RAMPAGE Windows 8/7 UEFI Installation Guide

[Nodens]

1. What is the UEFI Mode?
2. What is Secure boot?
3. UEFI mode requirements
4. What is CSM or how UEFI Drivers and Legacy Option ROMs interface with the UEFI.
5. Setting up RAID and preparation for installation
6. Pros and Cons
7. Installing Windows 7/8 on UEFI Mode
8. GPT Tools


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1. What is the UEFI Mode?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#Booting wrote:

The UEFI specification defines a "boot manager", a firmware policy engine that is in charge of loading the
OS loader and all necessary drivers. The boot configuration is controlled by a set of global NVRAM variables,
including boot variables that indicate the paths to the loaders.

OS loaders are a class of UEFI applications. As such, they are stored as files on a file system that can be
accessed by the firmware. Supported file systems include FAT32, FAT16 and FAT12. Supported partition table
schemes include MBR and GPT. UEFI does not rely on a boot sector.

Boot loaders can also be auto-detected by firmware, to enable booting on removable devices. Auto-detection
relies on a standardized file path to the OS loader, depending on the actual architecture to boot
(\EFI\BOOT\BOOT[architecture name].EFI, e.g. \EFI\BOOT\BOOTx64.EFI).

It is common for UEFI firmware to include a user interface to the boot manager, to allow the user to select
and load the operating system among the possible options.

"Windows Boot Manager" is the boot manager that comes with Windows when it is installed in UEFI mode. This Boot Manager is accessible and viewable in the UEFI menu and F8 Boot options.


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2. What is Secure boot?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#Secure_boot wrote:

The UEFI 2.2 specification adds a protocol known as Secure boot, which can secure the boot process by
preventing the loading of drivers or OS loaders that are not signed with an acceptable digital signature.
When secure boot is enabled, it is initially placed in "Setup" mode, which allows a public key known as
the "Platform key" (PK) to be written to the firmware. Once the key is written, secure boot enters "User"
mode, where only drivers and loaders signed with the platform key can be loaded by the firmware. Additional
"Key Exchange Keys" (KEK) can be added to a database stored in memory to allow other certificates to be
used, but they must still have a connection to the private portion of the Platform key. Secure boot can
also be placed in "Custom" mode, where additional public keys can be added to the system that do not match
the private key.

Secure boot is only supported/enforced on Windows 8. This feature can be quite problematic as it won't allow you to boot any bootloaders that are not signed. Meaning once you enable it, you can't boot anything else unless you disable it or place it in "Custom" mode and configure public keys. This is beyond the scope of this guide though and for the duration of this guide I will suggest to keep it disabled in order to avoid any issues with dual booting etc. This information is provided though for those who may choose to enable it willingly.



ASUS UEFI has 2 settings:
a)"Windows UEFI": This setting turns Secure Boot on. This opens a submenu that allows "Custom" mode as described above.
b)"Other OS": This setting turns it off and contrary to what the name suggests this is what you should set if you use or plan to use Windows in UEFI mode and don't want Secure Boot.

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3. UEFI mode requirements

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Windows installation in UEFI mode has 4 basic requirements:
a) A UEFI enabled platform (The Rampage motherboards in this case.)
b) A x64 Operating System that supports it (Windows 8 or 7 in this case.)
c) Installing to GPT partitioned disk or RAID array that includes an "EFI System Partition" or ESP for short.
d) Booting the installation media in UEFI mode:



(See the the DVD drive in the screenshot has 2 entries, one starting with "UEFI:" and one with "P3:". Both of these are the same drive. The difference is the option with the UEFI prefix "UEFI:" boots in UEFI mode. Which means that it starts a UEFI bootloader. If a UEFI Bootloader is not present on the disk/flash drive, then this option will not be available.)


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4. What is CSM or how UEFI Drivers and Legacy Option ROMs interface with the UEFI.

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http://wiki.phoenix.com/wiki/index.php/Compatibility_Support_Module wrote:

The CSM provides additional functionality to UEFI. This additional functionality permits the loading of
a traditional OS or the use of a traditional OpROM.
The CSM operates in two distinct environments:

Booting a traditional or non-EFI-aware OS.
Loading a UEFI-aware OS a device that is controlled by a traditional Option ROM.

The first operation, booting a traditional or non-EFI-aware OS, is the traditional environment.
It is expected that traditional OpROMs will be around long after traditional OSs have been replaced
by EFI-aware OSs. The code that is required to load a UEFI-aware OS is a subset of the code that is
required to boot a traditional (non-EFI-aware) OS.

To make things simple, a device ideally (eg the onboard RAID controller) has a native UEFI driver but for compatibility with an older/non-UEFI aware operating system, the CSM allows the loading of the old style PCI Option ROMs we are all familiar with. You need either one or the other. If you load a UEFI driver, the legacy PCI Option ROM is not used. The CSM also allows you to boot operating systems that have no idea what UEFI is.



