Late-2013 rMBP able to install & boot Win8 using EFI?

awj


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I've previously installed Win7 (and then upgraded to 8) via Bootcamp, but I've been looking around some forums recently regarding running Win8 natively.

I now have the impression that the latest-gen rMBP will install and boot Win8 using EFI as if it were a native OS. In other words, off an EFI partition and without BIOS emulation.

Can anyone verify this?

I read on a forum (the post was made several weeks previous and the user didn't respond when I posted this question) where a user reported that Bootcamp had installed Win8 on an EFI partition and that the bootup was so much faster.
 

chscag

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I've previously installed Win7 (and then upgraded to 8) via Bootcamp, but I've been looking around some forums recently regarding running Win8 natively.

You're already running Windows 8 natively if you have it installed via Boot Camp.

I now have the impression that the latest-gen rMBP will install and boot Win8 using EFI as if it were a native OS. In other words, off an EFI partition and without BIOS emulation.

That's what Boot Camp does. The EFI partition on your rMBP is only 10 MB and is where the boot information is kept by OS X. Boot Camp uses EFI to simulate a PC's BIOS which is why Windows can run natively when using the Boot Camp Assistant. The Boot Camp Assistant will create a partition that will appear to Windows to be just like it was running on a PC that has a BIOS.

I read on a forum (the post was made several weeks previous and the user didn't respond when I posted this question) where a user reported that Bootcamp had installed Win8 on an EFI partition and that the bootup was so much faster.

His terminology is wrong, but the general idea is correct. However, you're already running Windows 8 natively and there's nothing more you can do to speed it up. (Your rMBP is not upgradeable.)
 
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awj


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Perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my OP.

Boot Camp uses EFI to simulate a PC's BIOS which is why Windows can run natively when using the Boot Camp Assistant.

This is what I'm trying to avoid. What I don't want is to push the power button and, as happened on my previous MBP, stare at a white screen for ~11 seconds while the BIOS emulation takes place.

Win8 has an EFI installer and, like I said, I've somewhat been given the impression that Bootcamp is able to install Win8 using EFI, then boot Win8 using EFI, not a BIOS emulation layer.

For example, here's a series of comments from people trying to install and run Windows without using BIOS emulation - they discuss a series of problems and what I'm trying to discern is whether these problems have been negated by the newer EFI on the latest-gen rMBP.

And the reason I suspect that the latest-gen rMBP might be able to do this is because people have reported that the 2013 MBA can do this. Another example: here's a guide which is almost a year old but explains how to do it on the previous-gen MBA, but there are missing drivers afterwards which have perhaps now been updated.

I hope that's cleared up any misunderstanding, but my OP did say "and boot Win8 using EFI as if it were a native OS. In other words, off an EFI partition and without BIOS emulation."
 
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awj


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I don't think I was clear enough with my question. Or perhaps I was:

I asked if
the latest-gen rMBP will install and boot Win8 using EFI as if it were a native OS. In other words, off an EFI partition and without BIOS emulation

to which you've replied
Boot Camp uses EFI to simulate a PC's BIOS which is why Windows can run natively

Furthermore, although I've clearly asked about the latest-gen rMBP, you've replied that
Your rMBP is not upgradeable.

So just to be clear, let me clarify a few points:
  • I had a 2012 MacBook Pro (non-retina) which I dual-booted. However, whenever I booted Windows via Bootcamp I got fed up watching a white screen for 11-12 seconds while the BIOS emulation was loaded. This is what I am trying to avoid and am therefore asking whether Bootcamp installs Win8 using Win8's EFI installer.
    Win8 can be installed using either BIOS or EFI, and as I tried to explain in my OP, people are reporting that the latest-gen rMBP (and possibly the 2013 MBA) are installing Win8 into an EFI partition.
  • My question was therefore "is this true" as in "if Win8 is installed onto an EFI partition, does this mean I won't have to look at a white screen for 11-12 seconds?"
  • My question also relates specifically to the latest-gen rMBP, which I believe has a different version of EFI and therefore a modified version of Bootcamp.

I do appreciate that you've taken the time to respond to my question, but in this instance it didn't answer my question.

[I posted a very similar response to your message almost 2 days ago, but it still hasn't appeared on the site, hence the delay.]
 

chscag

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Your previous post did not appear because the system filters put it in moderation for some reason. Sorry about that..... I approved the post so now you have two posts, but that's OK.

It's a bit late here right now, and I'm going to have to go through the comments you linked to in order to understand exactly what they refer to. I'll try to get back to you tomorrow when I have some time.

