Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode

Boot to UEFI Mode or legacy BIOS mode

Choose UEFI or legacy BIOS modes while installing Windows. After Windows is installed, if you need to switch firmware modes, you may be able to use the MBR2GPT tool.

In general, we recommend installing Windows using the newer UEFI mode, as it includes more security features than the legacy BIOS mode. If you're booting from a network that only supports BIOS, you'll need to boot to legacy BIOS mode.

After Windows is installed, the device boots automatically using the same mode it was installed with.

To boot to UEFI or BIOS:

1.      Open the firmware menus. You can use any of these methods:

·         Boot the PC, and press the manufacturer’s key to open the menus. Common keys used: Esc, Delete, F1, F2, F10, F11, or F12. On tablets, common buttons are Volume up or Volume down (find more common keys and buttons). During startup, there’s often a screen that mentions the key. If there’s not one, or if the screen goes by too fast to see it, check your manufacturer’s site.

·         Or, if Windows is already installed, from either the Sign on screen or the Start menu, select Power () > hold Shift while selecting Restart. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware settings.

2.      From the firmware menus, boot to drive or network while in UEFI or BIOS mode:

On the boot device menu, select the command that identifies both the firmware mode and the device. For example, select UEFI: USB Drive or BIOS: Network/LAN.

You might see separate commands for the same device. For example, you might see UEFI USB Drive and BIOS USB Drive. Each command uses the same device and media, but boots the PC in a different firmware mode.

Some devices only support one mode (either UEFI or BIOS). Other devices will only allow you to boot to BIOS mode by manually disabling the UEFI security features. To disable the security features, go to Security > Secure Boot and disable the feature.

Some older PCs (Windows 7-era or earlier) support UEFI, but require you to browse to the boot file. From the firmware menus, look for the option: "Boot from file", then browse to \EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI on Windows PE or Windows Setup media.

Detect UEFI or BIOS mode on a factory floor

Before installing Windows, check to make sure your firmware is booted to the right mode using any of these methods:

·         Use a script to check. Windows PE: create a script that checks which mode the device is booted in before installing. See WinPE: Boot in UEFI or legacy BIOS mode.

·         Use preformatted hard drives, and use a method that doesn't automatically format the drive. Use drives that have been preformatted using the GPT file format for UEFI mode, or the MBR file format for BIOS mode. When the installation starts, if the PC is booted to the wrong mode, Windows will fail to install, and the technician can restart the PC in the correct firmware mode.

·         Remove the UEFI or BIOS boot files: Windows PE or Windows Setup: remove the files that Windows PE or Windows Setup to boot in UEFI or BIOS mode. When the device is booted in the wrong mode, it will immediately fail to boot, and you can begin troubleshooting right away.

o    Boot only when in UEFI mode: Remove the bootmgr file from the root of the Windows PE or Windows Setup media. This prevents the device from starting in BIOS mode.

o    Boot only when in BIOS mode: Remove the efi folder from the root of the Windows PE or Windows Setup media. This prevents the device from starting in UEFI mode.

Related topics

WinPE: Create USB Bootable drive

Create Self Extracting (exe) 7-zip file

Create Self Extracting (exe) 7-zip file

The application 7-zip is a freeware solution for creating EXE file form any types of file(s).  

Download and install 7-Zip File Archiver for Windows Operating System.

Download link is: http://www.7-zip.org/download.html

Open “7-Zip file manager” from start menu à Select file(s) which you want to add in archive file à Click on “Add” button à Enter your desired archive file name (Ex- test), Browse path for where you want to save the archive file, and Check the Option “Create SFX archive”  à Press on “OK” to create 7-Zip Self Extract (exe) file.

Enjoy!

