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Converting a Legacy Boot Windows 10 Template to UEFI

Should you have a DaDesktop machine that you’d like to use with a GPU or other pass-through, you’ll first need to convert it to UEFI boot.

We still recommend using win10-template-v53 or above, but if you believe it would be more beneficial to perform the upgrade yourself, here are the steps:

  1. Enable the defrag service.
  2. Create boot files on the C: drive.
  3. Set the C: drive as Active.
  4. Convert the system to UEFI.
  5. Modify the KVM configuration to support UEFI.
  6. Fix the DaDesktop BIOS boot option.
  7. Upgrade the virtio-win drivers.
  8. Disable the defrag service.
  9. Optional: move the partition in front of the system partition to support automatic disk resizing.
     

1. Enable the Defrag Service

  1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
  2. Run the following command:
    sc config defragsvc start= demand

2. Make the C: Drive Bootable

  1. In a Command Prompt window with admin privileges, run:

    bcdboot.exe c:\windows /s c:

3. Set the C: Drive as Active

  1. Open Disk Management.
  2. Right-click on the C: partition.
  3. Choose Mark Partition as Active.
     

4. Convert the System to UEFI

  1. In an admin Command Prompt, run:
   mbr2gpt.exe /concver /allowFullOS

 

5. Modify the KVM Configuration to Support UEFI

  1. Log in via SSH to the ddnode.
  2. Ensure you run commands as root.

  3. Copy OVMF_VARS.fd and qemu.conf from a template that supports UEFI boot, for example:

    cp /var/lib/kvm/win10-template-v51/OVMF_VARS.fd /var/lib/kvm/yourimagename/
    cp /var/lib/kvm/win10-template-v51/qemu.conf /var/lib/kvm/yourimagename/

6. Fix the DaDesktop BIOS Boot Option

  1. Stop and start the machine using the dd4t.dadesktop.com GUI or API.
  2. The system will boot into the UEFI Shell.
  3. Type "exit".
  4. Navigate to BootManagement (TODO: FINISH IT).
  5. Press F10 to save.
  6. Exit the BIOS.
     

7. Upgrade the VirtIO Drivers

Some templates may have an outdated version of the VGA driver, which can cause issues such as the inability to change the resolution. To fix this:

  1. On your desktop, download the latest version of the drivers from this link: https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/virtio-win-0.1.240-1/virtio-win-0.1.240.iso
  2. Install (TODO: exact file name).
  3. Reboot the machine.
     

8. Disable the Defrag Service

  1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
  2. Run the following command:
    sc config defragsvc start= disabled

 

9. Optional: Move Partition in Front of System Partition to Support Automatic Disk Resizing

 

  1. Boot the system into Rescue mode.
  2. Use GParted to move the partition in front of the system partition.
  3. Reboot the machine.

10. Install Idd Drivers

  1. https://github.com/ge9/IddSampleDriver
  2. Download it from here: https://github.com/ge9/IddSampleDriver/releases
  3. Extract to C:\ (otherwise it will not work
  4. Install the certificate (as root).
  5. Install the driver (right-click the .inf file and select Install).