Z77 extreme6 - possible to boot dvd without UEFI ?

[jowillia]

Hello,
I am preparing for delivery of my new Z77 Extreme 6 tomorrow. I will need to boot the windows 7 dvd without UEFI, so that I can install it on an MBR disk.

Is that possible ? On extreme 4, you can boot CD/DVD in RAID mode or UEFI - just need to know if anything changed with new z77 chipset and UEFI implementation on extreme 6.

Thanks,
JoWillia

[parsec]

The current default configuration for all DIY PC mother boards with UEFI firmware instead of BIOS firmware, is the CSM is enabled by default, and secure boot is disabled by default. That means the UEFI is running in standard BIOS mode, so you are not required to use a GPT formatted OS disk. You will be able to install Windows 7 with a disk formatted with a MBR just fine, and don't need to change any UEFI settings to do so. An unformatted disk found by Windows 7 will always be formatted with a MBR partition table, unless a UEFI boot Windows installation is configured by the user. Windows 8 will do that too.

UEFI booting has not been forced upon us yet (I have no problem with it), although I imagine once its advantages over BIOS booting are utilized, it will become popular.

[jowillia]

Thank You. Excellent answer.

[mrglen]

I am putting together my pc tomorrow and was wondering if i had to flash the bios with the latest update? I have seen it mentioned alot and I just dont see it mentioned that I has to be done in the book before installing windows and fire up the machine. Am i missing something? blind lol :P
Any suggestions, feedback, videos, would be appreciated

[parsec]

I would not worry about flashing the BIOS at all, particularly on a a new build. It is definitely not necessary.

You will be verifying that the board basically functions, and the other parts too. You don't need the extra variable of flashing the BIOS. The very first BIOS version will work, the updates are not major fixes to get it working.

You can check what BIOS version your board has by finding the sticker on the BIOS chip, in the area by the SATA ports. The first version is 1.10, the latest is 2.60. My first ASRock board, a Z77 EX 4, had the second BIOS version released for the board, 1.20, and I had no problems installing Windows or using it.

The only exception would be if you had some (usually unusual) hardware that is mentioned in a BIOS update, that the BIOS fixes a compatibility issue with it. That is usually a new video card, or some model of memory.

[parsec]

Thank You. Excellent answer.

You're welcome! I doubt that mother board manufactures will be the ones deciding if UEFI booting is required (unless it is cheaper for some reason), but others may decide that for us eventually. Currently, the only Windows product that requires a UEFI boot is Windows RT, used on tablets and smart phones, really ARM based devices.