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My DiskGenius Notes

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My DiskGenius Notes

Booting DiskGenius from Ventoy

To boot DiskGenius from Ventoy, we need to generate the WinPE Bootable USB Drive and image it. Ventoy allows the use of several different image formats, all with their own strengths.

Make the DiskGenius Bootable WinPE USB

Create WinPE Bootable USB Drive - DiskGenius - DiskGenius supports to make bootable USB disk based on Windows PE so that you can recover lost data, manage disk or backup data when system cannot boot.

  • When you create your USB drive I think the build process uses your PC for the drivers and WinPE files so the resulting data size on the USB drive will change depending on your system.
  • I don't know if the DiskGenius USB drives are tried to the PC they were created on.

Format the USB drive

Although DiskGenius can use a USB drive in either the "Supper Floppy" (FDD) or Hard drive mode (HDD) it is easier to work with a HDD version where it has an MBR and Partition table like a traditional hard drive.

When you format a USB drive in Windows the "Super Floppy" format is used by default. I am not sure what happens when you use Windows to format a USB drive taht has a partition table, perhaps ot leaves it alone.

  • Format your USB in Rufus in MBR format

    • Boot selection: Non bootable
    • Partition scheme: MBR
    • Target system: BIOS or UEFI
    • Volume label: DISKGENIUS (or whatever you want)
    • File system: FAT32
    • Cluster size: Default (this might vary depending on the size of the USB drive)
  • Set the partition active
    • This is not required because DiskGenius does this when it makes the USB a WinPE drive.

VHD/VHDX (Recommended)

Method 1 - Disk Image of the USB

  • I would recommend getting a 2GB USB drive to keep the image size down and reduce the number of steps required.
    • (Win10 WinPE = 550mb)
    • (Win11 WinPe = 1GB+)
  • The size difference between the images created by these formats is minimal.
  • Aquire the Image
    • Connect the DiskGenius USB drive
    • Image with Rufus to get an Fixed Disk Image (VHDX) of the USB drive
      • Create a VHDX image, save it to your desktop and call it: FIXEDSIZE-DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx
    • Disconnect the DiskGenius USB drive (optional)
  • Prepare the Image (optional, you can just use the image you have, as is)
    1. Mount the image (with native windows or OSMount)
    2. Run sdelete to zero out unused space on the USB drive's volume
    3. Use StarWind V2V / P2V Converter to generate a new dynamic (growable) vhdx image
      1. Call the new disk image: DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx
    4. Compact the Dynamic disk image to reduce space
  • Configure Ventoy
    • Connect the Ventoy USB drive
    • Copy DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx to your ventoy images partition.
    • Install the Ventoy Windows VHD Boot Plugin
      • Plugin.WinVhdBoot . Ventoy
        • Ventoy uses this plugin to boot VHD(x) files with Windows 7+ in it.
        • Both Legacy BIOS and UEFI are supported. Both fixed and dynamic VHD(x) are supported.
        • In UEFI mode, only 64 bit Windows is supported, 32 bit is NOT supported.
  • Done
    • Boot from your Ventoy USB and check it loads.