Backup Script

Daily Backup Script

#!/bin/bash

#

# Daily Backup Script

#

USER=Ajay

IP=192.168.30.5

MONTH=July

YEAR=2011

set $(date)

#### Backup Directory Path ####

BDP=/devbackups/$USER/Daily_Backup/$MONTH-$YEAR/Daily-$3-$2-$6

mkdir -p $BDP

#### Deleting temporary massage file ####

/bin/rm -f /tmp/$USER.txt

#### Desktop Directory Backup ####

if scp -r $IP:/Local_Backup/Daily-$3-$2-$6/Desktop-$3-$2-$6.tar.bz2     /$BDP  >&/dev/null ;

then

        echo "DESKTOP Backup file is found and Backup send to the Fileserver.  Its size is $(du -sh $BDP/D* | cut -d "/" -f 1) " >> /tmp/$USER.txt

else

        echo "DESKTOP Backup file is NOT found and Backup has not done. " >> /tmp/$USER.txt

fi

#### Work Directory Backup ####

if scp -r $IP:/Local_Backup/Daily-$3-$2-$6/WORK_AJAY-$3-$2-$6.tar.bz2   /$BDP  >&/dev/null ;

then

        echo "WORK Directory Bakup file is found and Send to the fileserver . Its size is $(du -sh $BDP/W* | cut -d "/" -f 1)" >> /tmp/$USER.txt

else

        echo "WORK Directory Backup file is NOT found that's Backup has not done" >> /tmp/$USER.txt

fi

#### Mailing Backup Report ####

/bin/mail -s "$USER's Backup Status" sysadmin@dev.tbmtechnologies.com < /tmp/$USER.txt ;

#### Shutting Down the System ####

ssh $IP '/sbin/shutdown -h 2'

Virtualization with KVM on CentOS 6.4

Virtualization with KVM on CentOS 6.4 Server

This guide explains how you can install and use KVM for creating and running virtual machines on a CentOS 6.4 server. I will show how to create image-based virtual machines and also virtual machines that use a logical volume (LVM). KVM is short for Kernel-based Virtual Machine and makes use of hardware virtualization, i.e., you need a CPU that supports hardware virtualization, e.g. Intel VT or AMD-V.

1 Preliminary Note

I'm using a CentOS 6.4 server with the hostname virt.example.com and the IP address 192.168.0.100 here as my KVM host.

I had SELinux disabled on my CentOS 6.4 system. I didn't test with SELinux on; it might work, but if not, you better switch off SELinux as well:

# vi /etc/selinux/config

Set SELINUX=disabled

Now save the file and reboot

# reboot

We also need a desktop system where we install virt-manager so that we can connect to the graphical console of the virtual machines that we install. I'm using a Fedora 17 desktop here.

2 Installing KVM

CentOS 6.4 KVM Host: First check if your CPU supports hardware virtualization - if this is the case, the command.

# egrep '(vmx|svm)' --color=always /proc/cpuinfo

If nothing is displayed, then your processor doesn't support hardware virtualization, and you must stop here.

Now we import the GPG keys for software packages:

# rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY*

To install KVM and virtinst (a tool to create virtual machines), we run

# yum install kvm libvirt python-virtinst qemu-kvm

Then start the libvirt daemon:

# /etc/init.d/libvirtd start

To check if KVM has successfully been installed, run

# virsh -c qemu:///system list

It should display something like this:

Id Name                 State

----------------------------------

If it displays an error instead, then something went wrong.

Next we need to set up a network bridge on our server so that our virtual machines can be accessed from other hosts as if they were physical systems in the network. To do this, we install the package bridge-utils...

# yum install bridge-utils

Now configure a bridge. Create the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0 (please use the IPADDR, PREFIX, GATEWAY, DNS1 and DNS2 values from the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 file); make sure you use TYPE=Bridge, not TYPE=Ethernet:

# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0

DEVICE="br0"

NM_CONTROLLED="yes"

ONBOOT=yes

TYPE=Bridge

BOOTPROTO=none

IPADDR=192.168.0.100

PREFIX=24

GATEWAY=192.168.0.1

DNS1=8.8.8.8

DNS2=8.8.4.4

DEFROUTE=yes

IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL=yes

IPV6INIT=no

NAME="System br0"

