ElectricRider wrote:Edit: tried with Unetbootin.. UEFI boot doesn't see the USB. i was using a USB to save the few dvds I have but I will try a dvd anyway.. I think i read that UEFI should be able to read from dvd/cd at boot. Although on my machine, i cannot enable UEFI without secure boot. Secure Boot must stays enabled anytime UEFI is enabled.
There almost certainly
is a way to enable UEFI-booting without Secure Boot. Microsoft requires that users
must be able to disable Secure Boot on x86 and x86-64 computers that bear the Windows 8 logo. It's been a while since I've read the exact wording of the requirement, but I'm about 90% sure that Microsoft's certification requirements are written in such a way that switching between UEFI with Secure Boot anb a BIOS-mode boot are
not sufficient. Even if they were, any computer configured like that wouldn't satisfy my own standards for quality. Personally, I'd return such a computer on principle. I suspect that's not the case, though; there's almost certainly a firmware setting you're overlooking, or maybe you need to activate (and deactivate) a certain combination of settings to get the result you want. One of the problems with Secure Boot is that manufacturers are free to slap whatever user interfaces they like on it, so it's hard to advise people about how to find the options that achieve certain desired goals, such as disabling Secure Boot.
If you really can't boot in UEFI mode with Secure Boot disabled, then you have three choices:
- Return the computer as a piece of junk, demand a refund, and buy something else in its place. This is what I recommend if you really can't boot in UEFI mode without Secure Boot.
- Install Mint in BIOS mode and then, from that mode and/or from Windows, install and configure an EFI-mode boot loader for Linux that also supports Secure Boot. You can then switch to UEFI-mode/Secure Boot booting and dual-boot Windows and Mint. This is possible, but it's harder than any other path.
- Wipe the hard disk, set the firmware to legacy/BIOS mode, install Windows in legacy/BIOS mode, and install Mint in legacy/BIOS mode. This will require that you have a retail copy of Windows, although you should be able to use the Windows serial number that came with the computer if it's the same version of Windows (not just Windows 8, but whatever edition it is). This is easier than the previous option, but still a lot of hassle.
viking777 wrote:Maybe there is a misunderstanding of terminology here, but what exactly do you mean by "installer booted in EFI mode"? Do you mean the live DVD/Usb? Because to me the installer is the program that you start from within the live DVD not something that you boot from.
In that context, I was referring to the installation OS, not just the installation program.
viking777 wrote:Second part of that question, I have just booted 8 different live dvd's - all bang up to date. Not one of them had the directory /sys/firmware/efi anywhere to be seen. You might say then that I have booted in bios (legacy) mode, but that is impossible because the machine I run has no legacy mode available to it.
I just booted a Mint 14.1 DVD under VirtualBox in EFI mode, and it
does have a /sys/firmware/efi directory. This directory won't appear if the efivars kernel driver isn't available, but it seems to be built into the kernel on the Mint 14.1 DVD I tried. Still, you could try "sudo modprobe efivars" and check again just to be sure. You can also try "dmesg | grep -i EFI". On a recently-booted Linux system booted in EFI mode, this will produce copious output, as in:
Code: Select all
$ dmesg | grep -i EFI
[ 0.000000] efi: EFI v2.10 by VBOX 64
[ 0.000000] efi: efi: ACPI=0x3f9ba000 efi: ACPI 2.0=0x3f9ba014 efi: SMBIOS=0x3f9bd000 efi: MPS=0x3f9bc000 efi:
[ 0.000000] efi: mem00: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x0000000000000000-0x00000000000a0000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem01: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x0000000000100000-0x0000000000107000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem02: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x0000000000107000-0x0000000001000000) (14MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem03: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x0000000001000000-0x0000000001fcd000) (15MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem04: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x0000000001fcd000-0x000000001f000000) (464MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem05: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000001f000000-0x000000001f00e000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem06: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000001f00e000-0x000000003bb63000) (459MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem07: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003bb63000-0x000000003cc26000) (16MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem08: type=1, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003cc26000-0x000000003d0d6000) (4MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem09: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003d0d6000-0x000000003d586000) (4MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem10: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003d586000-0x000000003da78000) (4MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem11: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003da78000-0x000000003e04d000) (5MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem12: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e04d000-0x000000003e0ad000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem13: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e0ad000-0x000000003e0b5000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem14: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e0b5000-0x000000003e11b000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem15: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e11b000-0x000000003e11c000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem16: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e11c000-0x000000003e120000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem17: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e120000-0x000000003e135000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem18: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e135000-0x000000003e151000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem19: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e151000-0x000000003e160000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem20: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e160000-0x000000003e16e000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem21: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e16e000-0x000000003e1a6000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem22: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e1a6000-0x000000003e1b5000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem23: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e1b5000-0x000000003e1eb000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem24: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e1eb000-0x000000003e1ec000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem25: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e1ec000-0x000000003e228000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem26: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e228000-0x000000003e22a000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem27: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e22a000-0x000000003e25b000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem28: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e25b000-0x000000003e25e000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem29: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e25e000-0x000000003e270000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem30: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e270000-0x000000003e278000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem31: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e278000-0x000000003e28a000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem32: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e28a000-0x000000003e28f000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem33: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e28f000-0x000000003e2a4000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem34: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2a4000-0x000000003e2aa000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem35: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2aa000-0x000000003e2ab000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem36: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2ab000-0x000000003e2b0000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem37: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2b0000-0x000000003e2c2000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem38: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2c2000-0x000000003e2c7000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem39: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2c7000-0x000000003e2c8000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem40: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2c8000-0x000000003e2c9000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem41: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2c9000-0x000000003e2e1000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem42: type=1, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e2e1000-0x000000003e315000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem43: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e315000-0x000000003e316000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem44: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e316000-0x000000003e32a000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem45: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e32a000-0x000000003e32b000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem46: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e32b000-0x000000003e32d000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem47: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e32d000-0x000000003e32e000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem48: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e32e000-0x000000003e332000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem49: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e332000-0x000000003e335000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem50: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e335000-0x000000003e336000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem51: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e336000-0x000000003e338000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem52: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e338000-0x000000003e341000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem53: type=2, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e341000-0x000000003e344000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem54: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e344000-0x000000003e7e7000) (4MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem55: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e7e7000-0x000000003e951000) (1MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem56: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e951000-0x000000003e952000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem57: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e952000-0x000000003e9d3000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem58: type=5, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003e9d3000-0x000000003e9f6000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem59: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003e9f6000-0x000000003ea20000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem60: type=5, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003ea20000-0x000000003ea35000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem61: type=0, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003ea35000-0x000000003ea36000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem62: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003ea36000-0x000000003eed3000) (4MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem63: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003eed3000-0x000000003eede000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem64: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003eede000-0x000000003f83f000) (9MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem65: type=7, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f83f000-0x000000003f843000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem66: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f843000-0x000000003f8be000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem67: type=5, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003f8be000-0x000000003f8cc000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem68: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f8cc000-0x000000003f913000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem69: type=5, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003f913000-0x000000003f922000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem70: type=3, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f922000-0x000000003f92f000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem71: type=5, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003f92f000-0x000000003f933000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem72: type=5, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003f933000-0x000000003f94f000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem73: type=6, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003f94f000-0x000000003f985000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem74: type=6, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003f985000-0x000000003f99f000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem75: type=9, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f99f000-0x000000003f9b5000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem76: type=9, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f9b5000-0x000000003f9bb000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem77: type=10, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f9bb000-0x000000003f9bc000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem78: type=10, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f9bc000-0x000000003f9bf000) (0MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem79: type=4, attr=0xf, range=[0x000000003f9bf000-0x000000003fee0000) (5MB)
[ 0.000000] efi: mem80: type=6, attr=0x800000000000000f, range=[0x000000003fee0000-0x000000003ff00000) (0MB)
[ 0.388221] efifb: probing for efifb
[ 0.389496] efifb: framebuffer at 0x80000000, mapped to 0xffffc90000500000, using 10128k, total 2113535k
[ 0.389500] efifb: mode is 1440x900x32, linelength=5760, pages=1
[ 0.389500] efifb: scrolling: redraw
[ 0.389502] efifb: Truecolor: size=8:8:8:8, shift=24:16:8:0
[ 0.404001] fb0: EFI VGA frame buffer device
[ 0.458138] EFI Variables Facility v0.08 2004-May-17
This output might be missing on a system that's been up for a while, though, since the kernel ring buffer that the dmesg command reports is limited in size, so early entries get lost as new kernel messages accumulate.
If you boot in BIOS mode, there will be few or no EFI references in the dmesg output.
Overall, though, my suspicion is that you
have booted in BIOS/legacy mode, despite your belief that your computer lacks this mode. I'm unaware of any current x86-64 computer that uses UEFI but that lacks BIOS/legacy support. Such computers
can be made, but as I wrote earlier, they're extremely rare to non-existent. If you really think you've got such a beast, I'd be interested to know what it is (make and model).
Blue_bullet, I recommend you create a new thread for your problem, since trying to resolve two peoples' problems in one thread gets very confusing very quickly.
ElectricRider wrote:If I wrote an OS from scratch, I'd have to pay MS for that if i wanted to dual boot it with Win 8.
No, you wouldn't, although you could. At least three other possibilities exist:
- You could disable Secure Boot on the computer.
- You could use one of the signed shim 0.2 binaries (at least two are available, from Fedora and Matthew Garrett) and set it up so that they launch your own boot loader instead of GRUB. (Alternatively, you could use GRUB as your boot loader.) You'd then sign your boot loader and/or kernel with your own key and add that key as a MOK.
- You could reconfigure the computer's Secure Boot settings so that the system uses your keys instead of or in addition to Microsoft's. If you used your key instead of (rather than in addition to) Microsoft's key, you'd then need to sign Microsoft's boot loader with your key.