Method 2 -  Manually Create VHDX

  • Create the VHDX (there are probably other ways)
    • Open up `Disk Management`
      • Run: diskmgmt.msc
    • Action --> Create VHD
      • Use these settings:
        • Location: C:\Users\quantunwarp\Desktop\DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdxDiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx
        • Virtual hard disk size: 2GB
        • Virtual hard disk format: VHDX
        • Virtual hard disk type: Dynamically expanding (Recommended)
    • Once created, the drive is automatically mounted but needs to be intialised like any new disk.
      • In `Disk Mangement` Right click on the new drive and select Initialise Disk
      • Use the MBR partition style
    • Create a FAT32 partition
      • Right click on the drive and select New Simple Volume and follow the wizard.
      • Use these settings:
        • File System: FAT32
        • Allocation unit size: Default
        • Volume Label: Disk Genius
        • Perform a quick format.
    • Set the partition active
      • Use DiskGenius to set the partition active
  • Prepare the Image
    • Mount the VHDX disk image.
    • Connect the DiskGenius USB drive.
    • Show hidden files
    • Copy all files on the USB drive to the VHDX volume.
    • Hide all files again
    • Unmount/Detach the Disk Image.
  • Configure Ventoy
    • Connect the Ventoy USB drive
    • Copy DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx to your ventoy images partition.
    • Install the Ventoy Windows VHD Boot Plugin
      • Plugin.WinVhdBoot . Ventoy
        • Ventoy uses this plugin to boot VHD(x) files with Windows 7+ in it.
        • Both Legacy BIOS and UEFI are supported. Both fixed and dynamic VHD(x) are supported.
        • In UEFI mode, only 64 bit Windows is supported, 32 bit is NOT supported.
  • Done
    • Boot from your Ventoy USB and check it loads.

WIM

  • This only works for UEFI/EFI environments.
  • If you try and boot the WIM when using MBR/CSM/Legacy it will start to load and then a black screen will overlay the Ventoy loader and it will crash.
  • Aquire the Image
    • Connect the DiskGenius USB drive.
    • Show hidden files.
    • Copy the following file to your desktop: ...\DiskGenius - Boot\boot.wim
    • Disconnect the DiskGenius USB drive (optional)
  • Prepare the Image
    • Rename boot.wim to something human readable like DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.wim
  • Configure Ventoy
    • Connect the Ventoy USB drive
    • Copy DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx to your ventoy images partition.
    • Install the Ventoy Wimboot Plugin
  • Done
    • Boot from your Ventoy USB and check it loads.

ISO

  • This is a very trick and time consuming option and is not really needed
  • Try and find and ISO already done, and then use this.

method 1 get a windows disk and swap out the contents, keeping the boot sector

  • Aquire the Image
    • Connect the DiskGenius USB drive
    • ..............
  • Prepare the Image
    • ...........
  • Configure Ventoy
    • Connect the Ventoy USB drive
    • Copy DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.iso to your ventoy images partition.
  • Done
    • Boot from your Ventoy USB and check it loads.

 

Starwind conversion notes (to reduce size)

  • Mount your drive image
    1. Windows Native (GUI)
      1. Right click on the drive image and select mount.
      2. or through `Disk Management`: Action --> Attach VHD
    2. Windows Native (diskpart)
      1. Select the disk via its path: select vdisk file="<PathToYourDesktop>\DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx"
    3. OSFMount
  • Convert the image with starwind
    • Select the location of the image to convert: P2V
    • Select physical data to convert: Physical Disk
    • Select physical disk to convert: Virtual Disk
    • Select the location of the destination image: Local file
    • Select the destination image format: VHD/VHDX
    • Select option for VHD/VHDX image format: VHDX growable image
      • Ignore `Activate windows Repair Mode`
    • Set destination filename: <PathToYourDesktop>\DiskGenius v6.0.1.1645.vhdx
    • Click `Convert`
  • Unmount your drive imagwe
    • Window Native (GUI)
      • You can unmount by right clicking on the drive and selecting Eject.
      • or through `Disk Management`: Right click on the drive you want to unmount and select, Detach VHD.
    • Windows Native (diskpart)
      • run the command: detach vdisk

When you Mount a DiskGenius USB Disk Image as a hard drive in Windows you get this error

  • TL;DR this error is caused by the source USB formatted as a "Super Floppy"
  • Starwind P2V does not support "Super Floppy" for live copying as it expects a partition table.
  • A USB drive can be formatted as a traditional hard drive (HDD) or in a "Super Floppy" format akin to a traditional floppy disk (FDD).
  • "Super Floppy" does not have a MBR or a Partition Table which is what Starwind is looking for when copying from the mounted Disk image.
  • Starwind wiil not present/see Removable Media disks or their Volumes only hard disks.

