Arch Linux

Known

Member

Registered: 2012-08-23

Posts: 63

[SOLVED] UEFI Windows 7 And ArchLinux

Hey guys
I had installed Windows 7 beside Arch Linux as legacy mode and everything was okay.
But now I decide to install them as UEFI mode.
When I converted my HDD to GPT, Windows created a 128MiB FAT32 Partition for itself.
Am I supposed to create any other partition for EFI boot?

Thanks

Last edited by Known (2013-06-04 08:55:40)

mid-kid

Member

Registered: 2013-05-07

Posts: 177

Re: [SOLVED] UEFI Windows 7 And ArchLinux

When I converted my HDD to GPT, Windows created a 128MiB FAT32 Partition for itself.

Windows did the same with my dad's laptop.
You can just use that partition to place the bootloader as it's the EFI system parition.
You shouldn't create another one.

Last edited by mid-kid (2013-06-01 14:13:57)

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If it ain't broke, you haven't tweaked it enough.

Known

Member

Registered: 2012-08-23

Posts: 63

Re: [SOLVED] UEFI Windows 7 And ArchLinux

When I converted my HDD to GPT, Windows created a 128MiB FAT32 Partition for itself.

Windows did the same with my dad's laptop.
You can just use that partition to place the bootloader as it's the EFI system parition.
You shouldn't create another one.

Sounds good...

And one more question: Is it better to extend it to 512MiB?

Thanks a billion...

Last edited by Known (2013-06-04 08:54:35)

mid-kid

Member

Registered: 2013-05-07

Posts: 177

Re: [SOLVED] UEFI Windows 7 And ArchLinux

And one more question: Is it better to extend it to 512MiB?

It depends on how much space you need.
If you just want to dual-boot windows and arch, 128MB is enough.

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If it ain't broke, you haven't tweaked it enough.

Known

Member

Registered: 2012-08-23

Posts: 63

Re: [SOLVED] UEFI Windows 7 And ArchLinux

And one more question: Is it better to extend it to 512MiB?

It depends on how much space you need.
If you just want to dual-boot windows and arch, 128MB is enough.

Okay

Thank you...

srs5694

Member

From: Woonsocket, RI

Registered: 2012-11-06

Posts: 719

Website

Re: [SOLVED] UEFI Windows 7 And ArchLinux

re: ESP

And one more question: Is it better to extend it to 512MiB?

In theory, a smallish ESP is sufficient unless you're storing big files on it (say, several Linux kernels and initrds). In practice, some people have reported problems with FAT32 ESPs smaller than 512MiB. It seems that some EFIs have buggy or finicky FAT drivers that can fail to see files or otherwise misbehave on FAT32 partitions smaller than 512MiB. If you run into that problem, you'll have to either expand the ESP or convert it to FAT16. Note, however, that the EFI spec is explicit in saying that the ESP should be FAT32, not FAT16, and the Windows installer tends to flake out if it sees a FAT16 ESP. Thus, an ESP of 512MiB or larger (I recommend more like 550MiB because of issues of the default FAT size in mkdosfs and the potential for MiB vs. MB confusions) is best if you're starting from scratch. A smaller ESP does work for many people, though.