You may recall I had installed Windows 8 to a PC configured to boot
in BIOS/legacy/CSM mode, rather than UEFI/modern/secure mode. This
led to an inability to access the BIOS/UEFI/CMOS/firmware setup
utility. I had hoped to do a system image backup, change boot mode,
and do a restore. (Details:
https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg08692.html)
Well, turns out that's not going to work, either. The Windows 8.1
Recovery utility says:
"The system image restore failed. Windows cannot restore a system
image to a computer that has different firmware. The system image was
created on a computer using BIOS and this computer is using EFI."
(I had obtained a USB-attach hard disk, since Windows 8 is brain
damaged and will not create backups on a USB flash drive. I made the
system image backup to the hard drive. Then I created a Recovery disk
(on a flash drive, even). Shutdown. Booted into firmware setup.
Changed boot mode from CSM to UEFI. Booted from the Recovery medium.
Told it to Troubleshoot, Advanced, Restore System Image. Gave it the
hard disk, it found the image. Told it to repartition and reformat.
It started to restore, then immediately gave this message.)
I'm trying to find a way to install the Windows EFI loader ("Windows
Boot Manager") without reinstalling the whole OS, but I don't expect
to have much luck. It looks like the only way out is to reinstall
everything. I feel like I'm back in 1995 trying to move Windows to a
new disk controller.
"Microsoft's answer to its own ad slogan, 'Where do you want to go
today?' is usually 'Great, we'll take you there next year.'" (Eric
Grevstad)
-- Ben
