Step-by-Step: How to Enable Secure Boot on Windows 10
Secure Boot is a necessary factor in your computer’s security, and disabling it can cause severe damage to your computer and can take over you and force you out of Windows.
Safe boot requires the UEFI version if, in doubt, you can update the operating system with Device Manager.
Secure Boot requires Windows 8 or higher, as does Windows 10
In this article, we want to explain how to enable the secure boot of Windows 10.
What is Secure Boot?
Secure Boot is a feature in your computer software that controls which operating systems are allowed to run on the computer. This feature is both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand, it can block certain classes of aggressive malware and protect your primary device from ransomware.
On the other hand, it can prevent you from installing a second operating system on your system, giving you two options to choose from when you turn on your computer. Therefore, if you want to work with Linux operating systems, Secure Boot will cause you problems.
What is UEFI?
UEFI, which is short for Unified Extended Firmware Interface Forum, was developed by the technology giants Intel, AMD, and Microsoft. The new UEFI standard exactly eliminated the problems of the old BIOS version.
The low-level UEFI software, in addition to the updated graphical user interface, is also able to start the computer from memories with a capacity higher than 2.2 TB.
In other words, the limit of this type of new generation launcher in interaction with the main memory is 9.4 zettabytes; this amount of interactive memory capacity limit is three times the total information circulating in the Internet space! So you won’t have any restrictions on using all kinds of memories in all types of capacities.
UEFI is a very light operating system inside the motherboard, which is close to the hardware, at the top level of drivers, and can work much more efficiently than BIOS.
UEFI works so independently that it can be loaded from the memory on the motherboard chip, hard disk, or at the network level.
Different computers have different management options in the UEFI environment, but the basic management options of all of them can be seen in the above description.
To access UEFI, just like BIOS, you must press the corresponding button when the computer is turned on; but if you need to access lower-level settings, you have to do it through the Windows boot options menu.
How to check Secure Boot state on Windows 10
To check the Secure Boot state on Windows 10, do the following steps:
1.Go to Start.
2.Search for System Information and select the top result to open the app.
3.Select System Summary on the left pane.
4.Select the Secure Boot State information:
- Off — indicates the feature is disabled or not supported.
- On — indicates the feature is enabled.
5. Check the BIOS Mode information:
- UEFI — indicates you can enable Secure Boot.
- Legacy (BIOS) — indicates you can enable the feature, but it will require additional steps.
When you have done the steps and Secure Boot State is off, and BIOS mode is UEFI, you can use the steps mentioned below.
If the Secure Boot State is set to BIOS Mode to Legacy and Off.
If you want to get a support version for your computer, you can use the following steps to convert the MBR installation to GPT.
How to enable Secure Boot on Windows 10
Note that incorrect operating system settings prevent the computer from starting properly. And you can access the motherboard settings when you have important work.
Also, the following steps show that the device already works with the UEFI operating system.
If your computer has an old BIOS, you may need to convert the drive to GPT using MBR.
Below are the conversion steps:
1.Go to Settings.
2.Select Update & Security.
3.Select Recovery.
4.Under the Advanced startup section, select the Restart now button.
5.Select Troubleshoot.
6.Select Advanced options.
7.Select the UEFI Firmware Settings option.Quick note: If you have a legacy BIOS, the option will not be available.
8.Select the Restart button.
9.Go to the boot or security settings page.Quick note: The UEFI settings are different per manufacturer and even per computer model. You may need to check the manufacturer support website for more specific details to find the settings.
10.Select the Secure Boot option and hit Enter.
11.Select the Enabled option and hit Enter.
12.Exit the UEFI settings.
13.Confirm the changes to restart the device.
How to Disable Secure Boot on Windows 10
To disable secure boot in Windows 10, you can do this through the BIOS settings menu.
Before disabling Secure Boot, note that you will need to reset your computer to enable it.
Follow the steps to disable Secure Boot:
1.Go to the Start menu on your Windows 10 PC.
2.At the lower-left corner of the Start menu, click the power icon.
3.Hit and hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click Restart in the power icon menu.
4.Wait for a menu to appear on your screen. When it does, click Troubleshoot from it.
5.On the following screen, click Advanced options.