Scenario

  • You used a large USB drive for your DiskGenius WinPE and as a consequence the image is very large even though most of the space is empty.
  • You mounted the drive image using either Windows Native or OSFMount. (in this example we has used OSFMount)
  • The drive has successfully mounted
  • You open Starwind V2V to convert your large USB Fixed size disk image to a growable VHDX image which will create a much smaller image file
  • After going through the wizard, you click on convert and almost immediately you get the following error.

Error

 

Log File

7/21 16:24:49.493 2b68 Facility ???INFO: CV2V_ConverterApp::InitInstance: SetDllDirectory: C:\Program Files\StarWind V2V Converter\lib
7/21 16:24:49.493 2b68 Facility ???INFO: CV2V_ConverterApp::InitInstance: File Version: 9.0.1.757
7/21 16:24:49.508 2b68 Facility ???INFO: CV2V_ConverterApp::InitInstance: Load language IDR_XML_ENGLISH
7/21 16:24:49.508 2b68 Facility ???INFO: CV2V_ConverterApp::InitInstance: Set current language English
7/21 16:24:49.508 2b68 Facility ???INFO: CPS_V2V_Converter::CPS_V2V_Converter: Version MajorVersion 10, MinorVersion 0, BuildNumber 19045
7/21 16:24:49.508 2b68 Facility ???INFO: WrapperHyperV::WrapperHyperV: LoadLibrary C:\Windows\system32\wbem\wmiutils.dll - 94cb0000
7/21 16:24:49.508 2b68 Facility ???INFO: WrapperHyperV::WrapperHyperV: LoadLibrary C:\Windows\system32\wbem\wmiutils.dll - 94cb0000
7/21 16:24:53.723 2b68 Facility ???INFO: ICPPage::OnWizardNext: SetActivePage - eSynchronization
7/21 16:24:57.926 2b68 Facility ???INFO: ICPPage::OnWizardNext: SetActivePage - eAzureConnectionTo
7/21 16:25:06.162 2b68 Facility ???INFO: ICPPage::OnWizardNext: SetActivePage - eLocationTo
7/21 16:25:09.053 2b68 Facility ???INFO: ICPPage::OnWizardNext: SetActivePage - eFormat
7/21 16:25:12.381 2b68 Facility ???INFO: ICPPage::OnWizardNext: SetActivePage - eOptionsHyperV
7/21 16:25:17.914 2b68 Facility ???INFO: ICPPage::OnWizardNext: SetActivePage - eConverting
7/21 16:25:43.043 2b68 Facility ???INFO: CPPOutputFile::onNext: Out path: C:\Users\quantumwarp\Desktop\DiskGenius-Dynamic.vhdx, Out format 11
7/21 16:25:43.043 2b68 Facility ???INFO: ICPPage::OnWizardNext: SetActivePage - eHYPERVConnectionTo
7/21 16:25:43.043 1788 Facility ???INFO: CPPConverting::Convert: InConvertType: 2, OutConvertType: 4
7/21 16:25:43.043 1788 Facility ???INFO: CPPConverting::ConvertDisks: pathInput: 1, pathOutput: C:\Users\quantumwarp\Desktop\DiskGenius-Dynamic.vhdx
7/21 16:25:43.043 1788 Facility ???INFO: P2V::CreateInputImage: path 1
7/21 16:25:43.043 1788 Facility ???INFO: P2V::CreateInputImage: Size 1 - 15518924800, BytesPerSector - 512
7/21 16:25:48.090 1788 Facility ???INFO: CPPConverting::ConvertDisks: CreateInputImage: 0
7/21 16:25:48.090 1788 Facility ???INFO: CPPConverting::ConvertDisks: CreateOutputImage: 0
7/21 16:25:48.090 1788 Facility ???ERROR: CPPConverting::ConvertImage: Read 3
7/21 16:32:00.054 1788 Facility ???ERROR: CPPConverting::ConvertDisks: ConvertImage - 2
7/21 16:32:00.054 1788 Facility ???ERROR: CPPConverting::Convert: FAILED

Log Explained

Here's what the log tells us:

