dual EFI entries after GPT conversion

Anonymous

For reasons too lengthy to detail here, I was unable to use MBR2GPT for converting my current boot disk. Instead, I used Hasleo Disk Clone to clone the disk to another SSD while also converting it to GPT. This worked fine and the new drive correctly shows up as GPT with the shiny new MSR and EFI partitions. However, it left the protected/system EFI directory intact on the drive. My UEFI has been set to UEFI only with CSM=Disabled and yet I can still see entries for both EFI instances. Booting to the GPT partition works fine, but booting to the EFI directory fails. Is it possible (and safe) to either archive/rename or delete the EFI directory on C:\ so that it is no longer detected by the UEFI and disappears from the boot menu? I'm loathe to take any of the additional steps towards a Win11 upgrade without sorting this out first.

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Anonymous

(1) Even looking at the log, I'm unsure what's up with /SetREImage. But I think it is unnecessary. We'll revisit it if necessary.

(2) It looks like /Disable followed by /Enable would get the job done all by themselves. /Disable moved WinRE.wim from partition 3 into the staging area, namely C:\Windows\system32\Recovery....

2023-03-06 17:24:41, Info [ReAgentc.exe] winreCopyWIMBack moved WIM file from \?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk3\partition3\Recovery\WindowsRE\ to C:\Windows\system32\Recovery\Winre.wim successfully!

Then /Enable wanted to move it into partition 4, which it did recognize to be the Recovery partition. But it found that partition to be too small...

2023-03-06 17:24:49, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Checking partition at offset 497942528000, partition number: 4

2023-03-06 17:24:49, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Partition details: {Offset: 497942528000, Free space: 467849216, Total space: 487256064}

2023-03-06 17:24:49, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements WinRE WIM size: 423565200

2023-03-06 17:24:49, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Required free space: 478091152

2023-03-06 17:24:49, Warning [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Not enough free space req = 478091152 avail = 467849216 offset = 497942528000

2023-03-06 17:24:49, Info [ReAgentc.exe] skip partition because it does not meet WinRE requirements

(3) So, let's make it bigger. Mine is 848 MB. Your Disk Management (DM) shows the Recovery partition of 465 MB is followed by 1.56 GB of unallocated space...

Unfortunately, DM won't let you make it larger because it is a system partition. Can you easily add 383 MB to it using AOMEI Partition Assistant? If not, we can try this...

DiskPart <<<Enter DiskPart

Select Disk 3 <<<Focus on the EVO 970

List Part <<<Show its partitions

Select Part 4 <<<Focus on its Recovery partition

Detail Part <<<Show it has the Recovery type code

SET ID=ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7 Override <<<Basic Data Partition

Detail Part <<<Show the new type code

Exit <<<Leave DiskPart

The 2nd Detail Part should show the new type. It is now a Basic Data Partition. Reboot to be sure the whole system knows. Then open Disk Management, right-click what was the Recovery partition, & see whether you can extend volume to 848 MB. Then make it a Recovery partition again this way...

DiskPart <<<Enter DiskPart

Select Disk 3 <<<Focus on the EVO 970

List Part <<<Show its partitions

Select Part 4 <<<Focus on what was its Recovery partition

Detail Part <<<Show it has the Basic type code

SET ID=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac Override <<<Recovery Partition

Detail Part <<<Show the new type code

Exit <<<Leave DiskPart

I would Reboot again. Then, try...

ReagentC /Disable

ReagentC /Enable

ReagentC /Info

I hope that will do it. Good luck.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

(1) This should move {bootmgr} back to the top of DisplayOrder...

BCDEdit /Set {FWBootMGR} DisplayOrder {BootMGR} /Addfirst

That is where it belongs. I don't know how it got to the bottom. Do a full reboot for it to register in BIOS. Then, show us a new BCDEdit /Enum All.

That's nasty that BIOS adds one back after you have deleted it.

(2) The order of the GUIDs in DisplayOrder does not have to be the same as they are in the body of the BCD. In the body, they are in the order the boot entry was created. Moving one to the top of DisplayOrder should also move it to the top in BIOS Setup (after a full reboot). It then becomes the one that will boot by default. That is, it's the one that boots unless you chose another by using the one-time BIOS Boot Options menu. I think in your Asrock that is invoked with F11. (And DEL or F2 goes to BIOS Setup).

(3) I'm confused about your BIOS. I don't have one that complex.

(a) I don't know why it's got 4 Boot Options.

(b) Are you sure it is Boot Option #1 that is executing? Maybe disable ...#2 to be sure.

(d) What is that item that is disabled within ...#1?

