8/11/2015

HowtosolveUEFIbootandstartupproblems

WindowsSecrets>TopStory>HowtosolveUEFIbootandstartupproblems

HowtosolveUEFIbootandstartupproblems
ByFredLangaonDecember11,2014inTopStory

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SuccessortotheantiquatedBIOS,theUnifiedExtensibleFirmwareInterface(UEFI)addspowerfulsecuritytoolstopostXPsystems.
Ironically,UEFIcanalsoblockimportantrepair,recovery,andbackuptoolsthatbootfromDVDs,CDs,orUSBdrives.
Windows8stightintegrationwithaPCsUEFIcanbeespeciallyproblematicwhenyouneedtorunbootablerescuemedia.Thisarticlewillshowhowto
fullymastertheUEFIbootsystemonVista,Windows7,andWindows8systems.Attheend,youllhavethebenefitsofUEFIsecuritybutalsoknowhowtobypassits
drawbacks.

ThemanystrengthsandweaknessesofUEFI
Fromthestart,allPCshavecontainedlowlevel,semipermanentsoftwarethatwakesupasystemscomponentsinthecorrectorderandthenhandsoffoverallcontrolto
whateveroperatingsystemisinstalled.
Inoldsystems,thatsoftwarewastheBasicInput/OutputSystem,knowntonearlyallPCusersastheBIOS.Commonlycalledfirmware,theBIOSwasspecificallydesigned
toberarely,ifever,changedorupdated.Itssolefunctionwastoinitiatesystemstartup.
AsPCsbecamemorepowerful,theBIOSbecameeffectivelyobsolete(moreinfo).AmorepowerfulandflexiblereplacementfortheBIOSUEFIfirstappearedinPCsin
2005.Itsessentiallyubiquitousinnewermachines.Infact,itslikelythatthePCyoureusingrightnowisUEFIbased.
MostearlyversionsofUEFI,suchasthosefoundinVistaPCs,simplymimickedthelimitedcapabilitiesoftheclassicBIOS.Then,aslightlymoreusefulUEFIshowedupin
manymachinessoldwithWin7.Userscould,forexample,accesstheUEFIsettingswhileWindowswasrunningtheUEFIcouldalsoaccessmultiterabyteharddrivesand
allowvendorspecificenhancements.
UEFItrulycameintoitsownwithWindows8.TheOSmakesextensiveuseofUEFIcapabilities,includingsecurityfeaturessuchasrootkitprotectionthatstartsthemoment
thePCisturnedonlongbeforetheoperatingsystemorstandardantimalwaretoolsload.
(FormoreinformationonUEFItechnology,benefits,anduse,seetheresourceslistattheendofthisarticle.)
ThecostofUEFIsecurity:UEFIcancausemajorproblems.Forexample,UEFIcanmakeitveryhardtobootanalternateOSsuchasLinuxfromCDs,DVDs,orflash
drives.Itcanevenpreventyoufromrunningselfbootingsystemrecovery/repairtoolsorantimalwareappsthatrunoutsideofWindowsoften,theonlyeffectivewaytoroot
outmalwarehidingdeepwithinWindows.
Ofcourse,thisUEFIdrawbacktypicallyshowsupattheworstpossiblemoment:afteramajorsystemcrashorothersignificantPCemergency.Justwhenyoureallyneedto
bootfromarescuediscorflashdrive,UEFImightthrowuparoadblock,preventingaccesstothetoolsyouneed.
ToshowyouhowtotakecontrolofyourPCsUEFIsystem,thisarticleisdividedintothreemajorparts:adescriptionoftheproblematicUEFIcomponents,testingyourPCs
UEFIimplementation,andhowtomanagetheUEFI.
Letsgetstarted!