  • StarWind V2V Converter Version: 9.0.1.757 - This is a relatively recent version, so it's unlikely to be a bug in an old release.
  • Conversion Type:
    • InConvertType: 2 - This indicates a Physical Disk source.
    • OutConvertType: 4 - This indicates a Hyper-V (VHDX) destination.
    • This confirms that StarWind V2V Converter sees the OSFMounted IMG as a physical disk, which is good.
  • Source Disk Identification: pathInput: 1 and Size 1 - 15518924800, BytesPerSector - 512
    • pathInput: 1 likely refers to the "Disk 1" as seen by Windows Disk Management. This corresponds to the virtual disk presented by OSFMount.
    • The size 15,518,924,800 bytes (approx 14.45 GB) and BytesPerSector - 512 are correctly identified by the converter from the virtual disk.
  • Failure Point:
    • CPPConverting::ConvertDisks: CreateInputImage: 0 - This line means StarWind successfully initialized the connection to the source disk.
    • CPPConverting::ConvertDisks: CreateOutputImage: 0 - This line means StarWind successfully initialized the connection to the destination VHDX file.
    • CPPConverting::ConvertImage: Read 3 - This is the critical error. It happens immediately after the input and output images are created, right at the point where StarWind tries to read the actual data from the source disk. This confirms a low-level read error from the OSFMounted virtual disk.
    • The subsequent errors (ConvertImage - 2, FAILED) are a direct consequence of this initial read failure.
  • Conclusion from the log
    • The log strongly indicates that the issue is not with StarWind V2V Converter itself, nor with the destination drive or VHDX creation. The problem lies squarely with StarWind's ability to read data from the virtual disk presented by OSFMount, which is derived from your disk image file created from your DiskGenius USB drive.
    • Rufus can write raw ISO or DD images that may not have a typical partition table or disk signature that StarWind expects. This can cause problems when it tries to interpret sectors and fails.
  • Additional
    • This following error (not in the example above) shows an issue with the drive (VHD or physical) not being able to read sectors. If it is a physical drive then this indicates the drive is failing. 
      10/21 12:55:57.929 2764 Facility ???WARNING: P2V::getBuffer: ReadFile - 23. Data error (cyclic redundancy check).
10/21 12:55:57.929 2764 Facility ???ERROR: CPPConverting::ConvertImage: Read 3
10/21 13:03:16.650 2764 Facility ???ERROR: CPPConverting::Convert: FAILED

 

Background

Cause

After in-depth research I can clarify the error is not cause by:

  • Rufus or DiskImager: these apps just create a binary image of the disk and change nothing. Any errors or issues of the drive are blindly transferred to the disk image.
  • Windows 10 or Windows 11: Apart from the size of the boot.wim there is no difference (Win10 = 550mb)(Win11 = 1GB).
  • Windows Native and OSFormat disk image mounting: These were mounting the disk image correctly and giving a 1:1 representation of the imaged USB drive.
  • The disk image being mounted as "Read-Only": This does not interfer with the conversion as it is used as a source only.
  • The size/capacity of the USB drive: None of the software has any size limits, certainly none that have been reached.
  • Cluster Size / Allocation Unit Size: I tried both 4096 and 8192 and those made no difference. 8192 seems to be the default allocation size for 16GB USB drives.
  • Trying different locations for the source and destination files made no difference.
  • VHD, VHDX and IMG disk image formats all worked as expected.
  • I got no Windows Defender errors, so in this case it was not the AV causing issues.
  • Encryption on the drive can cause issues but these drive had none so can be ruled out.

What I have tried

  • Zero filling the USB before reformatting = When I formatted with Windows, it just created a "Super Floppy" USB drive because this is how Windows formats them.
  • I check the USB drive for errors by doing a full surface scan, it found no errors.
  • I checked the FAT32 file system with chkdsk which found no errors.

Diagnostics

How to check if your USB is configured as "Super Floppy" or a traditional Hard drive (HDD)

There are a couple of methods outlined below.

