Booting to NVMe ON Z820 HP AND Z600

[Buffalo_Rider]

I  have a z620.  (Not z600).

[Buffalo_Rider]

Here is where your link goes to: http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/

Once I got to that webpage, that is where I looked for the REFIND code.  So as best I can tell, I used the link you provided.  But independent of that, I have not plugged the REFIND USB Drive into the computer yet, so it (at this point) has no role in where things are presently at.

I suspect I need to redo my Win10 USB Drive and put Windows 10 on it with RUFUS.  I used the Microsoft Tool to create the Win10 USB Drive and it did not ask about nor give an option to create a UEFI version.  I assumed it was built in.  But perhaps it is not.  RUFUS explicitly calls it out.  So  I think I will try this next.

[Buffalo_Rider]

D GROVES: now,......................................... what does the below mean?

if you remove the win 10 install usb key, and boot the system does refind+duet load and show the loader screen?  Me: I did not plug in the REFIND USB Drive yet.  Per campdublanc's instruction list, I did not get to the point in the installation, far enough into the installation, where I was supposed to remove the Win10 USB Drive' and replace it with the REFIND USB Drive.  Would you suggest I try this?

* * * * * * * *

What it means is I got into the Windows 10 installation, files were being written to my NVMe card, and then my z620 went off into RECOVERY rather than to the place that, per campdublanc's instruction list, I should remove the Win10 USB Drive and replace it with the REFIND USB Drive.   So I did not do the USB swap (yet).  I could try plugging in the REFIND USB Drive regardless, power up my z620 and see what happens.

[DGroves]

sorry your header said z600 in it

the refind usb key MUST BE INSTALLED once you install the nvme drive and the system must be configured to boot from that key....... NO KEY = NO WIN 10 INSTALL or BOOT

[DGroves]

i'm not understanding you,...................again the refind USB key must always be inserted and the system must boot from that usb key........... doesn't matter if doing a win install or booting a installed win 10 the refind key must be installed and you need to see the refind boot screen on startup if not then you will be unable to install win 10 or boot from a installed win 10 using a nvme drive

[Buffalo_Rider]

DGroves - yu da man !

campdublanc - yu da man tu !

Got it !

I am now running my z620 from Windows 10 on my 970 EVO Plus.  Yay !

[Buffalo_Rider]

I have powered up my z620 and restarted a couple times now and everything seems to be working well. 

I took careful notes along the way.  Some things were a little different than what campdublanc had in his notes.  (I assume campdublanc is a him; no offense intended if it is a her).  I will think about how best to post my notes so others can do this on their z620 - my notes have quite a bit more content, i.e., are longer, than those of campdublanc.  

Greatly appreciate the help on this community forum. Would not have been able to do this w/o the help and notes of DGroves and campdublanc.

[SDH]

Please do post your notes..... you've gone through the process in detail, and the tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Campdublanc]

Good to read you got it working! I'm a dude indeed lol..

A tip, when you open the refind.conf file on the USB drive and set timeout at -1

The boot process will not show the refind boot options menu and will continu straight on with the Windows boot.

Saves you a couple of seconds when booting up!

Would love to read your notes 😃

[DGroves]

Buffalo_Rider,

Glad to hear you got it working, i'm not that good at writing a detailed "how to" guide which is why i asked campdublanc to modify my postings to him where he felt i was unclear and repost it.

Any updates you can make to the install directions will help others and will be appreciated 

one last tip, sometimes when doing a MS update and restarting you might get stuck at the REFIND boot options screen, if so simply clicking on the left icon that is the four blue squares the boot will resume normally 

setting the boot time to -1 may prevent this, but i don't really use my z systems on a day to day usage anymore so reboots are infrequent