UEFIcomponentsthatmightcauseboottrouble
TherearefiveelementsofUEFIthatcandefeatyourattemptstolaunchselfbootingmedia.Laterinthestory,youllseehowtoadjusttheseitems.Butfirst,thefollowing
generaldescriptionswillhelpyouunderstandwhatthefiveelementsdo.
Note:ThoughWindows8canimplementallfiveelements,VistaandWindows7systemsusesubsetsofthesecomponents.Itsalsoimportanttoknowthateachhardware
vendormightenableordisableadifferentsetofUEFIfeaturesorcallthembydifferentnames.Iveusedthemostcommonnamesbelow.
Also,whendiscussingaWin8system,ImeanaPCthatwasdesignedtorunWindows8.TheOSwillrunonolderPCs,butanolderUEFIprobablywonthaveallfive
componentsWin8supports.ThesameholdsforVistaandWin7machines.
UEFI/CSMBoot:VirtuallyallWin8andmanyVistaandWin7PCscanbootwitheitherthegenericUEFIsystem(UEFIBoot)oracompatibilitysupportmodule
(CSMBoot).CSMBootemulatesoldstyleBIOSactionsforoperatingsystemsthatrequireit.Insomecases,CSMBootmustbespecificallyenabledbeforeaPCwill
bootfromaforeignoperatingsystemorfromadeviceotherthantheharddrive.Whatsmore,touseCSMBoot,bothUEFIBootandSecureBoot(seenextitem)must
bedisabled.
SecureBootisaWin8specific,UEFIimplementationthatpreventsunauthorizedorunrecognizedoperatingsystemsfromloading.Forexample,someclassicLinux
basedrepair/recoverydiscslacktherequiredsecuritycertificationstheywontbootifaPCisinSecureBootmode.IfyoudisableSecureBoot,thesystemrevertstothe
genericUEFIBoot.
FastBootisaUEFIoptionthatoftenvariesbyvendorandWindowsversion.InoldersystemswithsimplerUEFIimplementations,FastBootsavesafewsecondsat

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startupbyskippingseveralroutinehardwarechecks.
WithWindows8,FastBootsignificantlyspeedsthestartupprocessbyoverridingandskippingmanyoptionalsettings.Forexample,italwaysbootsdirectlyfromthe
primaryharddrivenomatterwhatotherbootordersettingsyoumighthavesetmanually.
Typically,Win8sFastBootmustbedisabledifyouwanttobootfromastandardopticaldrive,flashdrive,networkdrive,etc.essentiallyanysourceotherthanyour
primaryharddrive.
TrustedBootisaUEFImodulethatcheckstheintegrityofthestartupsoftwarebeforeallowingittoload.TrustedBootisdisabledwhenyouselectCSMboot.
EarlyLaunchAntiMalware(ELAM)isaWin8specificUEFIimplementationthatsactivewhenSecureBootisenabled.Launchingearlyintheinitialbootprocess,
ELAMscansallsubsequentlyloadedsystemleveldriverstoensuretheyrenotcarryinghostilepayloadssuchasrootkits.
UEFI/CSMBoot,SecureBoot,andFastBootusuallycanbemanagedseparatelybyendusersTrustedBootandELAMtypicallycannot.

AfullyaccuratetestforUEFIbootproblems
YouobviouslydontwanttodiscoverUEFIrelatedbootproblemswhileattemptingtorecoverfromamajorsystemfailure.ItsfarbettertotestyourUEFIsettingsnowwell
beforeanemergency.
Thetestissafeandsimple,andittakesonlyminutes.YousimplycreateabootableCD,DVD,orflashdriveandthentrytobootyoursystemfromit.
Thoughanytypeofbootablemediawilldo,itsbesttotesttheUEFIwiththecombinationofmediaandrecoverytoolyoulluseifyourPCencounterstrouble.
Forexample,allversionsofWindowsfeatureabuiltintooltocreateabootablerepair/recoverydiskorflashdrive.(EveryWindowsusershouldhaveatleastthistypeof
emergencytoolonhand.)Buttherearealsomanythirdpartyrepair/recoverytoolsavailable.
TheApril10TopStory,EmergencyrepairdisksforWindows:Part1listsninedifferentoptionsforcreatingrepair/recoverytoolsmostofthemarefree.(Thetitlestates
disks,butthetoolsalsocanbeusedonflashdrives.)
Ifyoudontalreadyhaveaknowngoodemergencydiskordriveavailable,takeafewmomentstocheckouttheoptionslistedintheabovearticle.Next,createthebootable
mediaofyourchoice.
XP,Vista,andWindows7userscantesttheiremergencybootmediumusingtechniquesdescribedintheApril17TopStory,EmergencyrepairdisksforWindows:Part2.
Thatarticlealsodescribeshowtoworkaroundthemostcommonobstaclesthatcaninterferewithsuccessfullybootingfromarepair/recoverytool.
IfyoucanstartyourXP,Vista,orWin7systemcorrectlywiththebootdiskofyourchoice,great!Youredone!
If,ontheotherhand,yourunintotrouble,skipdowntothisarticlesInsidetheUEFImanagementsoftwaresubsectionforpossiblesolutions.
Windows8usersshouldcontinuetothenextsectionbelowforinstructionsontestingtheirUEFIconfigurationandtoadjustitssettings,ifneeded.(TheWin8informationin
theaforementionedEmergencyrepairdisksforWindows:Part2isnowoutofdate,duetochangesintheoperatingsystemitself.Also,manythirdparty,emergency
repair/rescuetoolsnowworkwithWin8.)

