Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

Caspian · 2014-04-30 14:46:26

Hi everyone. I have an old laptop with Arch installed. I would like to move the ssd with Arch from old laptop to the new one. This wouldn't be a problem if the new laptop supported legacy boot nad mbr, but it doesn't. Is it possible to create partition images, repartition the drive in gpt, restore images and boot arch (with prior modifications on needed files and services, ex. grub)? If it is can someone please point me in a right direction?

the_shiver · 2014-04-30 15:10:07

you can convert your existing ms-style partitions into gpt without loss of data with just gdisk; then ((if needed) make space space for and) create an ESP, install a bootloader and rebooot

Caspian · 2014-04-30 15:15:18

That's great the_shiver, thanks. Do you know of a tutorial on how to convert with gdisk or is it straight forward?

the_shiver · 2014-04-30 17:04:30

it's straight forward as it's the very first thing gdisk ask you (if you want to keep mbr or convert to gpt) when it detects a msdos-style partition table on the disk you use it on

2 more things i should have mentioned in my previous post: always have a backup when fiddling with partitions just in case and you most likely have to update your fstab

ANOKNUSA · 2014-04-30 17:15:45

You'll also want to look into the different boot managers available for UEFI before diving in, since they all have their own quirks. Gummiboot is the simplest to set up, with functionality somewhat similar to Syslinux. You can just mount the ESP as /boot, run "gummiboot install," write a simple configuration file and leave it at that. Simply using efistub is even simpler but is subject to the quirks of your particular firmware and might require a little trial-and-error; GRUB and rEFInd have more functionality, but are just a little bit more complex to set up.

Caspian · 2014-04-30 17:16:38

What is the reason for changes in fstab? Will conversion change the partition uuid?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-04-30 21:03:09

Caspian wrote:

What is the reason for changes in fstab? Will conversion change the partition uuid?

The UUID will change when you change to the FAT32 filesystem the ESP requires --- you could use the PARTUUID instead; this remains the same when the filesystem is changed.
When I changed from "Legacy"/"BIOS" booting to UEFI, I used this guide

Caspian · 2014-05-01 11:45:46

Guys, thanks for all the help and replies. It seems like the new laptop supports legacy boot, but it is not visible in bios. However, now I have a different issue. Arch boots just fine as expected, but how can I now get Windows8 to boot? It's on a different hard drive on GPT and EFI.

the_shiver · 2014-05-01 16:48:00

there's multiple solutions to that depending on which bootmanager you chose Archwiki - Windows and Arch dual boot

e.g. rEFInd will automagicly pick up any bootable os it can see on any connected device; for gummiboot you would have to copy over windows' bootloader to the ESP which gummiboot is installed on

OR you can use your firmwares built in bootmanager (the "press X to select device to boot from" prompt during POST) if you want your OS' completely separated

Caspian · 2014-05-01 17:54:04

What about grub. grub-mkconfig detects the windows installation and gpt on that disk, but I get windows boot error on choosing the win from grub.

the.ridikulus.rat · 2014-05-01 18:02:37

Caspian wrote:

What about grub. grub-mkconfig detects the windows installation and gpt on that disk, but I get windows boot error on choosing the win from grub.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … imitations

Caspian · 2014-05-01 20:03:05

Thanks the.ridiculus.rat. In the end I went for a completely clean install on gpt with uefi. I created EFI partition as the first one in size of 512 Mb and mountedit under /boot. I installed gummiboot as bootloader. But when I restart BIOS doesn't even recognize this disk as bootable one and I cannot boot from it. Suggestions?

Last edited by Caspian (2014-05-01 20:03:50)

Arch Linux

#1 2014-04-30 14:46:26

Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#2 2014-04-30 15:10:07

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#3 2014-04-30 15:15:18

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#4 2014-04-30 17:04:30

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#5 2014-04-30 17:15:45

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#6 2014-04-30 17:16:38

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#7 2014-04-30 21:03:09

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#8 2014-05-01 11:45:46

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#9 2014-05-01 16:48:00

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#10 2014-05-01 17:54:04

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#11 2014-05-01 18:02:37

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

#12 2014-05-01 20:03:05

Re: Migration from legacy to UEFI/GPT

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