Secure Boot!!!

[expellite]

Hi! I used Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant to see whether my apps are fully supported or not. But I've found something new! It says that my computer is not compatible with Secure Boot! So the question is : "Do I really need a Secure Boot?" and "What is Secure Boot". It says that I need a firmware ( UEFI 2.6.3 ....... ) in order to use Secure Boot. I updated my BIOS to the latest version ( Win 8 64-bit ) from ASUS website. I ran W8UA again but it says the same thing! What is this firmware.
If my system does not support Secure Boot then I can't install Windows 8? I'm confused!

 

[expellite]

No answers yet? Oh C'mon!

 

[orestesdd]

Hi! I used Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant to see whether my apps are fully supported or not. But I've found something new! It says that my computer is not compatible with Secure Boot! So the question is : "Do I really need a Secure Boot?" and "What is Secure Boot". It says that I need a firmware ( UEFI 2.6.3 ....... ) in order to use Secure Boot. I updated my BIOS to the latest version ( Win 8 64-bit ) from ASUS website. I ran W8UA again but it says the same thing! What is this firmware.
If my system does not support Secure Boot then I can't install Windows 8? I'm confused!

I am on the same boat as you. In fact, I loaded the latest Toshiba Americn Megatrends BIOS on my Toshiba laptop to see if it solve the problem, but the upgrade assistance gavem the same result. I'd like to find out if anyone has an answer to your question; thus, I will keep an eye on this thread. I hope we found an answer. Btw, I ask a similar question in a M$ forum just in case.

 

[expellite]

I am on the same boat as you. In fact, I loaded the latest Toshiba Americn Megatrends BIOS on my Toshiba laptop to see if it solve the problem, but the upgrade assistance gavem the same result. I'd like to find out if anyone has an answer to your question; thus, I will keep an eye on this thread. I hope we found an answer. Btw, I ask a similar question in a M$ forum just in case.

Oh! Thank you! I wish I could solve this! anyway Secure boot is not essential!

 

[randomizer]

Secure boot is not required for Windows 8. In fact if it was, then Microsoft would be shooting itself in the foot by launching with only the upgrade edition on the shelves, because almost no existing computers support it (or UEFI, for that matter).

 

[expellite]

Secure boot is not required for Windows 8. In fact if it was, then Microsoft would be shooting itself in the foot by launching with only the upgrade edition on the shelves, because almost no existing computers support it (or UEFI, for that matter).

Yeah , you're right.

 

[orestesdd]

I hope so. So I will buy the upgrade now that it is cheap, and then wait until Toshiba gets its act together so that when I decide to install the upgrade, I will have most of the software and drives as it was in my original W7 Pro install. Now I just wonder if I should do an upgrade over my W7 Pro 64-bit or a clean install of W8 Pro. Thanks.

 

[randomizer]

You don't have to hope so. I'm running Win 8 and my system has neither UEFI nor Secure Boot support, just like the majority of systems out there

As for whether to upgrade in place or do a clean install, that depends whether or not you want to keep your existing applications/data or not. The upgrade process may or may not work perfectly (sometimes terribly), which is just the nature of this sort of thing. Clean installs are generally more reliable, albeit less convenient.

 

[expellite]

So if it is then I'll upgrade too. I'm currently downloading Windows 8 Pro and I wanna upgrade my 7! so It's ok!!!

 

[orestesdd]

You don't have to hope so. I'm running Win 8 and my system has neither UEFI nor Secure Boot support, just like the majority of systems out there

As for whether to upgrade in place or do a clean install, that depends whether or not you want to keep your existing applications/data or not. The upgrade process may or may not work perfectly (sometimes terribly), which is just the nature of this sort of thing. Clean installs are generally more reliable, albeit less convenient.

Thank you. I will do a clean install even though it is a pain in the neck to reinstall later all the software in my laptop.

 

[expellite]

Thank you. I will do a clean install even though it is a pain in the neck to reinstall later all the software in my laptop.

clean installing is so exhausting!!!!

 

[orestesdd]

clean installing is so exhausting!!!!

I know that, for I need to make a list of all my software to re-install after the clean install, and as I said, "it is a pain in the neck!"

 

[randomizer]

clean installing is so exhausting!!!!

But much better than failing to upgrade correctly, and better still than failing to upgrade and failing to correctly roll back the upgrade (ie. a completely broken system).

 

[orestesdd]

But much better than failing to upgrade correctly, and better still than failing to upgrade and failing to correctly roll back the upgrade (ie. a completely broken system).

I agree!

