GTP
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- Adelaide, Australia
I'n not going to spend 2~3 hours trying to remove/replace a drive that's buried under the motherboard requiring a complete tear down on some models.
UEFI AV Boot Disk
- Thread starter Erick
- Start date
HFultzjr
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Wow,
I stand corrected. I didn't realize there were that many laptops that are such a PITA to pull the drive just to do an AV scan. My apologies, I must be lucky to not have seen many of these. A bootable UEFI Antivirus would indeed be helpful for those.
NviGate Systems
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As far as I know there are no commercially viable UEFI boot disks that can remove viruses natively.
But it's something worth researching.
But it's something worth researching.
Porthos
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I have not had the need to use a boot disk to clean a computer for about 3 years now.
NviGate Systems
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- Vancouver
So weird, I got a notification for this thread a moment ago but the reply I was notified about isn't here. Hmmm
Anyways, I did a google search for UEFI antivus boot disc, and most of the content is forum posts about people who have UEFI computers and who were unable to use XYZ's bootable tool.
With the exception of companies that have started to use Linux for Bootable AV rescue, there is no native default go to bootable tool that will scan for viruses under a native UEFI environment.
Now, I'm going to dance around the next subject very lightly, so Admins do let me know if I need to tone it down.
There are projects out there were you can build your own UEFI enabled bootable disc that has full 3Bit & 64Bit support, and has WOW64. The problem lies with the fact that the license for Microsoft's Windows Deployment Kit isn't that clear other than it's only for use to repair, diagnose or deploy Windows. These projects break that mold and don't actually build a Windows PE. Well, they can but that's not the default option. The default option is "OS In RAM" NOT "PE In RAM". If you choose "PE In RAM" practically all the useful features that allow cool apps to run are not available, highlighting how much Microsoft strips PE down. (Rightly so it is their product) If you choose "OS In RAM" you suddenly have many options, but you are essentially building a core version of Windows (not PE) which is a clear violation of licensing.
Where the issues comes in is most tools that would help us today are 32 Bit, but EFI requires we boot into proper "bit" mode of the host's UEFI version. Which means your bog standard Windows PE from Microsoft will NOT have WOW64, which means yes you can boot but none of your tools will work. That and after 72 hours the machine will reboot, meaning if you forget about a machine you could potentially lose unsaved changes.
Microsoft does have some tools in the form of MSDaRT, and I believe the free standalone version of Security Essentials may support UEFI now. But aside from Security Essentials, these are not free and are licensed by organization.
If you really want to have a UEFI boot disk for doing virus scans, my suggestion is to get yourself licensed to use "Windows to Go". It's the only solution that is both UEFI and BIOS aware, will allow you to run tools and the like. I believe you have to be a Volume License customer and have a certain level of commitment, but others can post if they know. It's not cheap.
Anyways, I did a google search for UEFI antivus boot disc, and most of the content is forum posts about people who have UEFI computers and who were unable to use XYZ's bootable tool.
With the exception of companies that have started to use Linux for Bootable AV rescue, there is no native default go to bootable tool that will scan for viruses under a native UEFI environment.
Now, I'm going to dance around the next subject very lightly, so Admins do let me know if I need to tone it down.
There are projects out there were you can build your own UEFI enabled bootable disc that has full 3Bit & 64Bit support, and has WOW64. The problem lies with the fact that the license for Microsoft's Windows Deployment Kit isn't that clear other than it's only for use to repair, diagnose or deploy Windows. These projects break that mold and don't actually build a Windows PE. Well, they can but that's not the default option. The default option is "OS In RAM" NOT "PE In RAM". If you choose "PE In RAM" practically all the useful features that allow cool apps to run are not available, highlighting how much Microsoft strips PE down. (Rightly so it is their product) If you choose "OS In RAM" you suddenly have many options, but you are essentially building a core version of Windows (not PE) which is a clear violation of licensing.
Where the issues comes in is most tools that would help us today are 32 Bit, but EFI requires we boot into proper "bit" mode of the host's UEFI version. Which means your bog standard Windows PE from Microsoft will NOT have WOW64, which means yes you can boot but none of your tools will work. That and after 72 hours the machine will reboot, meaning if you forget about a machine you could potentially lose unsaved changes.
Microsoft does have some tools in the form of MSDaRT, and I believe the free standalone version of Security Essentials may support UEFI now. But aside from Security Essentials, these are not free and are licensed by organization.
If you really want to have a UEFI boot disk for doing virus scans, my suggestion is to get yourself licensed to use "Windows to Go". It's the only solution that is both UEFI and BIOS aware, will allow you to run tools and the like. I believe you have to be a Volume License customer and have a certain level of commitment, but others can post if they know. It's not cheap.
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