  • diskpart
    • Run the following commands (swap # for the number assigned to your USB disk): 
      diskpart
list disk
select disk #
detail disk
    • This should give an output as follows: 
      Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.26100.1150

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: WIN11PC

DISKPART> list disk

  Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online         1863 GB  4096 KB        *
  Disk 1    Online         7651 MB      0 B

DISKPART> select disk 1

Disk 1 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> detail disk

General USB Flash Disk USB Device
Disk ID: 6F20736B
Type   : USB
Status : Online
Path   : 0
Target : 0
LUN ID : 0
Location Path : UNAVAILABLE
Current Read-only State : No
Read-only  : No
Boot Disk  : No
Pagefile Disk  : No
Hibernation File Disk  : No
Crashdump Disk  : No
Clustered Disk  : No

  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
  Volume 5     E   PICTURES     FAT32  Removable   7651 MB  Healthy

DISKPART> list partition

  Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset
  -------------  ----------------  -------  -------
* Partition 1    Primary             14 GB      0 B

DISKPART> select partition 1

There is no partition selected.

DISKPART>
    • As you can see, Disk 1 (the USB):
      • It is not a GPT based disk.
      • Has no free space, meaning that all the space has been assigned to partitions.
      • It is not a "Boot Disk".
      • Has only 1 Volume/Partition, which is not bootable.
      • When you try and select the partition, diskpart returns the error, There is no partition selected., indicating it has an error accessing the partition table, which do not exist on "Super Floppy" USB drives.
    • This is a "Super Floppy" USB drive, or the partition table is corrupted.
  • DiskGenius
    • This images shows you a 16GB "Super Floppy" USB drive

      1. Basic/RAW = This means there is no MBR or Partition Table.
      2. FAT32 (FDD) = This is a FAT32 partition, but has not been defined in a partition table.
      3. MBR Signature: 00000000 = No MBR is defined.
      4. Partition Table Style: NONE = No partition table.
      5. Volume/Partition is not marked as active.
      6. In the drive tree, there is a floppy icon instead of a HDD.
  • OSFMount
    • Does not show partitions in "Step 2 of 4" as shown below, and "Mount partitions as virtual disks" is greyed out.

      • This indicates a "Super Floppy" or corrupt disk image.
      • There is no valid partition table for OSFMount to read.
      • If the Volume gets mounted in windows then the Image is not corrupt and the drive image is that of a "Super Floppy".
    • I have an image that when i mount as a physical disk shows not partitions in OSFMount but windows mounts a volume form this drive?
      • This behavior can be confusing, but it usually comes down to how Windows interprets disk images versus how OSFMount handles physical vs logical mounting.
      • Your Situation:
        • You mount an image in OSFMount as a physical disk.
        • OSFMount shows no partitions in its interface.
        • Windows still assigns a drive letter and allows you to access a volume from that disk.
      • Likely Explanation:
        • Even though OSFMount is mounting the image as a physical drive, it may not parse or display the partitions correctly, especially if:
          • The partition table is non-standard or corrupt.
          • The image is just a raw partition, not a full disk with MBR/GPT.
          • OSFMount has trouble recognizing certain filesystems or partition layouts.
          • The image has a "superfloppy" format — a single partition image without an MBR (common in some forensic images or disk clones).
        • Yet Windows is often more lenient:
          • It scans all volumes and can mount a recognizable file system (e.g., NTFS or FAT32), even if the partition table is missing or broken.
          • Windows may treat the image like a full partition, even though OSFMount expects a structured physical disk.
      • What You Can Do:
        • Try mounting the image as a logical drive instead of physical:
          • In OSFMount, choose: Mount as drive letter (logical drive)
          • Select the image file and choose offset 0 (or auto-detect).
          • This usually works well if the image is a raw partition.
        • Use disk utilities to inspect the structure:
          • Tools like FTK Imager, WinHex, or HxD can help determine if the image has an MBR, GPT, or just a raw file system.
          • You can also check in Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) how Windows sees the mounted image (does it show a healthy volume or an unallocated disk?).
        • Check the image format:
          • If it’s from forensic software (like EnCase or dd), it might be a raw partition or use non-standard formatting.
      • Quick Test
        • If you suspect it's a partition image (not a full disk), here’s a trick:
          • Open it in OSFMount.
          • Mount it as a logical drive with Offset = 0 and file system type = "Auto-detect".
          • If it mounts and shows files, it’s just a partition, not a full disk with an MBR.

