While the UEFI standard continues to grow, what test methods are your computer services using to work with this industry change?
Eurosoft can reliably test your UEFI hardware. If you are testing with QA+WIN™ in Windows® 8 or 8.1 and have UEFI enabled on the machine then you are reliably testing UEFI hardware. Although booting into UEFI has advantages such as isolation form the installed operating system, you don’t need to be in the UEFI shell in order to reliably test UEFI hardware.
You can test UEFI enabled hardware in secure booted Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 and reliably test hardware in this environment with QA+WIN right now. In addition to computer manufacturing, service centers and IT departments alike can leverage QA+WIN to fully support the diagnostic needs of the latest Microsoft Windows 8.1 systems removing one more reason to downgrade your deployed operating systems to previous versions , and eliminating the burden of reconfiguring system BIOS to disable Secure Boot and enable CSM (Compatibility Support Module).
Will Eurosoft ever offer a UEFI version diagnostics running in UEFI mode?
Yes, a UEFI version of our flagship diagnostic Pc-Check is in the works. Currently, QA+Win supports UEFI and 64bit hardware, allowing full testing for PCs that are UEFI enabled.
Most of the computers we build now have UEFI onboard, but our service partners are not able to easily test computers due to the BIOS restriction, we are starting to see units that do not include legacy support.
We recommend enabling the CSM (Compatibility Support Module) if available and disabling Secure Boot in order to boot and run Pc-Check. If these options are not available then full diagnostic coverage can still be achieved with QA+WIN running in the latest Windows 8.1 operating system as well as Windows PE, XP SP2 and above, Vista, 7, 8, Server 2003, and Server 2008 can reliably validate your UEFI enabled hardware.
Whilst I understand you do have UEFI covered with QA+Win and that the manufactures of such hardware keep changing the goal posts.
I would appreciate as a customer of yours for several years. A post / blog detailing the progress of PC-Check and UEFI support. I understand there still may be further delays, and I am ok with that. You’re developing in an ever changing enviroment. I would be much happyier if you could disclose this progress positive or not. As time goes on, and the more time passes. The more I feel in the dark.
Whilst I’m sure QA+Win will work well for most users. When the hardware is failing, the last thing you want to be doing is loading more resources than you need to.
I find the more ‘minimalist’ the diagnostic software. The less there is to get in the way of testing and diagnosing. This is especially the case when the hardware is becoming flakey.
I may well be very particular. Though I find it hard to justify purchasing another product which I feel is inferior (if only slightly.) To fill a gap, that will no doubt be filled when it’s ready.
I would appreciate if you could email me a response to this feedback.
Kind Regards,
Matthew
UEFI is topical and problematic worldwide, gaining momentum because not all hardware is compliant or compatible within the UEFI standard. Do we dare say that it’s still a “shell game” whether you can still use legacy boot. At Eurosoft, the Pc-Check UEFI diagnostics are emerging, with progress impeded only by the intricate development of proprietary drivers to cover the short comings of available drivers from component manufacturers. A glimpse of the pre-release is envisioned for Q2 2016. In the meantime, using QA+Win for 64Bit and UEFI hardware is our standard recommendation. By using Microsoft WinPE with QA+Win, less resources are used and boot time is shortened. Eurosoft QA+Win customers get an application note to ensure the best way to work with WinPE and UEFI conditions, “Building a WinPE boot solution for Eurosoft QAWIN”.