StepsfortestingWindow8sUEFIconfiguration
Preparationandfirststeps:AswithanymajorchangetoyourPC,startbysavingallyourwork,closingallrunningapps,andbackingupthesystem.
SimplifyyourPCsboothardwareasmuchaspossible.Disconnectallpotentiallybootableexternaldevicesexcepttheonefromwhichyouintendtoactuallyboot.For
example,ifyouregoingtobootfromaDVD,unpluganyunneededUSBdrivesorflashdevicescurrentlyconnectedtoyoursystem.
OpentheCharmsbar,clickthegearicon(Settings),andthenclickChangePCsettingsatthebottomofthebar.
OnthePCsettingspage,selectUpdateandrecovery.
ClickRecoveryandthen,underAdvancedstartup,clickRestartnow.(Despitetheterminology,yourPCwillnotimmediatelyrestartthatsnormal.)TheChoosean
optionpagewillopen.
IfyourPChasUEFIcompatiblehardware,youllseeaUseadeviceoption(seeFigure1).

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Figure1.IfyourWin8PChasUEFIcompatiblehardware,theUseadevice
optiongivesyoueasyaccesstoalternatebootingmethods.

IfyourPCdoesntshowaUseadeviceoption,dontworryjustskipaheadtothesectionofthisarticlelabeledTheAdvancedalternatebootingoption.

ThesimpleUseadeviceoption:Ifitsavailabletoyou,Win8sUseadeviceoptionsmenuistheeasiestwaytotrybootingfromalternatemediaorthenetwork.It
automaticallymakestemporaryadjustmentstotherelevantUEFIsettings(includingFastBootandBootOrder)toallowbootingfromthedeviceyouselect.
(UseadevicewontworkifthehardwareisincompatiblewithUEFIorthealternateOSisincompatiblewithSecureBoot.)
Unfortunately,theresnowaytoknowinadvancewhetherallaspectsofyoursystemwillworkcorrectlywiththeUseadevicesettingyousimplyhavetotrybootingyour
PCwiththeselecteddeviceandseewhathappens.Hereshow:
ClickonUseadevice.
ClickontheEFI(extensiblefirmwareinterface)devicethatyouwanttobootfrom:USB,DVD/CDROM,ornetwork.

Figure2.SelecttheUEFIcompatiblebootdeviceyouwishto
tryinthisexample,I'veselectedaDVD/CDdrive.

ClicktheRebootbuttonwhenitsofferedyourPCwillshutdownandthentrytobootfromwhateverdeviceyouselected.
Followtheinstructionsforwhateverpromptthenappears.Forexample,ifyourebootingfromanopticaldrive,youshouldpressakeywhenthePressanykeytoboot
fromDVDorCDROMpromptappears.
Note:IfyouhavetroublebootingfromaUSBbaseddrive,useaUSB2.0port(typicallydenotedbyawhiteorgrayconnector)ifpossible.IvefoundUSB2.0tobemore
reliablethanUSB3.0(blueconnector)inbootoperations.
Ifyoursystembootsfromyourrecoverymedia,youredone!Yourhardware,media,andsoftwareareallUEFIbootcompatibleastheyare.
Ifthebootprocessfails,youlllikelygetarathergenericerrormessage.Forexample,ifItrytobootmysystemfromaDVDcontainingaLinuxdistributionthatsnotcompatible
withSecureBoot,Igettheerrormessage:SystemdoesnthaveanyCD/DVDbootoption.Itdoeshavethatoption,ofcoursethedrivewasselectedinUseadevice
butthatoptionisincompatiblewithSecureBoot.