One comment I will make and it's my own observation: I've installed XP several times and also Windows 7 using the Boot Camp assistant and have never experienced a white screen for any length of time. Boot up to Windows in every case was almost immediate.
 

chscag

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OK, I'm back and a Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I read through the links you posted and I have to admit that I was not aware Windows 8 could boot from EFI since previous versions of Windows can not. After reading the instructions and going over them several times to make sure he had the terminology and procedure correct, I see no reason why you couldn't follow them and do the same as he did.

Two things which are important: Make sure you download the Windows driver disk image from Apple. You may actually have to run the Boot Camp Assistant in order to do that but that's OK since after the download, you can cancel out of Boot Camp. Second, use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone of your hard drive and recovery partition to an external hard drive. If something goes wrong, you can always clone back and start over.

I would be interested in hearing how things went. Post back and let us know.
 
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awj


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Happy Thanksgivukkah! (Sadly, being in Europe, this means little to me.)

Despite posting those links, I don't want to go through the Windows-on-EFI installation using that manual process. For a start, it seems that non-Bootcamp installations have video driver problems. And it's not that I'm nervous about playing around with partitions and manual driver installations, but what I'm really hoping is that when presented with an ISO of Win8 (and its EFI installer), Bootcamp will know to install Win8 on an EFI partition rather than my having to force this through a byzantine series of steps.

I'm sure about a week ago I read a posting on a forum where people were going through those manual steps (and encountering NVidia driver-induced crashes) and someone had mentioned that they ignored those steps, installed Win8 via Bootcamp in the standard way, and when he checked the partition (using something like GParted) he found that Win8 was residing on an EFI partition and that it booted so much quicker. Unfortunately, despite crawling through my browser's history, I cannot find this page again.

If something goes wrong, you can always clone back and start over.

I'm actually looking to do this on a brand-new rMBP, so when I try it there will be nothing on the "Macintosh" partition. I had expected that should something go wrong I could just load up recovery mode and start again, no? Does the recovery boot option reside on a drive partition or is it in the hardware? If the latter, then there's no point in cloning beforehand, right?

So to summarise, what I'm planning on doing is installing Win8 from an ISO on a thumb drive, using the standard Bootcamp procedure, in the hope that it installs as a standard, native EFI bootable partition.

[I've yet to buy the rMBP, so there won't be any immediate resolution to this.]

Again, thanks for your response.
 
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awj


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I can confirm that having installed Win8 from an ISO, then followed the instructions on this page to determine if the installation is using EFI or BIOS, it looks like Bootcamp has installed and boots Win8 using EFI.

Certainly, the boot time is a LOT quicker than on a previous-gen MBP when I installed Win7 and then upgraded it to Win8 (which would then have been using BIOS).
 
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I can confirm that having installed Win8 from an ISO, then followed the instructions on this page to determine if the installation is using EFI or BIOS, it looks like Bootcamp has installed and boots Win8 using EFI.

Certainly, the boot time is a LOT quicker than on a previous-gen MBP when I installed Win7 and then upgraded it to Win8 (which would then have been using BIOS).

It's interesting to know. Though, as I don't experience slow Windows boots, I'm a little skeptical that the BIOS emulation is adding much delay to the boot process.
I guess without using the same hardware and forcing Windows 8 to use BIOS emulation then getting some timings. Then repeating the process using pure EFI it's hard to say for sure. Pleased you have the results you want either way.

Out of interest was it just a standard/generic Windows 8 image? I have access to all incarnations of Windows but cannot see an EFI specific build
 
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It was actually a Win8 Enterprise image, but I'm going to have to re-install using Win8 or Win8 Pro. The reason is that the image was from my workplace (legal, as I frequently work from home), however the Win8.1 upgrade is only available to Win8 Enterprise users if you're on the corporate network, yet my rMBP will not be allowed onto the corporate network. Therefore, the only way to ensure that I get 8.1 and next year's 8.2 upgrade is to not use the company's Enterprise image.

but cannot see an EFI specific build

AFAIK, there isn't a specific build per se. Rather, Win8 comes with both BIOS and EFI setups.

I'm a little skeptical that the BIOS emulation is adding much delay to the boot process.

Everyone says this, but when I showed them my previous-gen MBP sitting with a blank white screen for 11-12 seconds they'd grudgingly agree. Maybe that had something to do with installing Win7 and upgrading it to Win8? I dunno.
 
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OK, great.

I've got no huge desire to move to Windows 8 at the moment but I'm sure the time will come :)
 

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