19 replies to this topic

[Jason]

I recently rebuild my WHS 2011 server on new Intel Ivy Bridge hardware.

I attempted a bare metal restore of my former Intel server onto the new machine w/ new Intel CPU, motherboard, and RAM.

During the WHS 2011 server OS restore process, the backup set was located. However when I attempted to restore, it returned a dialog box error indicating that I was unable to restore a non-UEFI backup to UEFI hardware?

I was curious whether this is any workaround for this that anyone has found. I am trying to restore an Intel to Intel system. As opposed to an AMD to Intel hardware which I wouldn't ever attempt to do (would do a fresh OS install instead).

Thanks again.

[jmwills]

Would not have thought that would be that big of an issue, however, it appears to be true with the WHS options. Something like Acronis or a fresh install may be your only option.

[ikon]

Why would it care? Honestly, is there something that unusual about the backup that it matters?

[Jason]

Why would it care? Honestly, is there something that unusual about the backup that it matters?

Didn't expect it to matter but it certainly does. Ultimately I installed WHS 2011 as a hyper-v VM under WS2008R2 but have kept that server backup in the event there was a way to overcome this. If anything this is a caution to others considering the same bare metal restore. Avoid it.

[ikon]

jmwills idea of using Acronis to clone the drive sounds interesting. And Newegg.com has a sale on True Image Home 2012 right now @ $15, if it hasn't already expired.

[hopester]

Make sure the bios boot you selected for the usb key or cd was the non uefi option, it might help. I know when installing whs2011 on uefi hardware depending on which boot option you select (usb-uefi / usb) it will either use gpt or mbr on the install drive. It might somehow effect restore as well as I've not tried it on my msi z68.

[Jason]

Good suggestion. Oddly enough I cannot find such an option in my Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H BIOS menu -- to boot from a UEFI USB Key or non-UEFI USB Key. I did look for that originally but despite it being a very new motherboard, this option wasn't apparent.

[ImTheTypeOfGuy]

Since UEFI is very different I am surprised you guys don't think it would matter. Since it is version 2, just reinstall. It isn't like you lose data. I would venture you would have been done installing and setting it up like you wanted by now if you would have just started down that path to begin with. Good luck.

[pcdoc]

WHS does not support UEFI at all. We had discussed this in the very early podcasts when UEFI first came out. New versions of Acronis with power pack will support it, however it is best practice not to use EFI on a boot disk if you want bare metal restore.

[ImTheTypeOfGuy]

Doesn't support it on the server install either? I thought it just wouldn't restore a client?

[pcdoc]

No, seems to be all or nothing.


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[ikon]

Could this just be a GPT issue. pcdoc, do I recall correctly you saying that WHS2011 doesn't support boot from GPT, or was that just v1?

[pcdoc]

Even if you hardware supports GPT boot, WHS as far as I know will not backup/restore the server, it will backup data partitions, and it will restore data on partition. It just does not like the bare metal restore on anything.

[hopester]

Good suggestion. Oddly enough I cannot find such an option in my Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H BIOS menu -- to boot from a UEFI USB Key or non-UEFI USB Key. I did look for that originally but despite it being a very new motherboard, this option wasn't apparent.

It will be there somewhere as a quick look in the gigabyte manual states " Or if you want to install an operating system that supports GPT partitioning such as Windows 7 64-bit, select the optical drive that contains the Windows 7 64-bit installation disk and is prefixed with "UEFI:" string."

I made the mistake when installing whs2011 and picked UEFI:usb from the boot menu and ended up with a gpt partition boot disk. So I tried again with the usb option and got the standard MBR.

[Poppapete]

WHS does not support UEFI at all. We had discussed this in the very early podcasts when UEFI first came out. New versions of Acronis with power pack will support it, however it is best practice not to use EFI on a boot disk if you want bare metal restore.

Does this mean if I want to be able to do bare metal restores I wil not be able to use UEFI in my brand new ASUS MB. I have to choose being able to do one or the other?

[Drashna (WGS)]

Yup.
One or the other.
Or use another backup product.

[pcdoc]

Does this mean if I want to be able to do bare metal restores I wil not be able to use UEFI in my brand new ASUS MB. I have to choose being able to do one or the other?

Remember that UEFI only buys you the ability to boot to a larger drives so you are not really loosing anything. Just because your motherboard has it does not mean it has value on your server. There is no speed loss or other side effects. As drashna stated you could use another backup program such as Acronis but unless you have the burning desire to have a 3T boot drive, it not worth the trouble or the risk as you really want a small boot drive for a WHS.

[Jason]

In my Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H bios it's not apparent when UEFI is being used or not.

[ikon]

I think I need some clarification here too. Is it really UEFI that's the bare metal restore issue, or is it GPT? I have an Asus mobo with UEFI and I have done bare metal restores to it, but NOT to a GPT drive, only to MBR.

So is that the real issue: UEFI provides the ability to boot from GPT drives but WHS can't restore to them; if you stick to MBR drives you're OK?

[pcdoc]

The short answer is that it is the GPT that is an issue. That said, the UEFI acts just like a BIOS if it booting from MBR effectively rendering it useless. The restore program reads the partition not your BIOS. Good point/question.