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Linux can now run on UEFI Windows 8 PCs
- Selfcommit 14y agohurrah Linux? New Distro?
- dhimes 14y agoWell, I have to give props to Microsoft for helping out. I was pretty skeptical, but unless I'm being duped here it looks like they did a good thing. Does anybody know the problem with the ARM technology? Or is it a licensing issue?
- lucian1900 14y agoMicrosoft is unwilling to provide the same for ARM. They want it to be much like iOS, under their full control.
- richij 14y ago...and the FTC Consent Decree doesn't cover Windows RT, according to Microsoft's general counsel
- jebblue 14y agoAll I had to do was turn all the secure boot crap off in UEFI, delete all the Windows 8 partitions and then install regular Ubuntu.
- etherealG 14y agothe point isn't to get it to work without secure boot enabled, it's to have the benefits of secure boot as well as your own choice of OS. there's no reason to have to compromise on security now like you did.
- windsurfer 14y agoIf someone can just turn off secure boot, how does secure boot increase security? Isn't the whole point of it that you can't boot a compromised machine?
- etherealG 14y agonope, the point is that the machine won't boot a compromised OS without the user knowing. the scenario is that the bootloader is compromised by some process other than the user turning it off. we're not trying to protect computers from the people that own them. security isn't about stopping people from having full control of their devices, it's about stopping processes from having control that the owners don't allow.
- jebblue 14y ago>> it's about stopping processes from having control that the owners don't allow That's why I run Linux in the first place.
- recoiledsnake 14y agoTo be certified for Windows 8, the device needs to support UEFI secure boot and allow a _physically present user_ to turn it off(typically in order to boot other OSes). It does reduce security a bit, but enhances user freedom a lot.
- drucken 14y agoDoes Windows 8 not run on UEFI systems without Secure Boot enabled? Or is this fix just due to pre-installed OEM Windows 8 configurations with Secure Boot enabled?
- richij 14y agoSadly, some OEMs do not permit it to be disabled.
- recoiledsnake 14y agoWhich OEMs? Reference? Or are you regurgitating hearsay FUD from Reddit comments and SJVN?
- hollerith 14y agoI know what Reddit comments are, but what is SJVN? (Not disagreeing with your comment.)
- cooldeal 14y agoI guess that would be Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols of ZDNet. I remember him saying he wouldn't bet one nickel that the Surface Pro would come with a unlockable bootloader. He should've bet a million, he would've won!
- jmj42 14y agoI believe the Windows 8 certification _requires_ that the user be able to disable secure boot on x86.
- cooldeal 14y agoYes, but some OEMs may ship machines without Windows 8 certification, and Microsoft cannot do anything about them shipping with no way to turn Secure Boot off, an ironic consequence of the DoJ lawsuit against them. Thus, the OEMs need to be named and shamed. However I am not holding my breath for richij (who also appears to be the article author) to name the OEMs.
- kclay 14y agoI just installed Ubuntu 12.10 on a pre-loaded windows laptop and it works just fine with UEFI/Secure Boot enabled. I just could't boot from CD but a LiveUSB install worked just fine with UEFI/Secure Boot enabled.
- g8oz 14y agoThats because Canonical paid the extortion fee for that privilege on your behalf.