Disabling secure boot / installing PopOS

[nicrod]

I've just taken delivery of my new PC.

I have two SSD drives, one contains the pre-installed Windows 10 Home and the other is empty.
I have a flash drive with the linux PopOS installer on and want to install PopOS on the other SSD drive. I want to be able to choose which OS I boot in.

I've tried installing PopOS but it won't install because Secure Boot is enabled and I need to disable it.

I'm new to PCs (having been a Mac user for years) so I don't know what Secure Boot is or how to disable it. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Here's a link to the configurator so you can see what equipment I have:

PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Many thanks

 

[SpyderTracks]

I've just taken delivery of my new PC.

I have two SSD drives, one contains the pre-installed Windows 10 Home and the other is empty.
I have a flash drive with the linux PopOS installer on and want to install PopOS on the other SSD drive. I want to be able to choose which OS I boot in.

I've tried installing PopOS but it won't install because Secure Boot is enabled and I need to disable it.

I'm new to PCs (having been a Mac user for years) so I don't know what Secure Boot is or how to disable it. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Here's a link to the configurator so you can see what equipment I have:

PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Many thanks

The configurator will just take us to what we’ve previously specced, can you post the specs from your order page?

 

[nicrod]

Here's the spec from the order page:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 465X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[SpyderTracks]

Here's the spec from the order page:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 465X RGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

You need to boot into the BIOS and in there you should have the option to disable secure boot, it's usually F2 or Del on startup, or you can access it through windows:

https://store.hp.com/us/en/tech-takes/how-to-enter-bios-setup-windows-pcs

It's also sometimes called UEFI boot.

 

[nicrod]

Thanks. I’ve found the secure boot settings screen but it doesn’t appear to let me disable it - you can see in the photo that the first two options are greyed out and not changeable. I’m assuming I should be able to change User to Off or something?

 

[nicrod]

 

[Stephen M]

I have never had a problem with secure boot and Linux, although rarely used PopOS. It would be interesting to see if it will allow you to install any other distros.

Perhaps try Ubuntu and Manjaro, a Debian and Arch based. If neither of those work it could mean it is more than a secure boot issue.

I will give this further thought but another thing to try is to see if removing the Windows drive allows you to install. Windows should not interfere with things but there have been issues in the past and if the W10 drive is out you are installing on a totally clean machine.

 

[nicrod]

I've successfully installed Ubuntu (which can be installed with secure boot enabled because it's signed), but the Nvidia graphics card drivers are unsigned and thus I have to use generic drivers instead of the proper Nvidia ones.

I think all this boils down to just needing to know how to disable Secure Boot. I've emailed PCS support so hopefully will get an answer soon, which I will share with the forum too.

I didn't try disconnecting the Windows HD as I don't want to do anything that might void the warranty, so will wait for PCS support advice for next steps. Thanks for your help so far.

 

[Stephen M]

PCS have an open case policy so it is ok to work on the machine as long as you are careful.

Interesting about the drivers, although I have not been using the Nvidia ones lately as there have been problems and the Nouveau drivers are fine.