- Aug 23, 2013
- 3
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- 10,510
So I recently built a new gaming pc:
CPU: Intel 4670k
Mobo: Gigabyte Z87x-UD4H
GPU: MSi GTX 760
Memory: 8GB G. Skill Ripjaws X series
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro
HDD: WD Blue 1TB
I installed Windows 8 with no issues, and everything was running smoothly, I installed my drivers, got some games running, and have no complaints except for this: I am unable to press DEL to enter the UEFI when I power on my computer. The last time I was able to see it was just before I put in my 64bit Windows 8 DVD, when I set up the boot order. The option appears when the Gigabyte Ultra Durable logo appears on the screen, but pressing it DEL does nothing.
After a bit of research, I found the reason (which may be common knowledge to some but flew under my radar when deciding between Windows 7 and 8). Windows 8 apparently boots too quickly to interrupt it and go directly into the UEFI, so Microsoft built in a way to restart into the UEFI, as shown in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IqkCS0sRz5c
This concerns me on its own, just because I now NEED to boot into windows to access the more fundamental software on my PC. What if at some point the OS doesn't boot successfully, and I need to boot from a disk drive or USB instead in order to start anew? From where I'm standing, my UEFI settings should still be to boot from a disk drive since I never actually went in and changed the first boot priority from the optical drive to my SSD, where the OS is installed. As shown in the video above, you also need to be in Windows 8 in order to boot directly from another device, such as USB stick or optical drive.
So now I'm in Windows 8, and I try to access the UEFI Firmware Settings in the Advanced Startup menu, and that panel simply is not there. Everything else appears as shown in the video, but I have no access to the UEFI Firmware Settings.
After a bit more troubleshooting, I've come across the possible conclusion that the UEFI Firmware Settings panel does not appear because I didn't install windows 8 in "UEFI mode", and perhaps installed in "Legacy Bios-compatibility mode", as described here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825112.aspx
Keep in mind I am not particularly savvy with these kinds of things, and most of my knowledge and practice is informed by frequent use of Google. Without it I would be totally in the dark.
I found this thread, which involves a similar problem, though this user has some additional ones: http://www.eightforums.com/general-support/22501-uefi-firmware-settings-tile-not-appearing-after-os-install.html
....At this point I'm getting a little lost. From what I can gather maybe it's the aforementioned UEFI mode vs Legacy BIOS mode issue, but it seems that if I wanted to reinstall in UEFI mode, I would have to change some settings in the UEFI, which I can no longer access. User: "theog" posts some links in the above thread which point to a page where the suggestion is something along the lines of formatting a usb drive to boot windows in UEFI mode. Maybe that's what I need, but I'm getting confused. When I installed Windows 8 for the first time, all I did was load the UEFI, make sure my first boot priority was my optical drive, insert Windows 8 DVD, and basically hit next. The only drive I had powered on at the time was my SSD, which I installed the OS on (no options concerning a UEFI mode appeared.) It all seemed fairly straightforward.
ANYWAY
I apologize for this long and probably over-complicated post; I just want to bring anyone who can help up to speed on the problem, and where I'm standing as of now. Any advice will be thoroughly appreciated.
CPU: Intel 4670k
Mobo: Gigabyte Z87x-UD4H
GPU: MSi GTX 760
Memory: 8GB G. Skill Ripjaws X series
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro
HDD: WD Blue 1TB
I installed Windows 8 with no issues, and everything was running smoothly, I installed my drivers, got some games running, and have no complaints except for this: I am unable to press DEL to enter the UEFI when I power on my computer. The last time I was able to see it was just before I put in my 64bit Windows 8 DVD, when I set up the boot order. The option appears when the Gigabyte Ultra Durable logo appears on the screen, but pressing it DEL does nothing.
After a bit of research, I found the reason (which may be common knowledge to some but flew under my radar when deciding between Windows 7 and 8). Windows 8 apparently boots too quickly to interrupt it and go directly into the UEFI, so Microsoft built in a way to restart into the UEFI, as shown in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IqkCS0sRz5c
This concerns me on its own, just because I now NEED to boot into windows to access the more fundamental software on my PC. What if at some point the OS doesn't boot successfully, and I need to boot from a disk drive or USB instead in order to start anew? From where I'm standing, my UEFI settings should still be to boot from a disk drive since I never actually went in and changed the first boot priority from the optical drive to my SSD, where the OS is installed. As shown in the video above, you also need to be in Windows 8 in order to boot directly from another device, such as USB stick or optical drive.
So now I'm in Windows 8, and I try to access the UEFI Firmware Settings in the Advanced Startup menu, and that panel simply is not there. Everything else appears as shown in the video, but I have no access to the UEFI Firmware Settings.
After a bit more troubleshooting, I've come across the possible conclusion that the UEFI Firmware Settings panel does not appear because I didn't install windows 8 in "UEFI mode", and perhaps installed in "Legacy Bios-compatibility mode", as described here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825112.aspx
Keep in mind I am not particularly savvy with these kinds of things, and most of my knowledge and practice is informed by frequent use of Google. Without it I would be totally in the dark.
I found this thread, which involves a similar problem, though this user has some additional ones: http://www.eightforums.com/general-support/22501-uefi-firmware-settings-tile-not-appearing-after-os-install.html
....At this point I'm getting a little lost. From what I can gather maybe it's the aforementioned UEFI mode vs Legacy BIOS mode issue, but it seems that if I wanted to reinstall in UEFI mode, I would have to change some settings in the UEFI, which I can no longer access. User: "theog" posts some links in the above thread which point to a page where the suggestion is something along the lines of formatting a usb drive to boot windows in UEFI mode. Maybe that's what I need, but I'm getting confused. When I installed Windows 8 for the first time, all I did was load the UEFI, make sure my first boot priority was my optical drive, insert Windows 8 DVD, and basically hit next. The only drive I had powered on at the time was my SSD, which I installed the OS on (no options concerning a UEFI mode appeared.) It all seemed fairly straightforward.
ANYWAY
I apologize for this long and probably over-complicated post; I just want to bring anyone who can help up to speed on the problem, and where I'm standing as of now. Any advice will be thoroughly appreciated.
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