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nobodyuknow

Member

Registered: 2017-09-10

Posts: 173  

[SOLVED] convert an existing legacy system to secure boot?

My old laptop, which still runs, was configured for legacy boot. I built a few Linux systems on SSDs in external USB enclosures and USB flash drives. All were built using MBR, not GPT. These were NOT dual-boots, as I removed the internal SATA drive before installing Linux.

Now I bought a new laptop because the old one is having hardware problems. After I got Windows to run, I inserted a USB flash drive with Linux installed on it -- not a LiveUSB, an installation -- and selected the proper key to change boot options. However, every time I selected the USB flash drive in the list of drives, it auto-selected Windows Manager (or something very similar to those words) and booted Windows. Then I tried using a USB flash drive with a Linux distribution ISO burned onto it (in other words, it's a LiveUSB) -- and it started. So secure boot is fighting me, probably as designed.

The new laptop is designed to discourage user maintenance, as it has plugs covering the screws, and there does not appear to be a BIOS option to change to legacy boot, so perhaps my best option is to remove the old laptop's internal drive, change BIOS to UEFI, and rebuild Linux there, hoping that the new laptop will properly recognize it.

Is it possible to convert an existing legacy Linux system to a UEFI one, converting the partition from MBR to GPT in the bargain?

Last edited by nobodyuknow (2021-09-25 21:40:44)

Magnus

Member

From: Stockholm, Sweden

Registered: 2020-03-14

Posts: 51  

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Re: [SOLVED] convert an existing legacy system to secure boot?

Copy your old system with "cp -a" to a new partition on a disk or usb memory that is partitioned with GPT. Do not forget to create a / boot / EFI partition and enter this partition in / etc / fstab, if you want to be able to install grub and boot from the new system. Also change other things in / etc / fstab based on the newly created partitions. Then you must install a kernel that is signed. Then also change in /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume so that you have the correct swap partition, else the system will hang for a wile at boot but sooner or later boot completely.
If you have a necessary custom built kernel module that is not signed, that module will not work with secure boot.

nobodyuknow

Member

Registered: 2017-09-10

Posts: 173  

Re: [SOLVED] convert an existing legacy system to secure boot?

Thanks for the reply.