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Converting a Legacy Boot Windows 10 Template to UEFI

If you've got a DaDesktop machine that you'd like to use for GPU or other hardware pass-through, you'll need to switch it to UEFI boot first.

We still suggest using win10-template-v53 or newer, but if you'd rather perform the upgrade yourself, follow these steps:

  1. Activate the defrag service
  2. Generate boot files on the C: drive
  3. Mark the C: drive as Active
  4. Convert the system to UEFI
  5. Adjust the KVM configuration for UEFI support
  6. Repair the DaDesktop BIOS boot option
  7. Update virtio-win drivers
  8. Turn off the defrag service
  9. Optional: relocate a partition in front of the system partition to enable automatic disk resizing
     

1. Activate the Defrag Service

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

2. Make the C: Drive Bootable

  1. From an admin command prompt, execute:

    bcdboot.exe c:\windows /s c:

3. Set the C: Drive as Active

  1. Launch Disk Management
  2. Right-click on the C: partition
  3. Select "Set Active"
     

4. Convert the System to UEFI

  1. Open an admin command prompt and run:
   mbr2gpt.exe /concver /allowFullOS

 

5. Modify KVM Config for UEFI Support

  1. SSH into ddnode
  2. Ensure you run the following commands as root

  3. Copy the OVMF_VARS.fd and qemu.conf files 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 via the dd4t.dadesktop.com GUI or API
  2. The system will boot into the UEFI Shell
  3. Enter "exit"
  4. Navigate to BootManagement (TODO: FINISH IT)
  5. Press F10 to save
  6. Exit the BIOS
     

7. Update Virt-io Drivers

Occasionally, templates include an older VGA driver that can prevent you from changing the display resolution. To fix this:

  1. On your desktop, download the latest driver version: 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 the driver (TODO: exact file name)
  3. Reboot
     

8. Disable the Defrag Service

  1. Open a Command Prompt as Administrator
  2. Execute:
    sc config defragsvc start= disabled

 

9. Optional: Move a Partition for Automatic Disk Resizing

 

  1.  Boot the system into Rescue mode
  2.  Use GParted to shift the partition
  3.  Reboot

10. Install IDD Drivers

  1. Visit the GitHub repository: https://github.com/ge9/IddSampleDriver
  2. Download the driver from the releases page: https://github.com/ge9/IddSampleDriver/releases
  3. Extract the contents to C:\ (if you don't, it won't work)
  4. Install the certificate (as root)
  5. Install the driver by right-clicking the .inf file and selecting Install