From 312893b7a8c7c002497b1d6fa047b474c3df2d6f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: srs5694 Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2016 17:05:55 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Update to bootmode.html to describe use of the Windows System Information tool. --- docs/refind/bootmode.html | 54 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------- 1 file changed, 36 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/refind/bootmode.html b/docs/refind/bootmode.html index 37b8eed..b0a2d06 100644 --- a/docs/refind/bootmode.html +++ b/docs/refind/bootmode.html @@ -140,7 +140,15 @@ href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

  • Identifying Your Linux Boot Mode
    • -
  • Identifying Your Windows Boot Mode
    • +
  • Identifying Your Windows Boot Mode + +
    • @@ -214,27 +222,35 @@ href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

    Identifying Your Windows Boot Mode

    - + + +

    Note that there are other ways to launch the System Information tool, so feel free to use one of them if you prefer it. Unfortunately, although Windows 7 provides the System Information utility, that version of the tool does not provide the boot mode information, so if you're using Windows 7, you must use another method to determine your boot mode.

    -

    The most reliable way I know of to identify your boot mode is to examine your partitions. Microsoft has tied use of the GUID Partition Table (GPT) to EFI booting. If you've booted from a GPT disk, then you must be using EFI, and if you've booted from a Master Boot Record (MBR) disk, you must have booted in BIOS mode. Therefore, you can check your partition table type as a proxy for your boot mode. To do this in Windows 7, follow these steps:

    +

    Using Your Partition Table Type

     + +

    If you can't use System Information to determine your boot mode, you can examine your partitions to identify your boot mode. Microsoft has tied use of the GUID Partition Table (GPT) to EFI booting. If you've booted from a GPT disk, then you must be using EFI, and if you've booted from a Master Boot Record (MBR) disk, you have almost certainly booted in BIOS mode. (I've heard of some exceptions to this rule, but they're exceedingly rare.) Therefore, you can check your partition table type as a proxy for your boot mode. To do this in Windows 7, follow these steps:

      @@ -258,6 +274,8 @@ resumeobject {3aa4c728-9935-11e0-9f12-806e6f6e6963}

      An important caveat with this method is that you must examine your boot disk. It's possible to use GPT on a data disk even on a BIOS-based computer, or to use an MBR data disk even on an EFI-based computer. Thus, if you examine the wrong disk, you can be led to an incorrect conclusion about your computer's boot mode.

      +

      Another caveat relates to the use of a hybrid MBR, which is a variant on a GPT disk that's most often used on Macs to permit booting Windows in BIOS mode and OS X in EFI mode. Most Windows tools will identify a hybrid MBR disk as an MBR disk, but most non-Windows tools will identify it as a GPT disk. Of course, as hybrid MBRs are generally used to enable dual-booting Windows and OS X, and as OS X boots in EFI mode, you should be able to install rEFInd from OS X to help manage such a dual-boot configuration.

      +

      copyright © 2012–2016 by Roderick W. Smith

      -- 2.39.2