Z77x UP4TH wont boot from ssd

[craigh91]

Hi sorry not sure is this is the right place but, i currently have a custom build desktop (about a year old) with a HDD and SSD with the operating system(windows 7) on the SSD. Anyway when i boot up, the splash screen for the motherboard lags for a second and when i go into the bios and check the boot options the first option is set to windows boot manager but when i change it to the SSD and reboot i get the message about windows can't find bootable device so i have to use wbm (which is clearly slowing down my boot time). I have messed around and clean installed windows a few times, maybe the boot partition has messed up. Also when i look in disk management non of the partitions are marked as active which is pretty strange

i got the ssd when i built the computer so the os has only ever been on the ssd but i cant be sure that everytime the hdd hasnt been plugged in. Do you think i will have to do a clean install again with just the ssd in. My motherboard is the gigabyte ga z77x up4th and in the bios menu its set to both efi and legacy mode i dont know if this has anything to do with it. Also my ssd is split into 2 partitions with a 100MB "system reserved" partition which is showing as "EFI system partition

[dmdilks]

That is how it works that your have to boot from WBM. I'm sorry but if you want better boot times install Windows 8.1.

[craigh91]

I used to be able to boot from ssd, but when i look in disk management now its showing a 100mb efi system boot partition and then the rest as a seperate partition but neither are marked as active nor will it allow me to mark them as active

[dmdilks]

How long does it take to boot from a cold start? My x79 takes about 40 sec to boot with windows 7.

If I boot using windows 8.1 it takes about 25 sec. Plus it is on how many things you have connected to the computer too.

[shadowsports]

Craig,
If you aren't installing win8 or using GPT formatting on your drives, you do not need UEFI support enabled in BIOS > Disable it (stick with Legacy).

A 100mb system reserved partition is normal.

To optimize your boot times, you will need to:

Start over - Delete all partitions and formatting from the SSD, reinstall windows (non UEFI) and format NTFS.

Attempting to delete and rebuild the partitioning scheme on your current install will be a headache and waste of your time.  

[craigh91]

Craig,
If you aren't installing win8 or using GPT formatting on your drives, you do not need UEFI support enabled in BIOS > Disable it (stick with Legacy).

A 100mb system reserved partition is normal.

To optimize your boot times, you will need to:

Start over - Delete all partitions and formatting from the SSD, reinstall windows (non UEFI) and format NTFS.

Attempting to delete and rebuild the partitioning scheme on your current install will be a headache and waste of your time.  

Thanks for the reply shadowsports, this is what I have been told to do in another forum.  Once I have deleted everything from my ssd and formatted it when install windows 7 should it just install the right way or will i need to change something because the setting in my bios says uefi/legacy mode

[shadowsports]

craigh,
What are you referring to?  Section 2-5 of your manual page 50? where it shows your Boot Options and boot devices with UEFI/Legacy designations preceding a device.  Drill down and look closely at each device and option.  Or, do you have a specific BIOS setting that allows you to specify if the BIOS with operate in UEFI or Legacy mode?  I downloaded your MB manual, but didn't see a specific settings.  Maybe this has been implemented in a later version of your BIOS?  My BIOS has this option...  Asus......  Yours may not, I am just trying to get clarification on the exact setting you are referring to.  

You will want to set the BIOS for Legacy Mode operation (if applicable) and install to a Legacy device (your SSD).  This will install the 100mb System Reserved and OS partition I described previously.  

Since the BIOS itself is UEFI capable, devices that support UEFI will be designated this way and will allow for and take advantage of these features.  Depending on implementation, each device should (not will) have two designations in BIOS.  One for UEFI and one for Legacy...  if supported.  


You'll want Legacy if installing Win7, to a MBR, NTFS formatted disk.