Modify /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 as follows (comment out BOOTPROTO, IPADDR, PREFIX, GATEWAY, DNS1, and DNS2 and add BRIDGE=br0):

# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

DEVICE="eth0"

#BOOTPROTO=none

NM_CONTROLLED="yes"

ONBOOT=yes

TYPE="Ethernet"

UUID="73cb0b12-1f42-49b0-ad69-731e888276ff"

HWADDR=00:1E:90:F3:F0:02

#IPADDR=192.168.0.100

#PREFIX=24

#GATEWAY=192.168.0.1

#DNS1=8.8.8.8

#DNS2=8.8.4.4

DEFROUTE=yes

IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL=yes

IPV6INIT=no

NAME="System eth0"

BRIDGE=br0

Restart the network...

# /etc/init.d/network restart

And run ifconfig. It should now show the network bridge (br0)

# ifconfig

3 Installing virt-viewer Or virt-manager On Your Fedora 17 Desktop

We need a means of connecting to the graphical console of our guests - we can use virt-manager for this. I'm assuming that you're using a Fedora 17 desktop.

Run this command to install virt-manager.

# yum install virt-manager libvirt qemu-system-x86 openssh-askpass

CentOs 6.4 KVM Host:

Now let's go back to our CentOS 6.4 KVM host. Take a look at

# man virt-install                             (to learn how to use virt-install).

5 Connecting To The Guest

Fedora 17 Desktop: The KVM guest will now boot from the Debian Squeeze Netinstall CD and start the Debian installer - that's why we need to connect to the graphical console of the guest. You can do this with virt-manager on the Fedora 17 desktop.

                Go to Applications > System Tools > Virtual Machine Manager to start virt-manager.

                Or run this command on terminal:

# virt-manager

               

When you start virt-manager for the first time, you will most likely see the message Unable to open a connection to the libvirt management daemon. You can ignore this because we don't want to connect to the local libvirt daemon, but to the one on our CentOS 6.4 KVM host. Click on Close and go to File > Add Connection... to connect to our CentOS 6.4 KVM host.

Select QEMU/KVM as Hypervisor, then check Connect to remote host, select SSH in the Method drop-down menu, type in root as the Username and the hostname (virt.example.com) or IP address (192.168.0.100) of the CentOS 6.4 KVM host in the Hostname field. Then click on Connect.

Afterwards type in the root password of the CentOS 6.4 KVM host.

Now create a virtual machine, customise its hardware and then install OS on it graphically.

6. Managing A KVM Guest From The Command Line

CentOS 6.4 KVM Host: KVM guests can be managed through virsh, the "virtual shell". To connect to the virtual shell, run

# virsh --connect qemu:///system

virsh #

You can now type in commands on the virtual shell to manage your guests. Run

virsh # help                                                                        (to get a list of available commands).

Grouped commands:

Domain Management (help keyword 'domain'):

attach-device                                    attach device from an XML file

attach-disk                                          attach disk device

attach-interface                               attach network interface

autostart                                             autostart a domain

blkiotune                                             Get or set blkio parameters

blockpull                                              Populate a disk from its backing image.

Blockjob                                               Manage active block operations.

Console                                                connect to the guest console

cpu-baseline                                      compute baseline CPU

cpu-compare                                     compare host CPU with a CPU described by an XML file

create                                                   create a domain from an XML file

define                                                   define (but don't start) a domain from an XML file

destroy                                                destroy (stop) a domain

detach-device                                   device from an XML file

detach-disk                                        detach disk device

detach-interface                              detach network interface

domid                                                   convert a domain name or UUID to domain id

domjobabort                                     abort active domain job

domjobinfo                                        domain job information

domname                                           convert a domain id or UUID to domain name

domuuid                                              convert a domain name or id to domain UUID

domxml-from-native                     Convert native config to domain XML

domxml-to-native                           Convert domain XML to native config

dump                                                    dump the core of a domain to a file for analysis