The ASUS UEFI has these options for CSM:
a)"Auto" (Self Explanatory).
b)"Enabled" (This allows you to manually set priorities for different types of devices eg "UEFI first"
means that if both exist, the UEFI driver will be chosen)
c)"Disabled" This disables CSM entirely with all its functions and runs in UEFI-only mode. This option
boots a lot faster because it doesn't load or wait for any legacy components. If your video cards and
expansion cards etc fully support UEFI, you can just turn it off (this is how I set it)-not for Win7.
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5. Setting up RAID and preparation for installation

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Suggested installation UEFI options (for the reasons explained above):
Secure Boot: Other OS
CSM: As shown in the screenshot above.

RAID arrays can be set up either via the normal Matrix utility prior to switching everything to
"UEFI first" or disabling CSM, or they can be set up afterwards from inside the UEFI.



If you want to have native TRIM under RAID, that means without my patch, then all that is important is that you follow this
guide to install in UEFI mode. It doesn't matter which method you use to create the array or if you have an existing array.

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6. Pros and Cons

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As with everything, there are pros and cons to this method of installation.

Pros:
1) Native UEFI installation offers very fast boot up times and better integration with the hardware.
2) UEFI is the future. It is what will be supported in the long run. BIOS will eventually become entirely phased out.
3) GPT partitions do not have the size limitations of their MBR based counterparts.
4) GPT is also the future.

Cons:
1) Many backup and recovery utilities do not properly support GPT or do not properly support it under RAID configurations. There are working solutions though.


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7. Installing Windows 7/8 on UEFI Mode

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Let's get to the point:) I will be using screenshots from Windows 8 but the important parts shown here are the same for Windows 7 as well.

A) Boot your installation media with the "UEFI:" prefixed option of your drive as described above. The operating system will load and you'll come to this screen:



Set your locale settings and proceeed as usual until you come to the Partitioting screen:




At this point if you are using a RAID array you need to click "Load Driver" and provide the F6 Intel RAID RST driver (11.6+) in a FAT32 formatted USB flash drive or a floppy drive if you still have one of those 🙂

B) If your disk or RAID array is new and had no other operating system on it, it will show up as unallocated space, like the screenshot above. If partitions do exist, delete them all until it shows as unallocated space. Now press "New" and select the maximum space (or as much as you like) and hit apply. You will see this window:



Press Ok. If all is correct then Windows will automatically partition the drive/array to GPT and you will see this structure:



If it is not as above then something is wrong with the partition table and you should skip to step C (Recovery only on Win8). Otherwise press next and Windows will start installing:

[KIRES]

Hello and thanks soo much for this guide, it has helped me a ton!

Everytime I load into UEFI mode and it asks to load the drivers, I browse and select the folder and the IRST driver is selected automatically. When I click next, it loads for a while and then BSOD. This last time I did it, I managed to get a screenshot of the error:

DRIVER_UNLOADED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS(aiStorAV.syt)

I am using a DVD, trying to install 8.1 x64 onto my 2 120gb Corsair in raid 0. Im also doing this with CSM disabled, have any ideas?

Edit: I've tried using different versions of Intel RST: 11.7, 12.8, and 13.2. I also might have thought it was because of the driver being on a external HD formatted as exFAT, but I changed it to fat32 and it didnt make any difference. So.... Now I have no clue, other then my DVD Windows 8.1 is corrupt but I find that hard to believe cause I've used many time before and no problems.

EDIT: I managed to figure out that it was a corrupt HDD plugged into one of the sata ports. I unplugged it and everything work perfect, lol, thanks for letting me vent guys!

[Nodens]

Heh no problem. Sometimes the issue is not so obvious and not really related to the UEFI installation process 🙂

[aoftra99]

:rolleyes: OK,Thank you, am sorry for all. am noob for IT and every day i search for Detail,
and starting to configuration myself,there hard for me. because my skill of Eng- and IT very Low. next am going to geting
for "CSM/UEFI/Disk lock" technical Detail windows 8 installation and other impotent for them.
And next time comeback again.

( About my old Hardware)
:: ASUS::M3N78 AMD2/AM2+ Quad-Core/ Phenom™ II CPUs Support.
:: CPU AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+ 2.5 GHz
:: NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Chipset/ HDMI/Full HD Support
:: HyperTransport 3.0 and PCIe 2.0 Ready
:: 2GB x2 For KLEE88F-B8MN6 DDR2-1066 MHz. Kingmax Semiconductor.
:: 320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12
:: HHD Enclosure USB3.0 To Seial ATA HHD case. Samsung 500GB 2.5 inbox.
:: GPU 1024 MBytes. NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1024 G96 C1

- Need ROG Support for Windows8 x64 UEFI boot.
- AM2 AM2+ GPUs DDR2 DDR3

Thank so much !!! -- For Every Serves,Technical,Detail For support to me. thank man....