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Nomatterwhaterrormessageyoureceive,ifyourPCfailstobootviatheUseadeviceoption,justbailrebootnormallybacktoWindows,workyourwaybacktotheChoose
anoptionscreen,andfollowthestepsbelow.

TheAdvancedalternatebootingoption:IfUseadeviceisntavailableorfails,yournextstopistheAdvancedalternatebootingoption,availableundertheTroubleshooting
menu.
OntheChooseanoptionscreen,clickTroubleshootandthenAdvancedoptions(Figures3and4).

Figure3.Formoreadvancedbootoptions,firstclickTroubleshootinthe
Chooseanoptionmenu.

Figure4.Next,clicktheAdvancedoptionstoaccessUEFI
settings.

IfaUEFIFirmwareSettingsoption(Figure5)appears,selectit.Note:Thisoptionmightalsobeunderasomewhatdifferentlabel,suchasChangeUEFISettings.
Ifnosuchoptionexists,skipdowntothesectionbelowlabeledIftherestroubleornoUEFImenuatall.

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Figure5.IftheAdvancedoptionsmenuincludesUEFIFirmware
Settings(orsomethingsimilar),clickit.

OntheUEFIFirmwareSettingsscreen,selectRestart(Figure6).YourPCwillrestartandautomaticallyrunitsbuiltinUEFImanagementsoftware.

Figure6.ClickRestarttoenteryourPC'sUEFImanagementsoftware.

WorkinginsidetheUEFImanagementsoftware
UEFIsettingpagesoftenlookmuchlikeclassicBIOSscreensandtypicallyworkinmuchthesameway.Followtheonscreendirectionsfornavigatingtothesettingsyoure
goingtochange.Next,makethefollowingchanges.
OnWindows8systems,startbydisablingSecureBoot.ThesettingistypicallyfoundunderSecurity(seeFigure7),Boot,Authentication,orsomesimilarheading.

Figure7.InWindows8only,disableSecureBoot.

Next,onVista,Win7,andWin8systemsthatofferit,disableFastBoot(Figure8),commonlyfoundunderaBootSpeedoption.Onmysystem,BootSpeedisunderthe
Advancedheading.

Figure8.TodisableFastBoot,selectNormal,Standard,orSlowBootor
whateveryourvendorcallsit.

OnWin8andmostWin7andVistaPCs,settheBootModetoCSM(CompatibilitySupportModule).Again,CSMmakesyourPCbehaveasifithadtheoldschoolBIOS
requiredbysomesoftware.
Onmysystem,thisrequiresthreeclicks:onetoaccesstheAdvanced/SystemConfigurationmenu(Figure9),asecondtoaccesstheBootModesettings,andathirdto
changetoCSMBoot(Figure10).

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Figure9.Onsomesystems,theBootModesettingisunderAdvanced/System
Configuration.

Figure10.SettheBootModetoCSMforfullsoftwarecompatibility.

YourPCslabelingmightdifferfrommine,buttheideaisthesame:deselectUEFIbootandswitchtoatraditionalBIOSstyleCSMbootoption.
NowsetthebootorderyouwantyourPCtofirsttrythedeviceyouselected,uponrestart.UEFIbootordersettingsareusuallyundertheBootsection(orsomethingsimilar).
Forexample,ifyouwanttobootfromaDVD/CDdrive,changethePCsbootordersothattheopticaldriveisatthetopofthelist.Youroptionswilllikelylooksomewhat
similartothoseshowninFigure11.

Figure11.Movethedeviceyouwanttobootfromtothetopofthebootorderlist.
(Shown:ODD,orOpticalDiskDrive,isnowfirst.)