dumpxml                                             domain information in XML

edit                                                        edit XML configuration for a domain

inject-nmi                                           Inject NMI to the guest

send-key                                             Send keycodes to the guest

managedsave                                    managed save of a domain state

managedsave-remove                  Remove managed save of a domain

maxvcpus                                            connection vcpu maximum

memtune                                            Get or set memory parameters

migrate                                                migrate domain to another host

migrate-setmaxdowntime           set maximum tolerable downtime

migrate-setspeed                            Set the maximum migration bandwidth

reboot                                                  reboot a domain

restore                                                 restore a domain from a saved state in a file

resume                                                resume a domain

save                                                       save a domain state to a file

save-image-define                          redefine the XML for a domain's saved state file

save-image-dumpxml                    saved state domain information in XML

save-image-edit                               edit XML for a domain's saved state file

schedinfo                                            show/set scheduler parameters

screenshot                                         take a screenshot of a current domain console and store it into a file

setmaxmem                                      change maximum memory limit

setmem                                               change memory allocation

setvcpus                                              change number of virtual CPUs

shutdown                                           gracefully shutdown a domain

start                                                       start a (previously defined) inactive domain

suspend                                               suspend a domain

ttyconsole                                           tty console

undefined                                           undefine an inactive domain

update-device                                  update device from an XML file

vcpucount                                           domain vcpu counts

vcpuinfo                                              detailed domain vcpu information

vcpupin                                                control or query domain vcpu affinity

version                                                 show version

vncdisplay                                           vnc display

Domain Monitoring (help keyword 'monitor'):

domblkinfo                                         domain block device size information

domblklist                                           list all domain blocks

domblkstat                                         get device block stats for a domain

domcontrol                                        domain control interface state

domifstat                                            get network interface stats for a domain

dominfo                                               domain information

dommemstat                                    get memory statistics for a domain

domstate                                            domain state

list                                                          domains

Host and Hypervisor (help keyword 'host'):

capabilities                                          capabilities

connect                                                (re)connect to hypervisor

freecell                                                 NUMA free memory

hostname                                           print the hypervisor hostname

nodecpustats                                    Prints cpu stats of the node.

nodeinfo                                             node information

nodememstats                                 Prints memory stats of the node.

qemu-attach                                      QEMU Attach

qemu-monitor-command            QEMU Monitor Command

sysinfo                                                  print the hypervisor sysinfo

uri                                                           print the hypervisor canonical URI

Interface (help keyword 'interface'):

iface-begin                                         create a snapshot of current interfaces settings, which can be

                                                                later commited (iface-commit) or restored (iface-rollback)

iface-commit                                     commit changes made since iface-begin and free restore point

iface-define                                       define (but don't start) a physical host interface from an XML file

iface-destroy                                     destroy a physical host interface (disable it / "if-down")

iface-dumpxml                                 interface information in XML

iface-edit                                             edit XML configuration for a physical host interface

iface-list                                               list physical host interfaces

iface-mac                                            convert an interface name to interface MAC address

iface-name                                         convert an interface MAC address to interface name

iface-rollback                                     rollback to previous saved configuration created via iface-begin

iface-start                                           start a physical host interface (enable it / "if-up")

iface-undefine                                  undefine a physical host interface (remove it from configuration)

Network Filter (help keyword 'filter'):

nwfilter-define                                 define or update a network filter from an XML file

nwfilter-dumpxml                           network filter information in XML

nwfilter-edit                                      edit XML configuration for a network filter

nwfilter-list                                         list network filters

nwfilter-undefine                            undefine a network filter

Networking (help keyword 'network'):

net-autostart                                     autostart a network

net-create                                          create a network from an XML file

net-define                                          define (but don't start) a network from an XML file

net-destroy                                        destroy (stop) a network

net-dumpxml                                    network information in XML

net-edit                                               edit XML configuration for a network

net-info                                               network information

net-list                                                  list networks

net-name                                            convert a network UUID to network name

net-start                                              start a (previously defined) inactive network

net-undefine                                     undefine an inactive network

net-uuid                                              convert a network name to network UUID