[Karlsson]

Hi guys, I am a bit lost on this UEFI thing. I got a Rampage IV Black edition and a Sabertooth 990FX. For my question I think it applies the same since they got the same options concerning CSM and Secure Boot. My situation is the following, as far as my knowledge goes, in order to install win7 in NON UEFI MODE, I selected the option "Other OS" in Secure Boot and installed Windows 7 from a DVD drive booting with the devices that didnt showed the UEFI thing. It was installed with MBR on the SSD and all good. Yesterday, I was playing around a bit with the sabertooth BIOS, and in a certain point I loaded the optimized settings and configured the BIOS again, however, I left, without noticing, the Secure boot in Windows UEFI mode. The thing is that Windows booted and worked fine, it does in both modes. Does this make any sense? Isnt supposed to be the Windows UEFI mode for when windows was installed executing the media in UEFI mode? I would appreciatte your help, this sabertoorh computer I put otgether I need it ASAP to do some work, and I am peding on knowing this to see if I can use the computer expecting it to be 100% stable, thank you all.

[dpoverlord]

I am installing this on an X99 Ramapge black with 2 SSD 840 512GB will I not get Trim support with raid with the main bios?

What driver do I have tlo load when I download the Intel RST its just an executable.

I turned off CSM and SEcure boot and it seems to be allowing me to install. My concern though is, I need to connect mmy old Raid 0 drives. How do I do this and not lose the info on them to back up?

[Nodens]

Karlsson wrote:
Hi guys, I am a bit lost on this UEFI thing. I got a Rampage IV Black edition and a Sabertooth 990FX. For my question I think it applies the same since they got the same options concerning CSM and Secure Boot. My situation is the following, as far as my knowledge goes, in order to install win7 in NON UEFI MODE, I selected the option "Other OS" in Secure Boot and installed Windows 7 from a DVD drive booting with the devices that didnt showed the UEFI thing. It was installed with MBR on the SSD and all good. Yesterday, I was playing around a bit with the sabertooth BIOS, and in a certain point I loaded the optimized settings and configured the BIOS again, however, I left, without noticing, the Secure boot in Windows UEFI mode. The thing is that Windows booted and worked fine, it does in both modes. Does this make any sense? Isnt supposed to be the Windows UEFI mode for when windows was installed executing the media in UEFI mode? I would appreciatte your help, this sabertoorh computer I put otgether I need it ASAP to do some work, and I am peding on knowing this to see if I can use the computer expecting it to be 100% stable, thank you all.

The Secure Boot option is just that, the secure boot option. Turning it on does not switch you to UEFI mode installation. It just enables Secure Boot. If you read the guide you'll see that I suggest keeping it off regardless on if you installed in UEFI mode.

dpoverlord wrote:
I am installing this on an X99 Ramapge black with 2 SSD 840 512GB will I not get Trim support with raid with the main bios?

What driver do I have tlo load when I download the Intel RST its just an executable.

I turned off CSM and SEcure boot and it seems to be allowing me to install. My concern though is, I need to connect mmy old Raid 0 drives. How do I do this and not lose the info on them to back up?

The information about TRIM is only about the RAMPAGE X79 boards and only relative to the time I wrote this guide. At that time you either needed a UEFI installation or my patched OROMs to get TRIM under RAID on those X79 boards. Afterwards you could do it without my patch as well.

As far as your RAID 0 member drives nothing is different. Just keep them connected, and set the mode to RAID in the UEFI. If you're talking about RAID0 system drive, then you obviously will have to reinstall Windows on it to change to UEFI mode.

[goredaimon]

Hello friends, how are you?

I found this article because I'm trying to do the same RAID 1 + UEFI installation for my two 3TB disks. My mobo is M5A99X EVO R2.0, but after changing the RAID driver to UEFI at BIOS, I'm unable to find the RAID configuration at Advanced options or after the Tool option.

[moheban79]

Was wondering if you have CSM enabled and also have the efi driver in your bios on top of the standard oprom driver does the bios default to loading the more modern efi driver and unload the old fashioned oprom driver? I mean if you have the intel raid option rom and the Satadriver.ffs in bios which one gets loaded?

Thanks.

[littlespy]

Hi all,

Issue: Acer XB270HU black screen after windows logo for about 20-30 seconds on ASUS ROG RAIDR Express in UEFI

On a fresh and fully up to date OS (Win 7) with 2x GTX 980 Ti I have an issue where the screen goes black (No Signal) just after the Windows logo. Im using RAIDR Express on UEFI + Rampage IV Black Edition, have secured boot disabled. Im connected with DispayPort 1.1 (not sure if that matters). This issue did not occur after getting to Windows just after the reinstallation of the OS (no drivers, no updates). It started to occur after the OS got fully up 2 date. Any ideas? As Im losing 30 seconds on boot-up with UEFI so it feels like IDE....

[geniusdevil]

My Lordy Lord Norden, how do you even get the strength to read all these confusing, poorly-written inquiries? I went through 3-4 pages, and already feel like jumping off my building.*

Listen you computer-noobs, y'all can watch YouTube, PHub and God knows what... but, can't make an effort to use the machine to learn a language? English isn't my first language either, and therefore, I used this superbly intelligent machine to learn five languages!!!*:o

And, then how proudly they start, or finish their message by saying: "sorry my eng bad". Shame on you! I am going to jump off this building to pay for your sins. Just like Jesus did.*:cool:*