BootIt UEFI Install

[jaydub]

I currently use BootIt Bare Metal on an MBR disk and I want to convert it to GPT and use BootIt UEFI. I did a trial run using ChgdType in Image. Everything seems to be working, but I wanted BootIt UEFI to install on it’s own separate partition at the beginning of the disk, similar to BootIt Bare Metal. But it doesn’t look like that is what happened. The layout in PartWork shows the following on my 10TB disk:
5MB nameless free space partition at the beginning of the drive
366GB Windows 10 partition (C:\)
16MB Microsoft reserved partition
8.7TB nameless free space partition
450 MB EFI system partition (FAT-32)

Screen shots of PartWork are attached and shown below.
- Can you tell from this or the attachments where BootIt UEFI files are located?
- Why would the 450MB EFI system partition be located at the very end of the disk?
- If I did screw up the install on BootIt UEFI, I think it would have been in answering two questions at the beginning of the install process requesting info on how/where to setup the boot location. As I remember the first question had to do with where should the EFI directory be, and the second was about who do you want to manage the booting. I’m pretty sure I answered the second question right but I’m not so sure about the first. Can you advise me what the questions were and how I should have answered them to get BootIt on it’s own partition?
I tried reinstalling BootIt UEFI to fix it, but it simply re-intsalled the current layout.

Many thanks.

MS Reserved Parition Info.JPG (65.03 KiB) Viewed 7525 times

Free Space Partition Info.JPG (62.13 KiB) Viewed 7525 times

EFI Parition Info.JPG (91.29 KiB) Viewed 7525 times

[Brian K]

jaydub,

You have no problems. BootIt UEFI is always installed to the EFI system partition.

Boot into BIU, click Run, tbexplo.tbs, File Explorer. Press Enter on your keyboard (for the .. line). You will see Boot and BootIt directories as well as Microsoft.001. (You are in the \EFI directory)

The ESP is at the end of the drive as that's where chgdtype.tbs put it. All OK.

[jaydub]

- So the 5MB free space at the beginning is just a left over remnant from BIBM? So, I can slide everything over to get rid of it?
- Is Microsoft .001 always in that partition and directory?
- Regarding the question "Do you want to install the boot files to the default UEFI boot directory", what are the consequences of choosing one answer over the other, and is one recommended? And are you talking about Terebyte's boot files or Windows boot files?

Thanks.

[Brian K]

There is good information in pages 21 to 24 in the manual. I always use the Recommended Options.

[jaydub]

I did review those pages, but the manual is not really clear on one point. I would think the answer to the question below would be that, yes you do want the default UEFI boot directory to be the EFI\BootIt folder. But to get that outcome, you apparently have to respond No, which i don't think is the default answer.

Screenshot 2026-07-20 231225.jpg (103.57 KiB) Viewed 7466 times

[Brian K]

I click Yes. Boot folder.

[TeraByte Support]

it's talking about the standard \efi\boot\bootx64.efi and any supporting files. yes is typically what people want so any default boot by the firmware will boot to BootIt.

[jaydub]

Appreciate the clarification.

[jaydub]

As a followup to my earlier post, I currently use BIBM on a 1TB SSD with the following partitions:
EMBRM 5MB
Window 10 366GB My main O/S
Mint 20.3 Mate 73GB
Windows 11 292GB
Free Space 269GB

I’m trying to convert the boot drive from MBR to GPT, so I ran CHGDTYPE from BIBM boot disk, then disabled CSM then installed BootIt UEFI (answering YES to the two setup questions relating to directory location and booting management as previously advised). Here is what partwork now shows:

Partwork Screen Shot.png (63.29 KiB) Viewed 5658 times

The conversion was mostly ok, except for the following:

1) Windows 10 was converted onto a Windows RE partition, which can’t be right. Before the conversion, Windows RE was consolidated into a hidden directory inside Windows 10 O/S as I normally just like it to be there so it is out of the way. I have no idea how to make a boot item for Windows 10 now, or if even if I can.

2) BootIt UEFI only made one boot item, that being Windows 11, which boots with the following references in boot item:
Boot: EFI System Partition
Bootfile: EFI\microsoft.001\boot\bootmgfw
The partition does in fact boot fine successfully into Windows 11, but it does not appear to be booting from the BootIt directory.

3) A boot item wasn’t made for the Mint partition. What bootfile (and full directory address) should I browse to when making a boot item for this partition?

Any help is highly appreciated.

[jaydub]

Ah, I figured out #'s 1 and 2 and all is good on the windows partition. However, there is no boot item for mint. When I try to add a boot item, I browse the bootiles for something with mint, and there is nothing so it looks like i need add that somehow.