Node Device (help keyword 'nodedev'):

nodedev-create                               create a device defined by an XML file on the node

nodedev-destroy                            destroy (stop) a device on the node

nodedev-dettach                            dettach node device from its device driver

nodedev-dumpxml                         node device details in XML

nodedev-list                                      enumerate devices on this host

nodedev-reattach                           reattach node device to its device driver

nodedev-reset                                 reset node device

Secret (help keyword 'secret'):

secret-define                                    define or modify a secret from an XML file

secret-dumpxml                              secret attributes in XML

secret-get-value                              Output a secret value

secret-list                                            list secrets

secret-set-value                               set a secret value

secret-undefine                               undefine a secret

Snapshot (help keyword 'snapshot'):

snapshot-create                               Create a snapshot from XML

snapshot-create-as                         Create a snapshot from a set of args

snapshot-current                             Get or set the current snapshot

snapshot-delete                              Delete a domain snapshot

snapshot-dumpxml                        Dump XML for a domain snapshot

snapshot-edit                                    edit XML for a snapshot

snapshot-list                                      List snapshots for a domain

snapshot-parent                              Get the name of the parent of a snapshot

snapshot-revert                               Revert a domain to a snapshot

Storage Pool (help keyword 'pool'):

find-storage-pool-sources-as     find potential storage pool sources

find-storage-pool-sources           discover potential storage pool sources

pool-autostart                                   autostart a pool

pool-build                                           build a pool

pool-create-as                                  create a pool from a set of args

pool-create                                        create a pool from an XML file

pool-define-as                                  define a pool from a set of args

pool-define                                        define (but don't start) a pool from an XML file

pool-delete                                        delete a pool

pool-destroy                                      destroy (stop) a pool

pool-dumpxml                                  pool information in XML

pool-edit                                             edit XML configuration for a storage pool

pool-info                                             storage pool information

pool-list                                                list pools

pool-name                                          convert a pool UUID to pool name

pool-refresh                                      refresh a pool

pool-start                                            start a (previously defined) inactive pool

pool-undefine                                   undefine an inactive pool

pool-uuid                                            convert a pool name to pool UUID

Storage Volume (help keyword 'volume'):

vol-clone                                             clone a volume.

vol-create-as                                     create a volume from a set of args

vol-create                                           create a vol from an XML file

vol-create-from                                create a vol, using another volume as input

vol-delete                                           delete a vol

vol-download                                    Download a volume to a file

vol-dumpxml                                     vol information in XML

vol-info                                                storage vol information

vol-key                                                 returns the volume key for a given volume name or path

vol-list                                                   list vols

vol-name                                             returns the volume name for a given volume key or path

vol-path                                               returns the volume path for a given volume name or key

vol-pool                                               returns the storage pool for a given volume key or path

vol-upload                                          upload a file into a volume

vol-wipe                                              wipe a vol

Virsh itself (help keyword 'virsh'):

cd                                                           change the current directory

echo                                                      echo arguments

exit                                                        quit this interactive terminal

help                                                       print help

pwd                                                       print the current directory

quit                                                        quit this interactive terminal

virsh # list                                           (shows all running guests)

virsh # list --all                                  (shows all guests, running and inactive)

Id Name                 State

----------------------------------

  3 vm11                 running

  - vm10                 shut off

If you modify a guest's xml file (located in the /etc/libvirt/qemu/ directory), you must redefine the guest. Please note that whenever you modify the guest's xml file in /etc/libvirt/qemu/, you must run the define command again!

virsh # define /etc/libvirt/qemu/vm10.xml

To start a stopped guest, run:

start vm10

To stop a guest, run:

shutdown vm10

To immediately stop it (i.e., pull the power plug), run

destroy vm10

Suspend a guest:

suspend vm10

Resume a guest:

resume vm10

These are the most important commands.

To leave the virtual shell.

quit