P9X79pro, Refuses to boot unless Win 7 boot mgr first... cannot do backups either

nh19926

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May 5, 2013
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I thought I posted this thread.... but cannot find mine, so writing again.

Info:

Bought a new P9X79Pro MB with UEFI. Updated the Bios to the most recent and converted everything with the .CAP extension. Bios and MB working fine with Windows 7 Pro in my new system; I am using it right now for this post.

I am running GPT Partition Tables (NTFS) and using the AHCI bios settings. Installed the latest drivers available, including those from Intel for the chipset. Also, have 16GB DDR3 @ 2133. Current speed is about 3.8 ghz.

I recently re-installed my Seagate Disk Wizard by Acronis.... to make my backups using the disc image tool. I have done this for 10 years with Seagate and always worked fine... ((((until now))).

What I discovered and my Problems:

What I did find was that if I had "ANY" other device set to boot first except my Hard Drive (UEFI) with Windows Boot Manager, the computer would not boot correctly.

Normally a computer will boot in the sequence given to it in the BIOS..... ie. floppy, cd drom, hard drive, etc.....

I made my Boot Seq set to: 1) DVD/CD, 2) USB Floppy, 3) Hard Drive with Windows 7 on it, it does (((NOT))) work. I hear the USB floppy drive momentarily function but when it passes it off to the hard drive to boot, it fails to do so.... says:

It cannot find the device, Reboot and select a proper boot device or insert boot media and press a key.

Any boot sequence OTHER than the Hard drive (Win Boot Mgr) being FIRST causes the computer to fail to run and I get an error message.

I went back into my bios and tried changing my AHCI config back to a IDE for my SATA drive. This made no difference... so it was not an issue of the SATA HD being set to IDE or AHCI.

If I set the Boot Sequence to: 1). Hard Drive (my Win7 boot mgr on it) First, it will boot normally and run.

When I run the Acronis Disc Image program it runs normally in windows as it has done in the past years. The computer then shuts down and restarts (which is normal) , and it SHOULD begin the backup process - but if fails and due to the failure it is passed off back to Windows 7 and I get my log in screen upon booting.

The Acronis backup program creates a "Boot Manager" and makes it the First Device to boot (once the software is started) but won't work because of the boot sequence issue, so it skips the backup and passes off to the Windows Boot Manager and runs Windows 7.

I have heard others having a similar issue, and writing to ASUS got me no help in solving the problem. The response from them was to select F8 during the boot and choose a booting device... this does not work; again, unless the Windows Boot Mgr on the HD is first, it will do nothing.

Someone commented on possibly relating to the Windows Boot Manager being in the board's NVRAM. Said something about the Windows Installer putting an EFI entry into the NVRAM on the motherboard so the UEFI can look for the GPT disk to find Windows Boot Loader to run.

I am not a programmer and this is all fine....... but how do we fix this problem with the ASUS board. Is it an ASUS issue, or is it really a Microsoft Windows issue for the way they designed their program.

My other non-UEFI computers worked with Windows 7 and Acronis, and never had this problem. All I want to do is make a bootable "clone disc" of my system should my hard drive fail. I can then just swap drives and boot back to my Win 7. With this new UEFI setup, it does not work anymore.

I am new here and hope this makes sense.........pls help !!!



nh19926@ymail.com
 

nh19926

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May 5, 2013
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10,510


I have tried different HD locations and even tried an external USB Hard Drive.... same problem. Also on the BIOS, I did the conversion of my ASUS Bios from .ROM to the new .CAP file, and ASUS says this is a one-way trip, you cannot go back to the older .ROM file type. My new BIOS came out in March 2013.
 
From 1203 to 3501 all are CAP I think. Try the 3305. Supposing that something goes wrong, you can do the flashback again. And supposing that even worse, the flashback would not work, you can order a BIOS chip and replace the board's one (it's on socket).
 

nh19926

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May 5, 2013
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10,510
Ok, after pulling my hair out now for a week, dealing with their support staff...... and even trying Microsoft method to xcopy the Boot manager on the Main HD to the new drive (as described by MS step by step).... which did not work, I finally was able to do it using the newer Acronis True Image 2013 and with the True Image 2013 "Plus Pack" add-on (which supports cloning and UEFI).

YOU NEED TO HAVE WINDOWS 7 64BIT OR SIMILAR INSTALLED, OR WINDOWS 8. It will not work with Windows 7 32 bit......

Here is what you need to do. Go to Seagate and download the latest Disk Wizard (I think the file is like Discwizard14387.exe) or similar. It is the latest version free from Seagate.