Our goal is to have you boot to the EVO that has Windows on it. So, that is the drive that needs to be at the top of the Boot Order in your Boot Option #1. Is it...?...

The way to know that it is the correct Windows partition that is booted is that your C: partition will be 463 GB...

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Answer accepted by question author

Ramesh 181.8K Volunteer Moderator

Rebuilding the BCD should be enough, not the entire boot files, even though rebuilding the entire boot files doesn't do any harm.

And wondering why you're trying to create a Recovery drive with system files? Is it for backup/restore purposes or only for accessing WinRE? If it's for accessing WinRE, you can uncheck "Backup system files..." and create the media.

Regarding your question about C:\EFI folder, you can simply rename it. If Windows reboots correctly, that folder can be deleted. Do this only after creating the USB setup disk or Recovery drive.

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56 additional answers

Anonymous

2023-03-01T01:04:36+00:00
Ummm... my brain hurts. Your example appears to show that your ResumeObject is the same as mine - C:\ partition. If that's good enough for an expert, surely it's good enough for me? Anyway, there's a disconnect with how ReagentC sees this in terms of the DiskPart terminology of dis3/par3 and how it's stored in the BCD as HDvolume6. That crosscheck makes me even more confused, but at least the GUID of the ResumeObject is consistent everywhere (except that final DeviceOption that's likely the USB key).

DISKPART> lis vol

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info

Volume 0 D DVD-ROM 0 B No Media

Volume 1 E DataDrive NTFS Partition 232 GB Healthy

Volume 2 G Gaming NTFS Partition 1863 GB Healthy

Volume 3 F DataDrive2 NTFS Partition 232 GB Healthy

Volume 4 C NTFS Partition 463 GB Healthy Boot

Volume 5 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy System

Volume 6 Recovery NTFS Partition 464 MB Healthy Hidden

Volume 7 I Removable 0 B No Media

Volume 8 J Removable 0 B No Media

Volume 9 K Removable 0 B No Media

DISKPART> lis par

Partition ### Type Size Offset

Partition 1 Reserved 128 MB 1024 KB

Partition 2 System 100 MB 129 MB

Partition 3 Primary 463 GB 229 MB

Partition 4 Recovery 464 MB 463 GB

========================

C:\Windows\system32>reagentc /info

Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration

Information:
```
Windows RE status:         Enabled 

Windows RE location:       \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\**harddisk3\partition3**\Recovery\WindowsRE 

Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: e1f8ff5c-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15 

Recovery image location: 

Recovery image index:      0 

Custom image location: 

Custom image index:        0 
```
REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.

==========================

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.2604]

(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /enum all

Firmware Boot Manager

identifier {fwbootmgr}

displayorder {bootmgr}

timeout 3

Windows Boot Manager

identifier {bootmgr}

device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume6

path \EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI

description Windows Boot Manager

locale en_US

inherit {globalsettings}

flightsigning Yes

default {bootmgr}

resumeobject {8aa54c62-2e50-11e3-a87c-d9faf047cf21}

displayorder {current}

toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}

timeout 2

Windows Boot Loader

identifier {current}

device partition=C:

path \Windows\system32\winload.efi

description Windows 10 Home

locale en_US

inherit {bootloadersettings}

recoverysequence {e1f8ff5c-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

displaymessageoverride StartupRepair

recoveryenabled Yes

isolatedcontext Yes

flightsigning Yes

allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075

osdevice partition=C:

systemroot \Windows

resumeobject {8aa54c62-2e50-11e3-a87c-d9faf047cf21}

nx OptIn

bootmenupolicy Standard

Windows Boot Loader

identifier {a2a20109-981b-4aa1-abb7-3c015278072a}

device ramdisk=[C:]\Aomei\AomeiBoot.wim,{68c7d26e-b6a2-4d56-9184-ef9dcb9e3ee5}

description Aomei PE

osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Aomei\AomeiBoot.wim,{68c7d26e-b6a2-4d56-9184-ef9dcb9e3ee5}

systemroot \Windows

detecthal Yes

winpe Yes

Windows Boot Loader

identifier {e1f8ff5c-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

device ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{e1f8ff5d-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

path \windows\system32\winload.efi

description Windows Recovery Environment

locale en_US

inherit {bootloadersettings}

displaymessage Recovery

osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{e1f8ff5d-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

systemroot \windows

nx OptIn

bootmenupolicy Standard

winpe Yes

Resume from Hibernate

identifier {8aa54c62-2e50-11e3-a87c-d9faf047cf21}

device partition=C:

