multi boot - How do I install Windows 8 using a GPT Partition scheme?
2014-03
This question seems to have been asked in very similar form in the past, but I was unable to find a relevant answer her or elsewhere.
I am ultimately looking to install a dual boot of x64 Windows 8 and Arch Linux on my machine. According to this Arch Wiki page, x64 Windows 8 booted with UEFI requires a GPT partition scheme for the dual boot to work.
After checking, it was clear the system was using an MBR partition scheme.I used
I suspected the machine was booting using UEFI: when I booted up the Arch install media (I am using usb), I found that the directory /etc/firmware/efi existed.
Since an MBR/UEFI is precisely what the Arch page says what won't work, I tried to re-install Windows, attempting to change the disk to GPT (though I failed): I used gdisk in the arch install media to convert the partition table to GPT and then installed Windows 8, but is seems the installation process replaced the GPT with an MBR--Windows utilities indicated the disk was MBR formatted.
Frustrated, I decided to try to install Arch anyways, in the belief that maybe the machine wasn't actually booting with UEFI. After completing the install, and using GRUB as bootloader, the machine booted to a Windows error screen, with
File: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Error code: 0xc000000e
in the error.
I am using a Samsung Series 9 laptop for this process, model NP900X4C-A01US.
My machine has a UEFI option in the BIOS' boot menu (and it is enabled), but the menu item writes,
'Enabled' means the system can boot Legacy OS or UEFI OS. 'Disabled' means the system can boot Legacy OS only.
As a result, I thought the system on my machine was possibly using BIOS instead of UEFI to boot, but it seems this hypothesis didn't pan out.
I'd be happy to provide any other information.
Rod Smith
You could try downloading a CD-R or USB flash drive version of my rEFInd boot manager. (If your Windows installer is on an optical disc, you'll need to use the USB flash drive version of rEFInd.) Prepare a medium and boot to it, with your Windows installation medium also attached/installed. rEFInd should show you options to boot to the Windows installer. If it doesn't, wait a few seconds and hit the Esc key. The default configuration for rEFInd on UEFI-based PCs is to show only EFI boot options, so you can be sure that you'll boot the Windows installer in EFI mode if you do this.
Randnum
I cannot seem to install the correct boot loader for a non-UEFI firmware system. I'm trying to install Ubuntu 12.04 and Windows 7 (64) which are technically compatible with GPT but for windows only if the firmware is UEFI enabled. My system uses the old BIOS system and does not support UEFI. Therefore, whenever I finish my Ubuntu install and try to install Windows I get a "cannot install to GPT partition type" error.
Even if I use Gparted to format a special NTFS file format for windows it can't handle the GPT partition style because it doesn't have UEFI. But my ubuntu install always forces GPT during installation and never asks if I want to install the old BIOS style MBR instead.
How do I resolve this? Both OS's will install fine on their own the problem is when I try to install the second OS it doesn't recognize any of the other's partitions and tries to rewrite it's own on top of the other. I've tried both OS's first and always run into the same problem. Since there is no way to make Windows recognize GPT without upgrading my Motherboard how do I tell Ubuntu to use the old BIOS MBR on install?
Do I have to download a special Ubuntu with a specific grub version? or should I manaually configure my partition somehow to force it not to use GPT?
Thank you,
GPT_Victim
had the same problem a couple of days ago. I solved it by first installing Win7 (64).
During my Win7 installation I deleted my "old" Win7 and Ubuntu partitions (both on the same SSD) created during an earlier installation of Ubuntu and recreated them again by using the "Drive options (advanced)" option in the "Where do you want to install Windows?" dialog.
That solved my "cannot install to GPT partition type" problem.
Win7 installed fine and worked. So far so good ... but now the Ubuntu installation was claiming that my SSD wasn't partitioned at all.
I aborted the Ubuntu installation and checked if my Win7 installation was still working. And yes, it still worked.
It turned out that my SSD now had a MBR and a GPT. So the "old" GPT wasn't deleted during my Win7 installation. And the Ubuntu installation wasn't interested in the MBR as long as there was a GPT.
Luckily i found this site.
With the help of a Ubuntu Live DVD I removed the GPT from my SSD with gdisk (as described in the above mentioned site) and restarted the Ubuntu installation.
Now everything is working just fine ... finally!
cheshirekow
Ubuntu may be defaulting to gpt if your disks are greater than or equal to 2gb. I had a similar experience (of ubuntu using gpt, but bios couldn't boot it) before and solved it by booting from a USB stick with grub loaded on it. That probably won't help though because you still need to install windows.
I'm now thinking about dual booting and, while I haven't tried this yet, what I'm planning to do is use an efi emulator: http://www.rodsbooks.com/bios2uefi/. If it works perhaps it will solve your problem too.