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How To Enable (UEFI)/Secure Boot On G75VW (BIOS 221)?

Enigma
Level 9
Ok, my situation is that i have wiped my HDD, including the recovery partition, and installed Win8 x64 and Win Server 2012 x64. It initially came installed with Win7 x64 when i bought it a few months ago. I have always assumed that these 2 OSes will always have UEFI/secure boot enabled, unless the machine in question doesnt support it. I ask because I am attempting to install Ubuntu 12.10 x64 alongside these 2 OSes, but when i boot from my Live usb, i get a message that says "Secure boot not enabled", it then proceeds to the install screen. I'm currently discussing this on the Ubuntu forums but feel that this is also an ASUS issue particular to the G75VW as well, so that's why i'm also posting here.

I would like to have it enabled for all OSes and my BIOS revision is the latest 221. I dont see an option in the BIOS to enable/disable it. But i'm sure that the G75VW supports it.

I have tried issuing a few commands in Linux via the command line, as well as running a utility called GParted (on linux), and it seems that it is not enabled.

I have also tried booting all 3 of my install USBs in UEFI mode when pressing Escape after powering on, but the option only appears for the Ubuntu usb and not for the 8/Server USBs.

So my question is, is it possible to enable it, and how?

Thanks!
"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.....and ideas are bulletproof".
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6 REPLIES 6

rewben
Level 13
from i've learned, these bios options might be available for machines that come with w8 preloaded only (you might wanna read that thread, too). i could be wrong.

rewben, thanks for the reply. i skimmed that thread earlier but didnt read it thoroughly. i bought this laptopm a few months ago and it had 7 preloaded on it. i have tried rolling back to BIOS revisions 207 and 210 but recieved and error stating they were too old. i did this thinking that it might restore some kind of UEFI option in the BIOS.

However, CompUSA, the store i bought this from, is still selling my exact model of laptop in their stores even a few months later. but they are proloaded with 8. perhaps i will make a trip to them again tomorrow just to check the BIOSes and see what it says. the point i'm also getting at is, if both my PC and the same ones sold in the stores are exactly the same hardware-wise, then there should be a way to enable/disable it somehow. the only difference is the OS, and i know 8 supports it. dont know much about UEFI but that much i am certain of.

Are there any plans to build it in, maybe via a BIOS update or something? or is it even possible (i assume it is, especially on a laptop this recently released).

Would also be nice to see a reply from a mod or admin or even an ASUS employee.

For right now though I'm going to go post in the thread you linked.

Thanks for the response!

EDIT: also just finished installing ubuntu with the UEFI option enabled when pressingn Escape, but after it finished it asked me to reboot. but instead of taking me to its' default GRUB boot loader menu, i instead receive the 8 loader menu, with only the options to boot 8 and Server. it is as if the PC believes Ubuntu doesnt even exist on the HDD, even though i got it working earlier today but i didnt use the UEFI flag when booting into the USB. However, when running the Disk Management utility (Windows) both of the linux partitions are clearly present. other than that, no issues anywhere else.
"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.....and ideas are bulletproof".

rewben
Level 13
yes, it's the bios that comes with the machines, which was not published on the ASUS website. however, i don't know how they have managed to preserve the part for secureboot thing, as you can upgrade it to 221 (which i think you have checked your bios and there was nothing new :/)

did you do UEFI installs for your w8? (meaning you have converted the disk to GPT before installation?)

I'm not sure what you mean when you ask if I did a UEFI install for 8. the option was never presented, I simply assumed it would do so on its' own. and I have no idea what you mean when you ask if I converted to GPT. however, during one of my previous 8 installs, I did receive a message at the partitioning menu that one of my partitions was GPT, if that's any help. I upgraded to 221 a few weeks ago, I recently noticed that the UEFI option is missing, but I clearly remember it being present in the BIOS before.

it also appears that you're wrong about the option not being available on machines that were originally preloaded with 7. what I did try to do is flash backwards from 221 to 207 (the earliest available on ASUS support site) with WinFlash, using the /nodate parameter to bypass the message about the revisions being too old. it successfully downgraded to 207 and when I rebooted I noticed that the UEFI option was present again. and then I upgraded from 207 to 210, UEFI option still present. but when upgrading from 210 to 221, it disappeared. so it appears that ASUS removed it from 221. but do I really have to run an older BIOS revision to retain UEFI?

my next idea is to downgrade to 210, making sure that the UEFI option is enabled, then install 8 and Server, and then Ubuntu, while checkin to be sure I don't get the "secure boot is disabled" message. i'm thinking that maybe UEFI wonjt disappear from the BIOS when upgrading from 210 to 221 if an OS is already present that depends on it, since that would be the equivalent of sabotage and presumably could cause all of the OSes to not boot. so i'll test that next.
"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.....and ideas are bulletproof".

