Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding UEFI and architecture of boot images since I'm reading some contradictive information on the internet (probably due to old content): Is it possible to install a 32-bit OS on a X64 UEFI?

In some old posts, I came across some information that 32-bit OS is not supported for UEFI. I guess this is not true anymore, since technet states:

While in UEFI mode, the Windows version must match the PC architecture. A 64-bit UEFI PC can only boot 64-bit versions of Windows. A 32-bit PC can only boot 32-bit versions of Windows. In some cases, while in legacy BIOS mode, you may be able to run 32-bit Windows on a 64-bit PC, assuming the manufacturer supports 32-bit legacy BIOS mode on the PC.

Based on this information, could you guys please confirm these statemets and answer these questions so I know I've not misinterpreted the information:

• If legacy BIOS is still used and 32bit & 64bit OS need to be supported, it's "best"(most compatible) to use X86 boot image so both 32bit & 64bit OS can be installed.
• When your company must support 32bit & 64bit OS (due to some applications requiring 32bit), they can't use the same hardware when this hardware has a x64 UEFI (except when they can turn on legacy BIOS to install 32bit OS)? I assume x64 UEFI will be the standard option in the future or will this be x64/x86 supported UEFI?
• When deployment for 32bit & 64bit OS is required via UEFI, it's best to target the X64 boot image last so this is used by default (before you choose the TS)? When 32bit OS is required x86 bootable media can be used to install the 32bit OS on x86 UEFI as it is treated as an exception?
• What would be your advice for using BIOS/UEFI at the moment? Already switch to UEFI for windows 7 computers? I thought that "Secure Boot" wasn't possible for windows 7? The only benefit would be the faster boot times?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Sven

Its very simple. In order to enable UEFI you need to use a boot image that has the same architecture as the OS being deployed.

Hi Ronni, thanks for your reply. But this is the same information as stated in the technet article (see code box in my initial question)

Could you also please check the last section of my question? This is more regarding to scenario's of hardware and supporting different architectures (OS + UEFI).

I hope you could take/have the time to go through them.

Thx in advance!

If legacy BIOS is still used and 32bit & 64bit OS need to be supported, it's "best"(most compatible) to use X86 boot image so both 32bit & 64bit OS can be installed.

You could do that, but I would use the boot image that matches the OS (to meet future requirements).

When your company must support 32bit & 64bit OS (due to some applications requiring 32bit), they can't use the same hardware when this hardware has a x64 UEFI (except when they can turn on legacy BIOS to install 32bit OS)? I assume x64 UEFI will be the standard option in the future or will this be x64/x86 supported UEFI?

You can install a 32-bit OS on 32-bit hardware. Not sure if you need to disable UEFI, but that might be the case. 

When deployment for 32bit & 64bit OS is required via UEFI, it's best to target the X64 boot image last so this is used by default (before you choose the TS)? When 32bit OS is required x86 bootable media can be used to install the 32bit OS on x86 UEFI as it is treated as an exception?

If you deploy multiple Task Sequence with different boot images, the boot image that is used in the task sequence that was deployed last will be default.

What would be your advice for using BIOS/UEFI at the moment? Already switch to UEFI for windows 7 computers? I thought that "Secure Boot" wasn't possible for windows 7? The only benefit would be the faster boot times?.

Windows 7 = BIOS

Windows 8+ = UEFI

Alright, thanks for your replies Ronni and for taking your time to answer them. Cheers!