Whenyouredone,saveyoursettingsandexit(typicallybypressingtheF10key).
Yoursystemwillnowrestart,usingatraditionalBIOStype(CSM)bootprocess.ItllbypassSecureBoot,skiptheFastBootshortcuts,andattempttousewhateverdeviceyou
selectedasthefirstbootdevice.

IftherestroubleornoUEFImenuatall
IfyouknowyoursystemhasaUEFI,butyoucantfindoraccessitssettings,almostallsystemsofferthealternate,oldschooltrickofpressingaspecificfunctionkeyduring
initialbootorusingspecialOEMsoftware.However,wheneverpossible,itsbestandsafesttousethemenuaccessmethodsdescribedabove.Itwillensurethat
WindowsandtheUEFIsystemremaininsync.
IfyouvetriedeverythinginthisarticleandstillcantproperlycontrolUEFIbooting,visityourPCvendorsonlinesupportsiteandsearchforinstructionsspecifictoyourbrand
andmodelofPC.

Wrappingup,plussourcesofmoreinformation
Whenyouvesuccessfullybootedyoursystemfromyouremergencyrepair/recoverytool,makenoteofanyunusualstepsyouhadtotake.Storethatinformationwithyour
emergencybootmedia(DVD/CD,flashdrive,whatever),andputbothinasafeplace.Abitofpreparationnowcouldpreventalotofheadacheslateriforwhenitallhitsthe
fan!
Asalaststep,undothechangesyoumadetoyourUEFIsettings,restoringthemtotheiroriginalconfiguration.
Thatsit!Youredone.YoucannowhavethecomfortofUEFIsbenefitsforroutineoperation,plustheconfidencethatyoucanbypasstheUEFIwhenneeded.
FormoreinformationonUEFI,bootissues,Win8sSecureBoot,andrelatedfeatures,seethefollowingsources:
SaygoodbyetoBIOSandhellotoUEFI!Jan.19,2012,TopStory
WhatisUEFI?MicrosoftWindowshelp

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UnifiedExtensibleFirmwareInterfaceForumUEFIconsortiumsite
BoottoUEFImodeorlegacyBIOSmodeMSTechNetarticle
UnifiedExtensibleFirmwareInterfaceWikipediaarticle
SecureBootMSTechNetarticle
SecureBootoverviewTechNetarticle
SecuringtheWindows8bootprocessTechNetarticle
Windows8bootsecurityFAQTechNetarticle
SecurebootfeaturesigningrequirementsforkernelmodedriversMSDNarticle
EarlylaunchantimalwareMSDNarticle

AllWindowsSecretsarticlespostedon20141211:
TOPSTORY
LOUNGELIFE
WACKYWEBWEEK

HowtosolveUEFIbootandstartupproblems
Resignedresponse:Illgetusedtoit
Alittlebitofalarmfortheholidays

LANGALISTPLUS

ControllingWin8sautosynchingofsettings

BESTHARDWARE

DevicesforstrongerWiFianddatasecurity

PATCHWATCH

=Paidcontent

Wrappingupasomewhattroublingyearofupdates
Showallarticlesonasinglepage

AboutFredLanga
FredLangaissenioreditor.HisLangaListNewslettermergedwithWindowsSecretsonNov.16,2006.Priortothat,FredwaseditorofByteMagazine
(1987to1991)andeditorialdirectorofCMPMedia(1991to1996),overseeingWindowsMagazineandothers.
ViewallpostsbyFredLanga

Trademarks:MicrosoftandWindowsareregisteredtrademarksofMicrosoftCorporation.TheWindowsSecretsseriesofbooksispublishedbyWileyPublishingInc.TheWindowsSecretsNewsletter,WindowsSecrets.com,
WinFind,WindowsGizmos,SecurityBaseline,PatchWatch,PerimeterScan,WackyWebWeek,theLogoDesign(W,Sorroad,andStar),andthesloganEverythingMicrosoftForgottoMentionallaretrademarksandservice
marksofiNETInteractive.Allothermarksarethetrademarksorservicemarksoftheirrespectiveowners.

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