Getting Past Secure Boot

torema

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I dug out an old HP Pavilion dv9000 laptop and want to make it a dedicated Linux machine. It has Vista installed on it. The bios and bios setup are Phoenix. It apparently has secure boot enabled but there is no such option in the bios setup utility. The utility has only a Main, Security, System Configuration, Diagnostics and Exit tabs. Main, of course, is just a list of the system components. Security allows the setting of an Administrator password and/or a Power-on password. System Configuration allows the selection of a language, turning the sound on or off for button presses and the setting of boot options. By setting of boot options, I mean, it allows you to change the F10 wait time, to enable or disable the CD-ROM boot, the Floppy boot or the network boot. In addition it allows you to change the boot order. Diagnostics offers a hard drive diagnostic and Exit allows you to, well, uh, exit. There is no Advanced tab and absolutely no place to enable/disable secure boot. I moved the CD-ROM to the top of the boot order and the hard drive to the bottom. This laptop will ONLY boot up to Windows.

I have started researching ways to "wipe" the laptop but if secure boot is enabled in the bios I may end up with a laptop that can only boot Vista, which is useless.
 


It apparently has secure boot enabled but there is no such option in the bios setup utility.
What makes you think it has a secure boot then?

How did you burn your CD? If it is not correct it will simply move on to the Hard Drive.

a) Does the CD Boot in any other computer?
b) How many files do you have on the CD? A few? Or hundreds?
 
Have a read and read as many times as needed.


Linux Mint documentation.





 
To pile on arochester's guidance, did your verify the downloaded .iso file? Or did you burn your own CD, or is this a CD you got from someone or somewhere else?
 
What makes you think it has a secure boot then?

How did you burn your CD? If it is not correct it will simply move on to the Hard Drive.

a) Does the CD Boot in any other computer?
b) How many files do you have on the CD? A few? Or hundreds?
a) I don't have another computer to try it on but I'll find one. Great thought.
b) CD has debian-10.3.0.amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
 
To pile on arochester's guidance, did your verify the downloaded .iso file? Or did you burn your own CD, or is this a CD you got from someone or somewhere else?
I did verify the download and I did burn the CD on a Windows 10 workstation.
 
Have a read and read as many times as needed.


Linux Mint documentation.





I'll consider Mint. I was loading Debian because I use Kali on a different PC for hacking. I thought Debian would be a semi, pseudo, quasi similar distro for general desktop use.
 
It has Vista installed on it. The bios and bios setup are Phoenix. It apparently has secure boot enabled but there is no such option in the bios setup utility
According to the HP Support documents they did not start shipping machines Secure Boot until Windows 8. A BIOS update was available for Win 7 machines but there is no mention of 'Vista".
 
I did burn the CD on a Windows 10 workstation.

A common error is to simply copy the ISO onto a CD. People must "burn" a CD. That is a special operation to create a Linux Bootable disk.

That is part of why I ask, how many files are on the CD?
 
What tool did you use on Windows 10 to burn the .iso file to the USB device?
 
According to the HP Support documents they did not start shipping machines Secure Boot until Windows 8. A BIOS update was available for Win 7 machines but there is no mention of 'Vista".
Well, that is what I thought as well. I spent 40 years at DEC/Compaq/HP but I worked in the Unix Engineering area with large servers so I'm really not as comfortable with PCs as I should be.
 
What tool did you use on Windows 10 to burn the .iso file to the USB device?
I want to thank you all for forcing me out of my tunnel vision. I was looking at the wrong end of the process. I stuck a Kali distro into the thing and it booted just fine. The question about verifying the download triggered me to get my head up. I did do that but didn't verify the burn. I don't know what I did wrong, perhaps popped it out before it was done, but as soon as the Kali disc booted I knew the problem was not the laptop. (I use Ashampoo to burn) Thanks again

I managed the DEC Unix Engineering Group in the mid 1970s but went on to marketing and consulting and the horrible world of Windows. I've not touched a Unix derivative in YEARS. You can bet I'll be back with another dumb question before long.
 


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