I'm happy to say that this EFI install of Windows 8 was VERY easy. Although I DID run into a few issues, once these were resolved, everything is great. This is working FLAWLESSLY. Let me start by saying there are a few shortcomings:
1. I had to use an old WinPE image I had laying around.
2. OS X needed to be installed with Internet Recovery. This was due to the mismatch in Build Numbers.
No Iris graphics. I am limited to using the GT750m. If you want battery life boot into OS X.
Here is the process that I needed to perform to install the EFI version:
1. First grab a blank USB drive with at least 1GB free. You need to format it as FAT32, Then extract the contents of the WinPE image I used. I have placed it here:
https://db.tt/wunCjRAY
This is a WinPE image I made a while just to test EFI booting. You cannot harm your Mac.
2. Plug in the USB drive and hold down Option at reboot. The EFI Boot with a USB icon should pop up. Select it and watch Windows load.
3. Once WinPE is up, you will need to change the font if you are on a retina anything. This is easily done in cmd.
4. The key tool here we need to use is diskpart. Run the following command:
> diskpart
> list disk
Your hard drive NEEDS to have the GPT flag set. It doesn't matter much in OS X because it can read the GUID header just fine. However, if the asterisk is not under the GPT label, it must be cleaned and converted before the Windows 8.1 installer is able to install Windows directly. In my case, this was NOT set. Therefore, I ran the following commands to fix this (THIS WILL WIPE ALL DATA):
> diskpart
> select disk 1 (replace the number with the proper drive)
> clean
> convert gpt
> create partition efi size=256
> format fs=fat32 quick label=EFI
> create partition primary size=SIZE (This will be your Mavericks partition.)
It's important to try and get OS X installed on here immediately.
5. Once you have verified GPT flags are set, reboot the MacBook Pro and hold down Command-R to initiate internet recovery mode. I had to do this on my Haswell due to build number mismatches.
6. Install OS X to the partition you created (be sure you left a little room at the end)
7. Once install is complete, boot into OS X and manipulate the disk to your liking. Unlike earlier versions, Disk Utility DOES NOT overwrite changes made with another partition manager. I resized my partitions here.
I HIGHLY suggest creating a 10Gb partition at the end of the SSD and placing all your media there. That will ensure the FASTEST install time. Here is my partition scheme all done in Disk Utility after installation of OS X:
http://i.imgur.com/wLwWaS1.png
8. Download or create an ISO for windows 8. Extract the entire contents to the partition you created at the end (or a USB key if you chose to forego this).
9. Don't forget boot camp drivers. Do not download from the support site. These are outdated. The drivers that were grabbed by my Boot Camp assistant were from October 3rd. I have included them here:
https://db.tt/CZeXfh7P
10. Reboot into the WinPE image.
11. Check diskpart one more time to ensure the GPT asterisk is still set.
12. Plug in the media that contains the Windows 8 ISO contents. Use the following command to determine what location it is currently stored in:
> vol list
13. Type in the letter followed by a colon:
> D:
14. Once in here, run setup.exe. As stated earlier, install time will be GREATLY reduced if you place the install media in a FAT32 partition on the SSD.
15. Wait for the install to finish. Grab a cup of coffee. You deserve it if you made it this far! Lots of people don't get to this point
16. The machine will reboot a few times. ALWAYS make sure to hold down option and boot from Windows. Yes, we finally don't need refind or another boot manager. I am coming from grub.
17. Once the install is finished, you should have an ULTRA FAST Windows 8 setup. Once you get to the desktop, install the drivers. I have attached a screenshot of my device manager showing that most of the issues have been taken care of:
http://i.imgur.com/99QabWa.png
Yes you are missing Iris graphics. So what. I could care less. The keyboard works perfectly with these drivers. Please report back any findings. Apple has REALLY improver their EFI bootloader. I am a bit bummer this was so easy. But it's all good. Enjoy the EFI boot.
EDIT 1: Disk utility unsets the GPT flag. Nothing has changed. Please do all formatting/partioning with either parted or disk part
EDIT 2: I was unable to get this working again. What's the point of this tutorial without being able to reproduce it? I kept getting errors. It is VERY important to disable automatic graphics switching as soon as OS X is installed. This should keep the Nvidia GT750m in use. If the bootcamp drivers give an error that state the drivers are not supported on the platform, the GT750 will never work.
1. RESET PRAM
2. DESELECT AUTOMATIC GRAPHICS SWITCHING!