Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

With Acronis True Image you also can convert BIOS to UEFI systems.

What is UEFI?

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification that provides a better software interoperability by setting standard syntax for boot and runtime services. For more information on UEFI, visit https://www.uefi.org.

The following operating systems support UEFI technology:

  • Windows 8 (x86) and later x86 editions of Windows.
  • Windows Vista SP1 (x64) and later x64 editions of Windows.

Why UEFI?

  • Compatibility with BIOS - UEFI-based systems still can boot BIOS-based operating systems due to a Compatibility Support Module (CSM).
  • Booting from large disks - UEFI-based systems support a GPT partitions layout that allows a disk size larger than 2^32 sectors.
  • CPU-independent architecture - UEFI is similar for all processor architectures.
  • CPU-independent drivers - UEFI specification includes an EFI Byte Code (EBC) and allows creating EBC images (drivers), that can be run on any system.
  • Flexible pre-OS environment - UEFI-based systems can boot on any hardware.
  • Modular design - UEFI allows updating its single component while not affecting the others.

Since UEFI is a new technology, not all systems support working with it. Please, apply to your hardware manufacturer to find out, whether your computer supports UEFI.

How to enable UEFI in BIOS?

Below a typical approach to turn on/off UEFI in BIOS is described:

  1. Enter a BIOS setup program by pressing a key, mentioned in a message on the screen, during boot-up. Usually this key is [Del] or [F2].
  2. Invoke a Boot Options menu using arrow keys.
  3. Enter UEFI Booting item and select Enable (or Disable if you need to turn OFF UEFI in your system).
  4. Navigate to Save & Exit Setup and press Enter to save changes and boot the system.

If you need assistance with turning UEFI on, contact your hardware manufacturer.

How to migrate an original system to a larger hard drive?

Acronis True Image now allows migrating or restoring systems from a previously created archive, to hard drives larger than 2^32 bytes (2 TB for disks with standard 512-bytes sized logical sector or 16 TB for disks with 4 KB (4096-bytes) sized logical sector).

You can do it using Acronis media or booting to UEFI-based operating systems with Acronis True Image installed:

To migrate a system using Acronis Media

  1. Boot your system from an Acronis media.
  2. Select Acronis True Image (Full version) in the boot menu to continue booting from the media.
  3. Navigate to the required wizard (Restore or Clone) and follow instructions.

To migrate a system in UEFI-based operating system

  1. Boot to an UEFI-capable Windows operating system.
  2. Run Acronis True Image, go to the Backup and recovery tab, click Recover on the toolbar and follow instructions.