[U-Boot] [PATCH 5/7] disk: Allow alternate EFI partition signature

Stephen Warren
2012-10-15T15:19:35Z

On 10/12/2012 06:26 PM, Simon Glass wrote:
> From: Stefan Reinauer <reinauer@chromium.org>
>
> ChromeOS uses a GPT partition table to partition the disk.
> However, Windows will refuse to install on a GPT partitioned
> disk if there is no EFI available (Even if there is an MBR, too)
> To hide the GPT partition table from Windows, we need to write
> it with a header magic other than "EFI PART". To support old
> and new systems, Check for the magic string "CHROMEOS" too.

Surely if you wanted to install Windows on a disk containing ChromeOS,
you would just wipe the disk and re-partition it? I suppose perhaps
you're talking about dual-boot though?

Either way, it doesn't see like a good idea to be using non-standard EFI
signatures - especially if the idea is to hide the GPT from Windows, and
presumably then have Windows use the MBR partitions, since that will end
up with a decidedly non-standard partition setup; some partitions will
only be represented in the MBR (those Windows creates) and some in GPT
(presumably whatever ChromeOS created before).