One area to consider is that Apple does not use the "standard" UEFI mechanism putting the initial OS loader code into the ESP partition. Apple firmware knows how to read HFS+ so when you "bless" a partition the firmware directly reads the HFS+ partition. Obviously a Dx58so doesn't have that firmware so you will probably need to copy the necessary .efi files into the ESP.

Now, this is pure speculation:

OSX has created the ESP with nothing in it. Windows, on the other hand expects some "necessary .efi files". Therefore, I can get round this by getting the .efi files and putting them in the ESP.

 

Do you, or anyone else reading, think this is plausible? If so, what are the necessary .efi files?