Install this Seagate / Acronis program. Now this version of disk wizard by Acronis (DOES NOT) support cloning or use with UeFI / AHCI / GPT, but install it anyway.......

Next, run the DiskWizard program and then select "upgrade" in the Diskwizard software on the top right of the program. You will then go to the Acronis web site offering a discount for the program (like $22 USD). During the purchase you will be offered to download the Acronis True Image 2013 upgrade and the True Image 2013 Plus Pack for a total of $29 USD.

YOU MUST Select both Acronis programs....

You will be given 2 key number for both programs. ONe is an upgrade key for the Seagate diskwizard, the other is for the full install of the "Plus Pack". After this, go to your e-mail address and you will find two receipts with links to download each program..... download and save to your computer; remember where you put them and make sure to print out your receipts and run the programs. I saved mine to the computer using different names so I knew which one was the Plus Pack Add-on.

Once downloaded, keep the Seagate diskwizard program installed.... but close the diskwizard program.

Next, you must run the Acronis True Image 2013 program "FIRST" and upgrade the Seagate Diskwizard to the new Acronis 2013 True Image program. When it is fully installed...... shut down and restart your computer.

After restart and Windows 7 running.... now run the Acronis True Image 2013 "Plus Pack" (you do not need the original True Image 2013 running.... so do not start the program), just install the Plus Pack.

After the plus pack is installed.... you can now run the Acronis True Image 2013 program and the "Plus Pack" add-on will already be working with the program.

From there, you can clone your windows 7 just like before they came out with UEFI..... I am running it right now on my other computer. Just run the program and select "tools and ***" from the tab bar at the top. Then select "Clone" from the menu and follow the prompts.

YOU MUST INSTALL THE "PLUS PACK" ADD-ON TO MAKE IT WORK WITH UEFI / GPT SYSTEMS AND IT ONLY APPARENTLY WORKS WITH THE 2013 VERSION, not the earlier versions of Acronis.




 

nh19926

Honorable
May 5, 2013
5
0
10,510
Ok, after pulling my hair out now for a week, dealing with their support staff...... and even trying Microsoft method to xcopy the Boot manager on the Main HD to the new drive (as described by MS step by step).... which did not work, I finally was able to do it using the newer Acronis True Image 2013 and with the True Image 2013 "Plus Pack" add-on (which supports cloning and UEFI).

YOU NEED TO HAVE WINDOWS 7 64BIT OR SIMILAR INSTALLED, OR WINDOWS 8. It will not work with Windows 7 32 bit......

Here is what you need to do. Go to Seagate and download the latest Disk Wizard (I think the file is like Discwizard14387.exe) or similar. It is the latest version free from Seagate.

Install this Seagate / Acronis program. Now this version of disk wizard by Acronis (DOES NOT) support cloning or use with UeFI / AHCI / GPT, but install it anyway.......

Next, run the DiskWizard program and then select "upgrade" in the Diskwizard software on the top right of the program. You will then go to the Acronis web site offering a discount for the program (like $22 USD). During the purchase you will be offered to download the Acronis True Image 2013 upgrade and the True Image 2013 Plus Pack for a total of $29 USD.

YOU MUST Select both Acronis programs....

You will be given 2 key number for both programs. ONe is an upgrade key for the Seagate diskwizard, the other is for the full install of the "Plus Pack". After this, go to your e-mail address and you will find two receipts with links to download each program..... download and save to your computer; remember where you put them and make sure to print out your receipts and run the programs. I saved mine to the computer using different names so I knew which one was the Plus Pack Add-on.

Once downloaded, keep the Seagate diskwizard program installed.... but close the diskwizard program.

Next, you must run the Acronis True Image 2013 program "FIRST" and upgrade the Seagate Diskwizard to the new Acronis 2013 True Image program. When it is fully installed...... shut down and restart your computer.

After restart and Windows 7 running.... now run the Acronis True Image 2013 "Plus Pack" (you do not need the original True Image 2013 running.... so do not start the program), just install the Plus Pack.

After the plus pack is installed.... you can now run the Acronis True Image 2013 program and the "Plus Pack" add-on will already be working with the program.

From there, you can clone your windows 7 just like before they came out with UEFI..... I am running it right now on my other computer. Just run the program and select "tools and ***" from the tab bar at the top. Then select "Clone" from the menu and follow the prompts.

YOU MUST INSTALL THE "PLUS PACK" ADD-ON TO MAKE IT WORK WITH UEFI / GPT SYSTEMS AND IT ONLY APPARENTLY WORKS WITH THE 2013 VERSION, not the earlier versions of Acronis.