Download Fix to Install Windows Server 2008 R2 on EFI–Based Computers

Microsoft is offering Windows Server 2008 R2 customers a hotfix designed to allow them to deploy the latest iteration of Windows Server on EFI-based machines. EFI, an acronym for Extensible Firmware Interface, was developed by Intel as an alternative to the BIOS firmware interface that PC users are undoubtedly familiar with. In this regard, the EFI specification is also a model for the interface between operating systems and platform firmware.

The purpose of EFI is to deliver a layer that sits between an operating system and the hardware, and which acts as a standard environment allowing the OS to boot, but also capable of running pre-boot applications, Intel reveals. According to the Redmond company, customers have found that in certain conditions they cannot install Windows Server 2008 R2 on EFI–based computers.

“You install Windows Server 2008 R2 on a computer that uses the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI). During this installation, you select a disk that has the GUID partition table (GPT) partition style to install Windows Server 2008 R2. In this scenario, you receive the following error message: ‘This Computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu’,” Microsoft noted.

An update is not yet available from the Redmond company designed to resolve the issue, and it most probably will only be delivered with the advent of Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1. Still, a hotfix can be accessed from Microsoft Support, but actually dealing with the problem is a tad more complicated.

“These hotfixes must be applied to the Boot.wim file which loads the Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) to install Windows. If you use Windows PE 3.0 to install Windows Server 2008 R2, the Boot.wim file is in the Windows PE image. If you use an installation media to install Windows Server 2008 R2, the Boot.wim file is in the installation media,” the company explained.