path \Windows\system32\winresume.efi

description Windows Resume Application

locale en_US

inherit {resumeloadersettings}

recoverysequence {e1f8ff5c-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

recoveryenabled Yes

isolatedcontext Yes

allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075

filedevice partition=C:

filepath \hiberfil.sys

bootmenupolicy Standard

pae Yes

debugoptionenabled No

Windows Memory Tester

identifier {memdiag}

device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume6

path \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\memtest.efi

description Windows Memory Diagnostic

locale en_US

inherit {globalsettings}

badmemoryaccess Yes

EMS Settings

identifier {emssettings}

bootems No

Debugger Settings

identifier {dbgsettings}

debugtype Serial

debugport 1

baudrate 115200

RAM Defects

identifier {badmemory}

Global Settings

identifier {globalsettings}

inherit {dbgsettings}
```
                    {emssettings} 

                    {badmemory} 
```
Boot Loader Settings

identifier {bootloadersettings}

inherit {globalsettings}
```
                    {hypervisorsettings} 
```
Hypervisor Settings

identifier {hypervisorsettings}

hypervisordebugtype Serial

hypervisordebugport 1

hypervisorbaudrate 115200

Resume Loader Settings

identifier {resumeloadersettings}

inherit {globalsettings}

Device options

identifier {68c7d26e-b6a2-4d56-9184-ef9dcb9e3ee5}

ramdisksdidevice partition=C:

ramdisksdipath \Aomei\AomeiBoot.sdi

Device options

identifier {e1f8ff5d-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

description Windows Recovery

ramdisksdidevice partition=C:

ramdisksdipath \Recovery\WindowsRE\boot.sdi
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Anonymous

2023-03-01T02:16:43+00:00

(1)

(a) As I said earlier, the Volume numbers in Disk Part (List Vol) are not related to the HarddiskVolume numbers in the BCD. Volumes are partitions that have a file system. I'm unsure in what order they are enumerated. I guess it was the order in which they were created at least at first. But those aren't mentioned in the BCD.

(b) ResumeObject brings Windows out of a sleep &/or a hibernation (I guess). It is the Windows Recovery Environment entry in the BCD that must be changed to point to the 4th partition on Disk 3 (HarddiskVolume8) instead of to C:.

In ReagentC, it will be called "Harddisk3\Partition4".

In the BCD, it will currently be called HarddiskVolume8. (It self-adjusts to your partition doings).

(2) Your BCD says HarddiskVolume6 holds the boot manager (BOOTMGFW.EFI) which was used for this boot to Windows. So that is your EFI partition...

Windows Boot Manager

identifier {bootmgr}

device partition=\Device*HarddiskVolume6* <<<EFI

path \EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI

It's counting partitions from Disk 0 through Disk 3 to arrive at ...6. You must have put a partition back onto Disk 2...

Disk 0: 2 partitions...

DISKPART> sel dis 0

DISKPART> lis par

Partition ### Type Size Offset

Partition 1 Reserved 15 MB 17 KB

Partition 2 Primary 232 GB 16 MB

Disk 1: 1 partition...

DISKPART> sel dis 1

DISKPART> lis par

Partition ### Type Size Offset

Partition 1 Primary 1863 GB 1024 KB

Disk 2: 1 partition now (used to be 5 partitions, then 0).

Disk 3: 4 partitions...

DISKPART> sel dis 3

DISKPART> lis par

Partition ### Type Size Offset

Partition 1 Reserved 128 MB 1024 KB <<<MSR

Partition 2 System 100 MB 129 MB <<<EFI (2nd partition of Disk 3)

Partition 3 Primary **** 463 GB 229 MB <<<Windows

Partition 4 Recovery 464 MB 463 GB <<<Recovery (HarddiskVolume8)

EFI is HarddiskVolume6. And Recovery is ...8. (I know I said ...4 earlier -- but it's ...8).

(3) So, here are the commands to point the system to the Recovery partition. These are just 3 commands. Copy/paste them one at a time into an Admin Command Prompt...

BCDEdit /Set {e1f8ff5c-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15} Device Ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume8]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{e1f8ff5d-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

BCDEdit /Set {e1f8ff5c-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15} OSDevice Ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume8]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{e1f8ff5d-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15}

BCDEdit /Set {e1f8ff5d-b603-11ed-850b-a8a1594c6c15} RamdiskSDIDevice partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume8

Reboot after that. Then let's see a ReagentC /Info.

That should do it! But afterward -- if all looks & works well -- we might consider deleting the WindowsRE folder from C:\Recovery. It would go like this...

RD C:\Recovery\WindowsRE /S <<<Delete the extraneous WindowsRE folder
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