EFI/GPT Explore (Why create 100M hidden partitions when partitioning win7)

EFI/GPT Explore (Why create 100M hidden partitions when partitioning win7)

Turn from

http://blog.tomatoit.net/article.asp?id=348

EFI/GPT is a new generation of firmware/start-up management technology, more complex, less data.
After a lot of search, found some information, finally touched a little door, first briefly.

First, technical background. EFI was developed by Intel, was first used for Itanium computers (version 1.0), then Mac (version 1.1), and later Intel opened standards and technical data, EFI was managed by the UEFI Organization (http://www.uefi.org). After a period of development, upgrade to version 2.0 (UEFI 2.0), currently, the latest version is 2.1. Intel has a website with EFI's technical information, development tools, instance code and utilities (available with EFI Shell and toolkit download) (http://www.tianocore.org).

Second, the basic situation. EFI technology is important for CSM, Shell, and TOOLKIT,CSM to enable users to choose whether to boot with EFI firmware or legacy BIOS, and Apple supports this feature through boot camp, so we can install Windows on Mac machines. As for the shell, it provides a power-on command-line environment, it can do a lot of things, what we need now is to use it to start the operating system installer (because this is the only way to install Windows x64 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 to the GPT partition, Older versions and 32-bit Windows are not allowed). Toolkit is a command-line tool, like a. com/.exe file under DOS, but its extension is. efi.

Third, partition-related. EFI needs to occupy a partition whose format is FAT32, is hidden, is not mounted by default, so it is invisible in the file manager. We can create this partition manually using the MAC OS x installation disk or the Windows vista/2008 Setup disk (recommended for Windows vista/2008 installation disk, compatibility), Mac does not need to say, with diskutil or hard disk tools, vista/ 2008 is the case:
1, prepare a new hard disk, it does not seem to be a GPT partition table of the hard disk, MBR can.
Power ON, insert the vista/2008 installation disk, boot from CD (Mac machine can be switched on and hold option key, will appear two disc icon, select left).
2, the installation screen select the language, click Next, then you can see a few options, one is upgrade, two is a new installation, the following there are two I forgot what text, point the bottom of that one, and then point to the next, and then point to the bottom of a command console like the icon, entered the command line.
3. Create a GPT partitioning process:
Enter DiskPart, enter.
Enter list disk, you can see the hard disk number, 0,1,2,3 ... What
Enter select disk x (x is the hard disk number) to select the hard disk you want to partition.
Enter clean to clear all the partitions on the hard disk (if your hard disk is not in the unpartitioned state).
Input convert GPT converts the hard disk into a GPT partition table (which is basically a permanent conversion and cannot be reversed until you clear the partition table with clean again).
Enter create partition EFI size=*** (* * * is the partition size, in megabytes, Mac default is 200MB, a little bit bigger does not matter, I divide is 512MB).
Enter create partition msr size=*** (MSR is a Microsoft Reserved partition, it seems that Ms will do something with it, I gave it a 512MB).
Enter create partition primary size=*** ID=YYY creates a data partition that can be used to install the operating system (ID=YYY can not be entered, it represents the GUID partition type (format, like the MBR partition table fat/ntfs/hfs+ Use a string to represent the partition format, except that the GUID is a long, globally unique identifier, which is not entered here, which is automatically generated when the operating system is installed, the partition is formatted, and is described in detail and in the various partition GUID lists.
Then repeat the sentence above to create multiple data partitions.
After you have finished partitioning, you can format the EFI partition to mount it by:
Enter list partition to see how much the EFI partition is numbered.
Enter select partition x to select the EFI partition (typically 1).
Enter assign Letter=x (x for the letter you want to assign to it, just fill in an unoccupied drive letter)
Enter Exit to exit the DiskPart partition tool, which goes back to the command line.
Enter format x:/fs:fat/q/y The EFI partition.
Such a GPT disk is ready.
Here, you can actually do some other things, such as loading the EFI shell (in advance, the EFI shell files into a FAT32 format of the USB stick above (mobile hard disk may also be OK), how to mount the USB flash drive? Please look at the above. However, be aware that this command line can only come in once, if you go back to the installation interface, or a power outage, then you have to repartition (first you have to get MBR partition). Of course, you can also do these things after installing vista/2008.

Four, installation system. Since our goal is to install Windows Vista x64 sp1/2008 x64 or other systems that support EFI/GPT to GPT partitions, there is a precondition that we have to boot the installation from the EFI shell, Otherwise, the installer does not allow you to install the operating system to a GPT partition. As for this EFI shell, there is a refit that provides the shell (http://refit.sourceforge.net), but it is a Mac software, so you have to install Mac OS X first (at least Tiger bar). Intel's Tianocore Web site also offers this thing (http://www.tianocore.org), vista/2008 installation disk does not know if there is no, estimated not.

So the problem is that you have to get the shell and start the installer from the shell. Where the shell can be installed, the EFI partition is FAT32 format (FAT32 partition format is open), we can install it to the EFI partition (of course, first we need to be able to mount and read and write this partition), You can also install it on a USB flash drive or a FAT32 partition on a removable hard drive (it seems that the FAT32 partition is useful).
The Windows Mount EFI partition is needless to say, it has.
Windows Add. efi file start record to NVRAM please see here.
Mac mounts the EFI partition and adds the. efi file start record please see this post on the 11 floor.
Of course, we still need to know which. efi file is used to start recording, vista/2008 is to use Bootmgr.efi to do the boot record (the installation CD has), leopard seems to be used in the installation disk/usr/standalone/i386/.../boot.efi.

I haven't officially installed Vista x64/2008 to the GPT partition yet, because I'm anxious to write this article. And so on, I added, of course, if someone had installed it before me, that would be fine.
My concern is that the current 45nm MacBook is still using the 1.1 version of EFI, and many PCs have in fact already used UEFI 2.0 or 2.1 (which means the PC can actually do the same). It is said that 2008 of the latest imac and Mac Pro are already using UEFI 2.0, and someone from abroad has already installed it successfully.

http://blog.csdn.net/skykingf/article/details/12909615

EFI/GPT Explore (Why create 100M hidden partitions when partitioning win7)