6.From the Advanced options screen, click the UEFI Firmware Settings option.
7.Confirm your action by clicking Restart on the following screen.
8.Your PC should boot into BIOS.
9.On the BIOS screen, click the Security tab at the top. This tab might have a different name depending on your PC’s manufacturer. It might say Boot, something similar or Authentication, but you get the idea.
10.Under the Security (or a similar) tab, click the Secure Boot option.
11.On the Secure Boot screen, the Secure Boot status should say Active. This means the option is currently enabled on your PC.
12.To disable Secure Boot, click the Secure Boot Control option and then choose Disabled from the menu.
13.You now need to save your settings and exit BIOS. To do this, find the F10 key next to Save and Exit on the right pane. Hit this key to save your changes and exit BIOS.
14.A Save & Exit Setup prompt appears. Click on Yes in this prompt to continue.
15.Your PC should reboot.
How to enable Secure Boot during startup
You can enable Secure Boot on the computer during startup instead of using the Settings app.
To be able to access the operating system during the boot process in Windows, you can use the following steps:
1.Hit the Power button.
2.See the screen splash to identify the key you must hit to enter the firmware (if applicable).
3.Hit the required key repeatedly until you enter the setup mode. Usually, you need to hit the Esc, Delete, or one of the Function keys (F1, F2, F10, etc.).
4.Open the boot or security settings page (as needed).
5.Click on the Secure Boot option and hit Enter.
6.Select the Enabled option and hit Enter.
7.Exit the UEFI settings.
8.Confirm the changes to restart the device.
After performing the above steps, your safe setup can support the installation of Windows 11. Sometimes you may need to check the documentation of the manufacturer to find the keys on your keyboard during restarting. It is practical when you cannot access the firmware with your keyboard.
Here are their respective keys to access the motherboard’s firmware and brands.
- · Dell: F2 or F12.
- HP: Esc or F10.
- Acer: F2 or Delete.
- ASUS: F2 or Delete.
- Lenovo: F1 or F2.
- MSI: Delete.
- Toshiba: F2.
- Samsung: F2.
- Surface: Press and hold the volume up button.
How to convert MBR to GTP drive on Windows 10
If you want to upgrade your Windows 10 to Windows 11on old hardware that supports UEFI, you must first convert the drive from the old MBR partition to GPT so that you can change the type of operating system correctly, otherwise, the computer, cannot be started properly.
In Windows 10, you can use the MBR2GPT command line to change the partition type from MBR to GPT without reinstalling.
Check MBR or GPT partition style
1.Go to Start.
2. Search for Disk Management and select the top result to open the experience
3.Right-click the drive (where Windows 10 is installed) and click the Properties option.
4.Select the Volumes tab.
5.Under the Partition style field, if you see the Master Boot Record (MBR) label, you can use the conversion tool to switch, but field, if the field reads GUID Partition Table (GPT), the drive does not need conversion.
6.Select the Cancel button.
7.After completing the steps, if the drive needs to be changed, you can use the steps below to change.
Convert MBR to GPT partition style
To convert MBR to GPT partition style on Windows 10, follow the instructions below:
- Go to Settings.
- Select Update & Security.
- Select Recovery.
- Under the Advanced startup section, Select the Restart now button.
- Select the Troubleshoot option.
- Select Advanced options.
- Select the Command Prompt option.
- Click your administrator account and sign in (if applicable).
- Type the following command to validate that the drive
meets the requirements and press Enter:
validateQuick/ mbr2gpt note: The mbr2gpt.exe is located in the System32 folder inside the Windows folder.
- Type the following command to convert the drive from MBR to GPT and hit Enter:mbr2gpt /convert
- Select the Close button.
- Select the Turn off your PC option.
After completing the above steps, the command line tool will change the partition type to GPT to meet the system requirements for Windows 11 installation.
If the conversion is successful, the return code should be 0, but if the conversion is unsuccessful, you will see one of 11 error codes.
Last Words
In this article, we have explained how to enable and disable fast startup in Windows 10 by following the steps you can secure your computer. I hope the content is helpful for you.
Do you use these steps?
What other solutions do you know to enable secure boot in Windows 10?