 

[expellite]

What??? Upgrading can cause such a situation? You mean I should not upgrade?

 

[randomizer]

It's entirely possible. Software is not perfect, and with the vast array of hardware and software configurations around it's impossible for it to work fine in every situation. Plus some systems are pretty messed up already. Performing an OS upgrade that correctly migrates applications (let alone plain old data) is extremely non-trivial. Various Linux distributions have been doing it for years, and it doesn't always work there either even though the differences from one release to another are often much smaller.

What is the chance that it won't work right? I couldn't tell you. Personally I'd make sure I have everything important properly backed up before doing it even if there was only a 0.1% chance of it going south. If your system is relatively well maintained and you don't want the inconvenience of a clean install then I'd still go with the upgrade option (after backing up). If your system is like mine was and barely holding itself together then do yourself a favour and clean install

 

[expellite]

It's entirely possible. Software is not perfect, and with the vast array of hardware and software configurations around it's impossible for it to work fine in every situation. Plus some systems are pretty messed up already. Performing an OS upgrade that correctly migrates applications (let alone plain old data) is extremely non-trivial. Various Linux distributions have been doing it for years, and it doesn't always work there either even though the differences from one release to another are often much smaller.

What is the chance that it won't work right? I couldn't tell you. Personally I'd make sure I have everything important properly backed up before doing it even if there was only a 0.1% chance of it going south. If your system is relatively well maintained and you don't want the inconvenience of a clean install then I'd still go with the upgrade option (after backing up). If your system is like mine was and barely holding itself together then do yourself a favour and clean install

I formatted the drive which was holding 7 and installed a fresh one! Windows 8 is installed and runs well!

 

[orestesdd]

It's entirely possible. Software is not perfect, and with the vast array of hardware and software configurations around it's impossible for it to work fine in every situation. Plus some systems are pretty messed up already. Performing an OS upgrade that correctly migrates applications (let alone plain old data) is extremely non-trivial. Various Linux distributions have been doing it for years, and it doesn't always work there either even though the differences from one release to another are often much smaller.

What is the chance that it won't work right? I couldn't tell you. Personally I'd make sure I have everything important properly backed up before doing it even if there was only a 0.1% chance of it going south. If your system is relatively well maintained and you don't want the inconvenience of a clean install then I'd still go with the upgrade option (after backing up). If your system is like mine was and barely holding itself together then do yourself a favour and clean install

Actually my Toshiba laptop hard drive is partitioned so that one part holds W7 Pro restore software while most of the drive holds the actual installation on my laptop. I probably will keep the partition where I can go back to W7 in case I don't like W8 and install W8 in the same partition where W7 is installed. BTW, I totally agree with your full statement above.

 

[expellite]

seems this topic is useful at least for 2 people!

 

[orestesdd]

seems this topic is useful at least for 2 people!

You are totally correct!

 

[expellite]

I've got a problem! sometimes Windows doesn't enter my profile! After loading it shows a black screen and doesn't show Metro!! why??

 

[silhouttejames]

Hi! I used Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant to see whether my apps are fully supported or not. But I've found something new! It says that my computer is not compatible with Secure Boot! So the question is : "Do I really need a Secure Boot?" and "What is Secure Boot". It says that I need a firmware ( UEFI 2.6.3 ....... ) in order to use Secure Boot. I updated my BIOS to the latest version ( Win 8 64-bit ) from ASUS website. I ran W8UA again but it says the same thing! What is this firmware.
If my system does not support Secure Boot then I can't install Windows 8? I'm confused!

Step 1: Back up your current system

This is always a good practice when you are tweaking an operating system. The risk of losing data is usually pretty low, but you don’t want files to disappear the one and only time you didn’t back up. Make sure you save a copy of your entire hard drive in addition to your regular backups. (You are backing up your files, right?)
Step 2: Create a new partition on your hard drive

You’ll need to set aside a separate chunk of your hard drive to house the new OS and everything you’ll run on it. Windows 8 on its own will take about 20GB of space, but you’ll also need room for all your programs and files, so you may want to allot as much space as you can take from your existing hard drive.

From the Start menu, right-click on the “Computer” option. Select “Manage” from the drop-down menu, then double-click on “Disk Management.”

The top of the Disk Management window displays a list of any existing partitions in your hard drive. Right-click on the entry for your main hard drive, which is C: for most machines, and select “Shrink volume.” Minimize the hard drive until you have the desired amount of free space. Once you have made the room for Windows 8, click the empty block and select “New Simple Volume.” This will launch a wizard to walk you through the final steps.

