UEFI Win 10 + BIOS Win 7 from backup: Problems/questions
Hello,
I want to install a Win 7 (BIOS) from a backup on a PC with working Win 10 (UEFI) as second OS. I restored three partitions:
C: System (G: on the disk)
D: Data (H: on the disk)
System Reserved Partition (100 MB, I: on the disk)
I haven't restored the MBR, because from my point of view the system has one (from the WIN 10 OS).
When I then start Acronis Universal Restore, only the already installed OS Win 10 is shown below "Operating System"/"Select OS".
I assumed that both OSs are shown there and I must select Win 7 for modifying the HAL. Maybe I'm wrong?
Just as test I added my Win 7 OS via an boot manager. I can select it, but then the well known error message
0xc0000428/Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file
is shown.
Due to other problems I must use UEFI.
Any hints are highly appreciated!
Many thanks and greetings
BackupGuy


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Hello Steve,
many thanks for the warm welcome in the forums and the really fast answer! Usually I first thank the community for all their efforts, but I'm really frustrated - bad habits, I know. Started some days ago with my old ATIH 2014 and upgraded today to ATIH 2017 in the hope to get faster/better a solution of my problem. But still pain in the ass. After over 25 years in that crazy business (like you I assume), why is all that stuff so complicated today??
I think your recommendation using a spare disk drive makes sense. I also thought it. Will try it during the next days and report.
Many thanks again and greetings
BackupGuy
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Hope you get on better with trying with a spare drive. Yes, this stuff does seem to get more complicated with every passing day - certainly a whole lot different from when I first started with computers (some still had valves and ran from paper tape!)... Best wishes, Steve
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In reply to Hope you by truwrikodrorow…

Hello again Steve,
I have a second harddisk installed. What is the most convenient way to restore my Legacy BIOS Win 7 backup to that harddisk and convert it from Legacy BIOS to UEFI? Do I really need the Rescue Media when I have an working Win 10 OS + ATIH 2017 on that PC?
Are there any screenshots of all the steps?
Many thanks and greetings
BackupGuy
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BackupGuy, has been a while..!
Please see the ATI 2017 User Guide: Example of recovery to a UEFI system which covers your recovery scenario pretty clearly.
Note: the point saying:
- Your old and new hard drives work in the same controller mode (for example, IDE or AHCI).
One point I would make would be to disconnect or remove the Windows 10 drive before attempting this, mainly for safety purposes / avoiding any mistakes!
You should be doing this using the Acronis Rescue Media to boot the computer, then also booting from the Universal Restore media once you have done the restore and conversion to UEFI / GPT.
Check that the restored Win 7 OS will boot OK on the new hardware before then reconnecting the Windows 10 drive.
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In reply to BackupGuy, has been a while… by truwrikodrorow…

Hello Steve,
many thanks for your answer!
I'm confused. I just restored the Legacy BIOS Win 7 backup yesterday via ATI 2017 on the second harddisk. ATI 2017 is installed on that UEFI Win 10 PC.
ADD 12 (Acronis Disk Direktor 12) shows that second harddisk (like the Win 10 one) as GPT with an 'EFI system partition' (FAT32) and the other two partitions (NTFS).
All three are type "Basic GPT". Is that old backup now already converted to UEFI or not?
Many thanks for clarifying and greetings
BackupGuy
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If your restored Win 7 backup now shows as GPT with the EFI System partition, then it has already been converted as this is not available with Legacy BIOS.
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Hello Steve,
basically the old Win 7 is running from the second harddisk. Details will follow asap. Many thanks for your really valuable support!
One question concerning Acronis Universal Restore. After booting there is an option for selecting folders for the drivers. Are subfolders taken into consideration?
Many thanks again
BackupGuy
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Ref the AUR question, if your Windows 7 drive / OS is booting OK then you shouldn't need to use AUR as any missing drivers should be handled via Windows itself - just check in Device Manager that you have no errors indicated (normally shown by having a section expanded).
It isn't always needed to actually add any additional drivers to AUR unless it asks for them, and then it is normally only the chipset and SATA controller drivers that are requested.
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Hello Steve,
yep, I was able to install all the drivers manually via the Device Manager. But that was quite complex. And AUR asked for drivers without usefull informations (like PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_...) . The main problem was the USB driver (so no access to an USB flash drive) and LAN driver. With the latter I had troubles due to an corrupt installation. Details will follow.
Many thanks again
BackupGuy
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Hello again Steve,
unfortunately bad news. I'm not able to get an more up-to-date Win 7 backup booting. And much more severe even the old backup doesn't boot after restoring. Nothing changed, really.
Meanwhile I have all the board drivers on the USB flash drive. Acronis Universal Restore is finished without any errors/warnings/user action. But I also tried an restore like the first one without (I hope!) any drivers.
Unfortunately it's not possible to save the log messages, what a shame!
After one unsuccessful day I'm now using an USB flash drive as Acronis Bootable Media. AND boot that flash drive as UEFI. I initialize my second harddisk as MBR drive and restore the backup. BUT no conversion to GPT, as mentioned here:
Acronis True Image 2017 Help
https://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/ATI2017/index.html#…
My source disk is MBR and my OS supports UEFI
My system is UEFI-booted (Windows or Acronis Bootable Media)
=> The destination partition will be converted to GPT style that will make the destination disk bootable in UEFI.
Any additional hints?
Many thanks again
BackupGuy
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Sorry that this isn't working as expected.
Have you tried doing this with only a single drive in the target computer, so that there is no confusion with having the dual-boot configuration involved.
If necessary, you could try to do a full disk restore of the Win 7 backup as legacy & MBR first and then try to get that working in the new computer first before going for the UEFI / GPT conversion. This would require that your computer UEFI BIOS allows for both Legacy/CSM and UEFI.
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Hello Steve,
yep, I'm only booting with the Win 7 harddisk, so no confusion.
And yes, during the last hours I tried an restore as legacy & MBR. That works with the UEFI BIOS of my computer. The first try with auto installation of the drivers (Search removable media: On) was partly successfull. Only partly, because the (USB) keyboard and mouse didn't work (blocked). The mainboard of the new PC has still PS/2 ports, so I connected an PS/2 keyboard. Unfortunately no success.
Next try without installing any drivers. First boot successfull, second not. Hanging during the start message now.
Many thanks and greetings
BackupGuy
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Hello Steve,
UEFI/GPT conversion - most convenient way? With/without Acronis tools?
Legacy & MBR restore (no conversion yet): After Win 7 booting, driver installation is terrible slow and hangs. I can reboot 2-3 times, then hanging during the start message now.
Many thanks and greetings
BackupGuy
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Most MBR to GPT conversion processes will either use standard system tools but result in wiping the drive involved or else are provided in a premium version of the tool being used.
See webpage: How to Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk? which the title / subject is a little misleading as you can only convert a non-system drive for free - an OS drive requires the Pro version of the software involved!
Unfortunately, a lot of the issues you are seeing are probably down to the age of Windows 7 as an OS. The later Windows 10 OS is a magnitude more flexible in doing this type of migration to new hardware and often without any need to use Universal Restore.
ATI will perform the MBR to GPT conversion on restore when the Rescue media is booted in UEFI mode, and AUR will try to prepare the restored OS to work on the new hardware, but there is no 100% guarantee that this will all result in a perfectly working system.
The acid test here would be to try doing a vanilla Windows 7 OS install on the new hardware / drive and then see how that performs and what drivers are needed etc. This may give you a better understanding of whether this will be possible to get working as you hope to have it.
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