Enigma wrote:
I'm not sure what you mean when you ask if I did a UEFI install for 8. the option was never presented, I simply assumed it would do so on its' own. and I have no idea what you mean when you ask if I converted to GPT. however, during one of my previous 8 installs, I did receive a message at the partitioning menu that one of my partitions was GPT, if that's any help. I upgraded to 221 a few weeks ago, I recently noticed that the UEFI option is missing, but I clearly remember it being present in the BIOS before.


nevermind 🙂 just wanna be sure that you had all the parameters right so that you actually installed your OS's in UEFI mode, not BIOS mode.

in order to use SecureBoot, you need an OS that is installed in UEFI mode. in order for OS to be installed in UEFI mode, you need a GPT disk.


it also appears that you're wrong about the option not being available on machines that were originally preloaded with 7. what I did try to do is flash backwards from 221 to 207 (the earliest available on ASUS support site) with WinFlash, using the /nodate parameter to bypass the message about the revisions being too old. it successfully downgraded to 207 and when I rebooted I noticed that the UEFI option was present again. and then I upgraded from 207 to 210, UEFI option still present. but when upgrading from 210 to 221, it disappeared. so it appears that ASUS removed it from 221. but do I really have to run an older BIOS revision to retain UEFI?


ah that.. actually i meant the new bios options, SecureBoot Control and Launch CSM, not UEFI. i am not sure if these new options are present in bios 221.


my next idea is to downgrade to 210, making sure that the UEFI option is enabled, then install 8 and Server, and then Ubuntu, while checkin to be sure I don't get the "secure boot is disabled" message. i'm thinking that maybe UEFI wonjt disappear from the BIOS when upgrading from 210 to 221 if an OS is already present that depends on it, since that would be the equivalent of sabotage and presumably could cause all of the OSes to not boot. so i'll test that next.


i wish there is a good documentation about the features and changes that they have made in the bios lol!

actually for us g55 owners, there is no UEFI option in the bios. it's kind of a hidden option, but it's there all the times. when the bios detects the presence of UEFI-capable devices (e.g. OS installers, disk cloning bootables), it will let us choose to use it or not.

Enigma
Level 9
I've decided that i wont be using UEFI for any of my OSes, at least not yet, since i use TrueCrypt whole-drive system encryption and it's currently not compatible with UEFI. Their website states that it will be compatible in the next version, but gives no indication of when that will be available. TC is a must-have for me. Not only that, but on the Ubuntu forums it states that UEFI can cause problems booting Ubuntu, or outright failure. Their latest version supports it, but it's only experimental. I'm also not sure if it would be compatible with programs like Sandboxie, which currently is compatible with 8 but uses an self-signed driver, driver signature enforcement must be disabled for it to work, and i do know that UEFI only allows the loading of drivers with a digital signature. so for now i will continue to use BIOS 221. i do know that UEFI has some advantages over BIOS/legacy boot, but right now it's not significant enough for me to consider switching.

in order to use SecureBoot, you need an OS that is installed in UEFI mode. in order for OS to be installed in UEFI mode, you need a GPT disk.


I think what you meam is that i need a hdd that is compatible with GPT? As new as the G75VW is, i'm sure that isnt an issue.

ah that.. actually i meant the new bios options, SecureBoot Control and Launch CSM, not UEFI. i am not sure if these new options are present in bios 221.


No, they arent present in 221, and i dont remember seeing them in previous revisions either. Maybe they were, but i didnt notice it. but why would ASUS disable UEFI support or remove the option altogether in 221?

actually for us g55 owners, there is no UEFI option in the bios. it's kind of a hidden option, but it's there all the times. when the bios detects the presence of UEFI-capable devices (e.g. OS installers, disk cloning bootables), it will let us choose to use it or not.


The G75VW also detects the presence of UEFI-capable devices, specifically when pressing Escape to access the list of bootable devices. like for example, my Ubuntu USB will have 2 options, one with UEFI in its' name, and the other without. i also get the option when using my 8 upgrade DVD (but not USB).

Is there any reason(s) why i should/shouldnt consider using UEFI in the future?

Thanks!
"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.....and ideas are bulletproof".