You won’t have to change anything until you reach the “Format Partition” window. The settings you will need for formatting are NTFS for File System and the default for Allocation Unit Size. Be sure to give the new partition a name under “Volume label.” Titling it “Windows 8″ will ensure that you can find it in the next step. After you’ve named the new space in the hard drive, click “Next” and your computer will complete the formatting.
Step 3: Obtain your copy of Windows 8

Depending on how you want to purchase the new OS, you can install it either by DVD or by USB drive. If you purchase a copy in your friendly local computer store, you’ll be using the DVD and DVD drive approach in the next step. If you prefer to download it directly from Microsoft, put the files on a large thumb drive and use the USB approach in the next step.
Step 4: Install Windows 8 in the new partition

This is the most complicated step. Depending on your computer’s settings, you may need to change your computer’s BIOS settings so that it will boot from the drive with Windows 8 installation files on it. To do that, restart your computer and mash a hot key as the machine wakes up; the “Delete” key will accomplish this on most PCs. Go to the boot menu and switch the settings so that the first choice for booting up is the DVD or USB drive, depending on where you’ve stored your Windows 8 files, instead of the hard drive. Then go ahead and start up your computer.

You’ll first have to accept the installer’s software license, and the next screen will ask which type of installation you want. Choose the Custom option, then select your newly created hard drive partition, the one you probably named “Windows 8,” for its location. The installer will probably take about 20 minutes to complete the task.
Step 5: Enjoy playing with your new OS

You’ll now see a screen asking which operating system you want to use when you boot up your computer. It will default to launching Windows 8 if you don’t make a selection within 30 seconds, but you can change that setting under the “Change defaults” link on the launch page.

 

[expellite]

Step 1: Back up your current system

This is always a good practice when you are tweaking an operating system. The risk of losing data is usually pretty low, but you don’t want files to disappear the one and only time you didn’t back up. Make sure you save a copy of your entire hard drive in addition to your regular backups. (You are backing up your files, right?)
Step 2: Create a new partition on your hard drive

You’ll need to set aside a separate chunk of your hard drive to house the new OS and everything you’ll run on it. Windows 8 on its own will take about 20GB of space, but you’ll also need room for all your programs and files, so you may want to allot as much space as you can take from your existing hard drive.

From the Start menu, right-click on the “Computer” option. Select “Manage” from the drop-down menu, then double-click on “Disk Management.”

The top of the Disk Management window displays a list of any existing partitions in your hard drive. Right-click on the entry for your main hard drive, which is C: for most machines, and select “Shrink volume.” Minimize the hard drive until you have the desired amount of free space. Once you have made the room for Windows 8, click the empty block and select “New Simple Volume.” This will launch a wizard to walk you through the final steps.

You won’t have to change anything until you reach the “Format Partition” window. The settings you will need for formatting are NTFS for File System and the default for Allocation Unit Size. Be sure to give the new partition a name under “Volume label.” Titling it “Windows 8″ will ensure that you can find it in the next step. After you’ve named the new space in the hard drive, click “Next” and your computer will complete the formatting.
Step 3: Obtain your copy of Windows 8

Depending on how you want to purchase the new OS, you can install it either by DVD or by USB drive. If you purchase a copy in your friendly local computer store, you’ll be using the DVD and DVD drive approach in the next step. If you prefer to download it directly from Microsoft, put the files on a large thumb drive and use the USB approach in the next step.
Step 4: Install Windows 8 in the new partition

This is the most complicated step. Depending on your computer’s settings, you may need to change your computer’s BIOS settings so that it will boot from the drive with Windows 8 installation files on it. To do that, restart your computer and mash a hot key as the machine wakes up; the “Delete” key will accomplish this on most PCs. Go to the boot menu and switch the settings so that the first choice for booting up is the DVD or USB drive, depending on where you’ve stored your Windows 8 files, instead of the hard drive. Then go ahead and start up your computer.

You’ll first have to accept the installer’s software license, and the next screen will ask which type of installation you want. Choose the Custom option, then select your newly created hard drive partition, the one you probably named “Windows 8,” for its location. The installer will probably take about 20 minutes to complete the task.
Step 5: Enjoy playing with your new OS

You’ll now see a screen asking which operating system you want to use when you boot up your computer. It will default to launching Windows 8 if you don’t make a selection within 30 seconds, but you can change that setting under the “Change defaults” link on the launch page.

Thanks!!! I forgot to select the best answer! This problem is solved!

 

[expellite]

Best answer selected by expellite.