GPT Partition Table on Windows 7?
in [64 Bits Windows]
|
Prev: 64bit on top
Next: Using 32 bit ODBC driver in x64?
From: John John - MVP on 5 Aug 2010 15:27 Steve Foster wrote: > Lynn McGuire wrote: > >>>> I THINK only MACs and Linux can be installed on a GUID Partition >>>> Table (GPT) System. >>> Nope. Windows can be installed and boot from a GPT disk. >> GPT booting requires any x64 version of Windows Vista or 7. > > x64 is not required. > > I thought I'd typed in the caveat, but that hasn't shown up, so I must > have managed to send the post without it. > > The caveat for booting from GPT is that the PC must be EFI-based. 32-bit Windows cannot boot on GPT disks. John
From: Steve Foster on 6 Aug 2010 10:28 John John - MVP wrote: > Steve Foster wrote: > > Lynn McGuire wrote: > > > > > > > I THINK only MACs and Linux can be installed on a GUID > > > > > Partition Table (GPT) System. > > > > Nope. Windows can be installed and boot from a GPT disk. > > > GPT booting requires any x64 version of Windows Vista or 7. > > > > x64 is not required. > > > > I thought I'd typed in the caveat, but that hasn't shown up, so I > > must have managed to send the post without it. > > > > The caveat for booting from GPT is that the PC must be EFI-based. > > 32-bit Windows cannot boot on GPT disks. Well, the GPT FAQ already linked to says otherwise. I did search for a more definitive answer, and failed to find one, though I did find lots of tales of woe related to GPT in general. -- Steve Foster For SSL Certificates, Domains, etc, visit.: https://netshop.virtual-isp.net
From: John John - MVP on 6 Aug 2010 10:58 Steve Foster wrote: > John John - MVP wrote: > >> Steve Foster wrote: >>> Lynn McGuire wrote: >>> >>>>>> I THINK only MACs and Linux can be installed on a GUID >>>>>> Partition Table (GPT) System. >>>>> Nope. Windows can be installed and boot from a GPT disk. >>>> GPT booting requires any x64 version of Windows Vista or 7. >>> x64 is not required. >>> >>> I thought I'd typed in the caveat, but that hasn't shown up, so I >>> must have managed to send the post without it. >>> >>> The caveat for booting from GPT is that the PC must be EFI-based. >> 32-bit Windows cannot boot on GPT disks. > > Well, the GPT FAQ already linked to says otherwise. No, it doesn't. It says that only the 64-bit version of Windows XP can read and write to GPT disks and it says that the 32-bit version of Server 2003 can also read and write to GPT disks. Other than that it says that only the Itanium versions of these operating systems can *boot* off GPT disks. Reading and writing to disks once the operating system is booted is not the same as booting off the disk. > I did search for a more definitive answer, and failed to find one, > though I did find lots of tales of woe related to GPT in general. Booting on GPT disks is done via EFI (aka UEFI) and in view of the inevitable displacement of 32-bit with 64-bit Microsoft had decided long ago not to provide EFI support for its 32-bit operating systems, they make mention of this here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930061 John
From: Steve Foster on 7 Aug 2010 20:22 John John - MVP wrote: > > Steve Foster wrote: > > > > Well, the GPT FAQ already linked to says otherwise. > > No, it doesn't. It says that only the 64-bit version of Windows XP > can read and write to GPT disks and it says that the 32-bit version > of Server 2003 can also read and write to GPT disks. Other than that > it says that only the Itanium versions of these operating systems can > boot off GPT disks. Reading and writing to disks once the operating > system is booted is not the same as booting off the disk. I'm presuming that the focus of the discussion is Vista/7, rather than XP (which is after all, almost 10 years old, and 2 versions out of date). Anyway, FAQ #16: "16. Can Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 read, write, and boot from GPT disks? Yes, all versions can use GPT partitioned disks for data. Booting is only supported for EFI-based systems." Which implies that a combination of an EFI PC + Vista/7 x32 ought to be able to boot from a GPT disk. > > I did search for a more definitive answer, and failed to find one, > > though I did find lots of tales of woe related to GPT in general. > > Booting on GPT disks is done via EFI (aka UEFI) and in view of the > inevitable displacement of 32-bit with 64-bit Microsoft had decided > long ago not to provide EFI support for its 32-bit operating systems, > they make mention of this here: > http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930061 Oh my, that does look a mess. -- Steve Foster For SSL Certificates, Domains, etc, visit.: https://netshop.virtual-isp.net
From: John John - MVP on 8 Aug 2010 09:05
On 8/7/2010 9:22 PM, Steve Foster wrote: > John John - MVP wrote: > >> >> Steve Foster wrote: >>> >>> Well, the GPT FAQ already linked to says otherwise. >> >> No, it doesn't. It says that only the 64-bit version of Windows XP >> can read and write to GPT disks and it says that the 32-bit version >> of Server 2003 can also read and write to GPT disks. Other than that >> it says that only the Itanium versions of these operating systems can >> boot off GPT disks. Reading and writing to disks once the operating >> system is booted is not the same as booting off the disk. > > I'm presuming that the focus of the discussion is Vista/7, rather than > XP (which is after all, almost 10 years old, and 2 versions out of > date). Well, the name of this group is microsoft.public.windows.64bit.general... > Anyway, FAQ #16: > > "16. Can Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 read, write, and boot > from GPT disks? > Yes, all versions can use GPT partitioned disks for data. Booting is > only supported for EFI-based systems." > > Which implies that a combination of an EFI PC + Vista/7 x32 ought to be > able to boot from a GPT disk. NO! Microsoft's offering of 32-bit operating systems *CANNOT* boot EFI! Quotes and links: Installing Windows to an EFI-Based Computer http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749064(WS.10).aspx "If you are installing Windows to an EFI-based computer, you must enable EFI mode in the computer's firmware. You must enable EFI mode in both attended and unattended installations. You must boot to 64-bit EFI-mode preinstallation media (64-bit Windows PE in EFI mode, or 64-bit Windows Setup in EFI mode). You cannot install Windows to UEFI-based computers in BIOS mode." (x86 operating systems are BIOS-based operating systems) You cannot install or start Windows Vista when the volume of the system partition is larger than 2 terabytes http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946557 This issue occurs for one of the following reasons: [...] You configure the GUID partition table (GPT) disk as the boot partition. "When you start an operating system from a GPT disk, the Extended Firmware Interface (EFI)-based BIOS is required. However, the EFI-based BIOS is not supported in Windows Vista 32-bit editions. Additionally, it is not supported in Windows Vista 64-bit editions unless you install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)." In this Microsoft PowerPoint presentation you can read: - 32-bit UEFI support is currently not part of our long term client and server roadmaps - 32-bit systems must boot Windows via BIOS In the same presentation you can see a chart clearly indicating that none of the 32-bit Windows can boot EFI. Inside the Windows Pre-Boot and Boot Environment [WinHEC 2006 ...] PowerPoint file: http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/b/9/5b97017b-e28a-4bae-ba48-174cf47d23cd/cpa051_wh06.ppt Same as above online (no ppt viewer required) http://www.scribd.com/doc/31814277/CPA051-WH06 More links telling you that 32-bit Windows does not support EFI: UEFI Support and Requirements for Windows Operating Systems http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/firmware/uefireg.mspx Installing Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 on UEFI Systems http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/firmware/uefiguide.mspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table#Windows_32-bit_versions John |