How make UEFI bootable rescue disk in Windows 7 64-bit?

[Ensign Scrulu]

I just bought a new PC (Dell Optiplex 3040) after having had my previous, trouble-free ASUS crash thoroughly after 6 years of impeccable service.

It now turns out that 'while I was away', the UEFI specification had replaced the familiar BIOS firmware interface present in all IBM PC-compatible personal computers up till then and had worked fine for decades. It was too good to last, natch.

UEFI has not proved to be an improvement, if that was the industry intention which I doubt, but has instead presented many problems at least for me. One of which is that if I create a Repair Disc using Windows own imaging tool, it will not boot despite the correct boot options and sequence being set and duly saved before attempting boot.

These settings are simply ignored and the machine proceeds to boot Windows from the HDD. So, where does this leave me in case the HDD conks out? In the s-house, that's where. I have so far posted this question in quite a few known good forums over a few weeks, but gotten no straight-forward answer to date.

Either the person replying

1) suggests a complex work-around which should not be necessary under the circumstances or
2) suggests a non-working 'solution' or
3) comes clean and say they have never encountered this problem or are lucky enough to have the familiar, tried and true BIOS setup system of old themselves or
4) there are no replies whatever. A deafening silence.

From bad experience I know better than to put the question to Microsoft (convoluted, complex, involved explanations/solutions that don't work anyway. The local (Swedish) Dell support people couldn't support their way out of the proverbial wet paper bag, so they're no alternative and my question remains:

how do I make a working UEFI bootable rescue disk in Windows 7 64 bit?

Thank you.

 

[Multipack]

UEFI has legacy support so you shouldn't need it in UEFI format as long as legacy is enabled in your BIOS?

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
If Windows didn't even try to boot the disc then:

1) You made the disc wrong, or

2) You didn't boot to the disc

You have to go into the BIOS and quick-boot to the DVD, or set it up to permanently have the DVD-drive as the first boot device (before your Windows drive).

Other:
UEFI is in fact an improvement in many ways. Boot time (when done properly), security and other.

 

[photonboy]

UEFI has legacy support so you shouldn't need it in UEFI format as long as legacy is enabled in your BIOS?

You don't want to mess with the compatibility settings if Windows is already installed . He's already FINE and running Window. All this is likely to do is make him no longer able to boot Windows.

Other:
*I use Acronis True Image to make automated backups. As per my above comment, I can boot to a USB stick or DVD easily to run the Acronis boot tool, then RESTORE from a backup on another drive.

UEFI is not preventing people booting to DVD/USB devices.

 

[Multipack]

UEFI has legacy support so you shouldn't need it in UEFI format as long as legacy is enabled in your BIOS?

You don't want to mess with the compatibility settings if Windows is already installed . He's already FINE and running Window. All this is likely to do is make him no longer able to boot Windows.

Other:
*I use Acronis True Image to make automated backups. As per my above comment, I can boot to a USB stick or DVD easily to run the Acronis boot tool, then RESTORE from a backup on another drive.

UEFI is not preventing people booting to DVD/USB devices.

Yes but I am assuming he is already running in legacy mode seeing as he has Windows 7. I was just asking if it was, not saying to change it, although enabling legacy alongside UEFI wont actually harm things if done post OS install. I think OP is just a little confused.

And if your bootable devices have GPT partitions and your BIOS are set to legacy only for example it may cause problems. It's always best to install and stick to the mode you start with though I agree.

 

[Ensign Scrulu]

Thank you Multipack and photonboy.

Multipack said:

"UEFI has legacy support so you shouldn't need it in UEFI format as long as legacy is enabled in your BIOS?" Correct. I checked this right after posting yesterday and I had left Legacy Boot enabled since a previous attempt to boot Kaspersky Rescue Disc, made on my previous system. (That one didn't boot however). But after I changed to UEFI Boot, the Windows Restore Disc booted OK.

(The boot sequence was, at this moment, set to 1) CD/DVD, 2) HDD and had been for weeks, the PC booting off the HDD as there had up until my running the Windows Restore Disc as described above not been a disc present.)

After the disc had booted OK and was running its course, I didn't see any point in letting it continue. There was a text on the Restore Disc screen saying: "To cancel operation, press [ESC]" which I did. The program exited and while the PC was idle, preparing to reboot, I ejected the disc, took it and closed the DVD sled and put the disc on the desk before me.

Now an inexplicable thing, like something out of a nightmare, happened: when the PC rebooted, the Windows Restore Disc program started running *just as if the disc had still been in the drive* - but I had put the disc on the desk before me, remember? And instead of booting into Windows, a screen saying ‘No boot-media found’ came up and after a while the PC restarted. Now, instead of booting into Windows, a screen saying ‘No boot-media found’ came up and after a while the PC restarted….and so on. Now what??!

I got into the setup, and the boot sequence screen was gone! That section of the setup screen was suddenly, and for the first time, blank, if you can believe it.

I checked Reset To Factory Settings – same difference.

And there it stands for now.

I am writing this on a PC at the local local library, as I read your replies earlier today, also at the library, and felt I had to report back and while here I looked up the Dell U.S. tech support number and call them when I am back home.

But I’m offline at home for I don’t know how long but will report back as soon as I get out of this nightmare of of PC trouble and am back online.

 

[Ensign Scrulu]

Your solution it says above this window, but is not my solution: In the OP, I said that the local (Swedish) Dell support was no good. I spoke too soon, it turned out, but with much bad experience to back up my assessment.

Well, yesterday I tried them yet again to have at least tried and this time had the great good fortune to happen upon Linus, a young man who was very competent and knowlegeable about the UEFI scheme.

He patiently listened to my tale of woe, then walked me through the setup in real time, was to begin with as consternated by the problem as I: (the Windows Restore Disc program started running? With the drive empty and the disc in view on the desk before you??) but then, screen by screen, setting by setting; me reporting what I saw (remote control obviously not being an alternative now) him suggesting changes, he walked me through it.

And after we were done, upon reboot the PC behaved normally and have ever since. Here are pic's of the Dell 3040 setup screens as they now look:

https://s14.postimg.org/bapc3h21t/1_unizsize.jpg
http://s21.postimg.org/m5yzez1yf/2_unizsize.jpg
https://s14.postimg.org/pl3hsp7s1/3_unizsize.jpg (if anybody could explain why diskett is till an option...)
https://s14.postimg.org/9yc8fbu01/4_unizsize.jpg
https://s14.postimg.org/854qd9jfl/5_unizsize.jpg
https://s14.postimg.org/ezjmgp1gh/6_unizsize.jpg

So things are, at the moment, all good. I will proceed to make a new image, overwriting the previous one and make a rescue disc, however I will not 'testdrive it' for a while.

Thank you, I hereby close this thread.