Workarounds

Solutions

  • Always use Dynamic/Growable disk image files where possible to keep space used down.
  • Always use MBR/HDD style formatting on your USB drives where possible.
  • Use a HDD/MBR Style USB drive to begin with or make one:
    • Using Rufus, convert the USB drive into bootable USB, with a single FAT32 partition (HDD format), and of course the partiontion will be marked as `Active`.
    • Then use DiskGenius to make it a WinPE.
    • This way ensures the USB drive and any images created from it will work in Starwind P2V as there is a partition table present.
    • This USB drive will is NOT a "Super Floppy".
  • Use the original disk image as is.
    • You can keep the image size down by using a smaller USB drive (Win10 = 1GB, Win11 = 2GB).
  • Use DiskGenius Pro to make a direct VHD/VHDX image from the USB drive
    • This is the same as using Rufus to create the disk image.
    • All disk images created by DiskGenius are of the Fixed size type.
  • Build your own VDH/VDHX image
    • Manually create a VHD/VHDX image on your PC (MBR, Single 2GB FAT32 partition)
    • Mount the VHD/VHDX drive image
    • Set the partition as `Active`.
    • Then manually copy all of the files from the USB drive into the new partition ion the drive image.

 

Other DiskGenius Notes

  • Docs
  • Misc
    • When you mount a drive in Windows either using the GUI or diskpart, the image will be mounted as a physical drive.
    • Windows and OSFMouint will mount an image whether is is a normal HDD style or a "Super Floppy" (FDD) style image.
    • Windows will not fall back to a logical volume emulation if a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) image file is corrupted—even slightly.
    • can 7zip open VHD files?
    • The partition table is not inherently protected—it's just stored in a specific location on the USB drive. While it can’t be easily changed by average users without intent or privilege, it can be accessed, overwritten, or corrupted by software that has sufficient access.
    • All VHDs (and other image formats) created with DiskGenius, are fixed-size containers from the outset, made via sector-level cloning.
    • The `Convert Boot Mode` options have moved here:
      • Disk --> Convert Boot Mode -->
        • Convert To USB-ZIP Bootable Mode
        • Convert To USB-FDD Bootable Mode
        • Convert To HDD mode
    • If a Volume's `File System` type is display in Red
      • This means it is set as the drive's active partition.
      • It should also be accompanied by an `Attribute` of A.
    • When you format a USB disk, windows formats it in "Super "loppy format. These can can be booted by a legacy BIOS, but these are not a bootable hard drive.
    • Making a USB drive "bootable" adds in an MBR which includes a partition table.
    • Windows when loading a USB checks for both a partition table and then if this is not present searches for a partition (Super Floppy) allowing for both types of USB to load in Windows.

 

WinPE - Low Resolution

  • TL;DR = UEFI GOP (Graphics Output Protocol) sets the screen resolution before WinPE when using EFI on my lenovo (resolution seems to be set at 800x600 and cannot be changed)
  • Solution = Boot in legacy mode and then change the resolution in DiskGenius if needed: View --> Set screen resolution (Options: 1920x1080, 1024x768). This was on my Lenovo laptop.
  • Notes
    • Using a different boot loader like Grub which can be used to see what resolutions the GOP provides.
    • My Lenovo on EFI returns a resolution of 800x600 but when I use CSM/Legacy I get 1024x768 and 1920x1080 which I can swap between with the DiskGenius menu in WinPE.
    • For most users on modern UEFI systems — the hard limit is 1024x768.
    • Some people say showing the boot logo helps increase screen resolution (not tested).

My Notes

When trying to change the resolution of my screen when using DiskGenius on my Lenonvo latop.

