Windows 8 installer won't boot as legacy

[flmmkr]

I'm trying to install Windows 8 on a computer without an optical drive as a Legacy installation instead of UEFI, but the installer won't boot in Legacy mode. I have an Asus Maximus V Extreme motherboard. I set CSM Boot Device Control to Legacy OpROM only. The USB install drive I made shows up, but when I select it in the boot options screen Chimera/Chameleon and then OS X just loads. If I leave UEFI on by selecting UEFI and Legacy OpROM, the UEFI version of the USB thumbdrive shows up as well and the Windows installer loads. The problem with UEFI is that it won't let me install to the partition I made and I do want to make sure Windows shows up in the Chimera/Chameleon boot screen since I read it won't if I install as UEFI. How can I get the installer for Windows 8 to load under Legacy?

 

[Going Bald]

I'm trying to install Windows 8 on a computer without an optical drive as a Legacy installation instead of UEFI, but the installer won't boot in Legacy mode. I have an Asus Maximus V Extreme motherboard. I set CSM Boot Device Control to Legacy OpROM only. The USB install drive I made shows up, but when I select it in the boot options screen Chimera/Chameleon and then OS X just loads. If I leave UEFI on by selecting UEFI and Legacy OpROM, the UEFI version of the USB thumbdrive shows up as well and the Windows installer loads. The problem with UEFI is that it won't let me install to the partition I made and I do want to make sure Windows shows up in the Chimera/Chameleon boot screen since I read it won't if I install as UEFI. How can I get the installer for Windows 8 to load under Legacy?

Are you attempting to install Win8 on the same HDD as OS X? If not, then disconnect the OS X HDD.
Does the Win8 install USB show up as a bootable drive in the Chimera/Chameleon selection list when you boot with instant menu or hit a key during the timeout?
If you connect the USB drive and boot with the hotkey (probably F8 for your board) do you see the USB drive and is it listed as UEFI?
If you can't tell, then boot OS X, open a terminal and type in

diskutil list

and hit enter. Look at the entries for the USB drive - if they are UEFI, then that is your problem. You need to create the installer USB with Legacy mode.

 

[flmmkr]

Yes, I'm installing Win 8 on the same drive. Currently there is a 200MB EFI partition, a 400GB OS X partition, and a 100GB partition I want to use for Win 8. I had Win 8 installed at one time as UEFI, but had trouble getting back into OS X so I erased it and made the OS X partition active. Now I'm trying to install Win 8 again, but can't get to the Legacy installer.

Yes, the USB thumbdrive shows up in the F8 boot list as Legacy and UEFI (2 listings) or shows up as only Legacy when UEFI is turned off in the BIOS. When I select the Legacy option it doesn't boot from the thumbdrive. Instead I get Chimera/Chameleon and then OS X.

I don't see any options or way to specify Legacy when I create the USB flash drive. The only way I could find to create a bootable USB flash drive is to make an ISO file from the OEM Windows 8 DVD, then use Unetbootin to copy the ISO to the USB flash drive.

 

[RehabMan]

Yes, I'm installing Win 8 on the same drive. Currently there is a 200MB EFI partition, a 400GB OS X partition, and a 100GB partition I want to use for Win 8. I had Win 8 installed at one time as UEFI, but had trouble getting back into OS X so I erased it and made the OS X partition active. Now I'm trying to install Win 8 again, but can't get to the Legacy installer.

Yes, the USB thumbdrive shows up in the F8 boot list as Legacy and UEFI (2 listings) or shows up as only Legacy when UEFI is turned off in the BIOS. When I select the Legacy option it doesn't boot from the thumbdrive. Instead I get Chimera/Chameleon and then OS X.

I don't see any options or way to specify Legacy when I create the USB flash drive. The only way I could find to create a bootable USB flash drive is to make an ISO file from the OEM Windows 8 DVD, then use Unetbootin to copy the ISO to the USB flash drive.

It could be that the USB flash drive you've created for Win8 doesn't have the Windows legacy bootloader properly installed. There are ways to do this at the command line (bootsect.exe) but probably the easiest way to resolve it is to use the official Microsoft USB creating tool "Win7 USB Download Tool."

 

[flmmkr]

Thanks! The USB Download Tool did it. Now I have to figure out how to delete the Windows Boot Manager. It won't go away.

 

[RehabMan]

Thanks! The USB Download Tool did it. Now I have to figure out how to delete the Windows Boot Manager. It won't go away.

In addition to what I posted in the other thread (disabling UEFI), try resetting BIOS settings to default (then disable UEFI).

 

[flmmkr]

You were close. Re-flashing the BIOS fixed it. Maybe that's what you meant though. Thanks for your help.