  • Legacy Boot = allows me to change res in WinPE
  • setres = no
  • qres = 2005, didnt work
  • powershell = no powershell to use
  • unattended.xml = doesn't work
    • Modify the WinPE Image Before Boot (Recommended):
      • This is the most reliable method for setting the desired resolution. You do this by customizing the boot.wim file that makes up your WinPE environment.
      • You can create an unattend.xml file with display settings and place it in the root of your WinPE ISO or USB. This file will be processed during the WinPE startup phase.
      • Here's an example of the unattend.xml snippet for setting resolution: 
        <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <Display>
                <ColorDepth>32</ColorDepth>
                <HorizontalResolution>1920</HorizontalResolution>
                <RefreshRate>60</RefreshRate>
                <VerticalResolution>1080</VerticalResolution>
            </Display>
        </component>
    </settings>
</unattend>
  • bcdedit / graphicsresolution
    • I made sure I was working on the WinPE drive: X: eg:
      X:\bcdedit /store D:\boot\BCD /set {globalsettings} graphicsresolution 1280x1024
    • Works 
      bcdedit /store "d:\boot\BCD" /set {bootmgr} graphicsresolution "800x600"
bcdedit /store "d:\boot\BCD" /set {bootmgr} graphicsresolution "1024x768"
    • Not Working 
      bcdedit /store "d:\boot\BCD" /set {bootmgr} graphicsresolution "1280x768"
bcdedit /store "d:\boot\BCD" /set {bootmgr} graphicsresolution "1280x1024"
    • Reason
      • Most UEFI firmware initializes the screen at 1024x768 or lower.
      • graphicsresolution is backed by the boot graphics adapter using VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE) or UEFI GOP (Graphics Output Protocol).
      • Changing that during early boot (before Windows loads its display drivers) is not officially supported past that limit.
      • For most users on modern UEFI systems — the hard limit is 1024x768.

 

 

Links

  • Standards
    • GOP - OSDev Wiki
      • This is the new standard for UEFI that superseded VESA (BIOS) and UGA (EFI 1.0).
      • It has basically the same functions as VESA, you can query the modes, set the modes.
      • It also provides an efficient BitBlitter function, which you can't use from your OS unfortunately.
      • GOP is an EFI Boot Time Service, meaning you can't access it after you call ExitBootServices(). However, the framebuffer provided by GOP persists, so you can continue to use it for graphics output in your OS.
  • Other Testing
    • WinPE Screen Resolution and DPI scaling on UEFI firmware | mistyprojects.co.uk
      • This article is based on observations on screen resolution and DPI scaling in WinPE.
      • Screen resolution can be changed from a running WinPE booted on BIOS firmware.
      • Changing the screen resolution on UEFI firmware is not so simple. Settings in unnatend.xml appear to be ignored and the screen resolution is fixed. Based on available information screen resolution appears to be set based on Graphics Output Protocal (GOP) mode. Once WinPE is booted, the resolution cannot be changed.
      • Setting the resolution in the BCD 
        bcdedit.exe /set {globalsettings} graphicsresolution 800x600
bcdedit.exe /set {globalsettings} graphicsresolution 1024x600
bcdedit.exe /set {globalsettings} graphicsresolution 1024x768
      • Attempting to use an unsupported resolution (unsupported by bcdedit.exe - not the hardware) resulted in the following output: 
        C:\windows\system32>bcdedit.exe /set {globalsettings} graphicsresolution 1920x1080
The integer data is not valid as specified.
Run "bcdedit /?" for command line assistance.
The parameter is incorrect.
      • The highestmode option is also supported in bcdedit.exe. This option will enable boot applications to use the highest graphical mode detected by the firmware 
        bcdedit.exe /set {globalsettings} highestmode on
      • To find supported resolutions, use the graphicsmode --info command on the GRUB4UEFI commandline.
  • unattend.xml
  • Ventoy
  • Software to change Resolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read 36 times Last modified on Thursday, 24 July 2025 17:55
Published in Applications
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