Re: Laptops, UEFI, Secure Boot and Debian
On 24/05/2015, Bret Busby <bret.busby@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 23/05/2015, Petter Adsen <petter@synth.no> wrote:
>> On Fri, 22 May 2015 23:53:14 -0700
>> Patrick Bartek <nemommxiv@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Researching a laptop purchase (within the next 6 months or so) to
>>> replace my aging Desktop (1 to 8.5 years depending on which parts).
>>> Going to abandoned the Big Box forever. Need to be very portable in
>>> the next year or two. Two questions to begin:
>>>
>>> 1. Many laptops seem to only be able to turn off Secure Boot through
>>> the OS, Windows 8.x, or so I've researched. However, I've read some
>>> makes (Asus, Lenovo, Dell and HP) can do it directly through "BIOS"
>>> without needing to boot Windows? True? Any others?
>>
>> I don't have a laptop myself (don't like them), but every one I've seen
>> so far has had a switch to disable Secure Boot in the BIOS. AFAIK, that
>> switch is mandatory to adhere to the "Built For Windows 8" MS program,
>
> I have previously posted, on this, and, I believe on the GRUB-HELP
> list, my findings that, on the Acer computers, the Inshite setup
> utility, that is used on Acer "laptop" computers, does not allow
> SecureBoot to be switched off within the UEFI boot option; the only
> way to not use the apparently Microshite mandated Secure Boot, is to
> boot into the Legacy mode, which I have had to do on one system with
> Debian 6 LTS installed, and, on a separate system, with Debian 7
> installed.
>
> The use of the Legacy boot system, rather than the UEFI boot system,,
> was the only way that I could install Debian Linux, on both systems.
>
> Whilst I do not mind so much, booting into the Legacy mode, to use
> Debian Linux, thereby avoiding Microshite Windows 8.x, which I have
> found to be difficult to use, it kind of defeats the purpose of the
> UEFI technology, when the UEFI technology is unusable due to the
> Inshite Setup Utility.
>
Oh, and one thing that I forgot to mention, is that, due to the
immovable files, the Microshite Windows 8.x installation occupies
about 250GB of unusable disk space.
Now, it has occurred to me that it could be a good idea to install
Debian Linux 6 LTS, on my super-dooper computer.
So, I now have these questions.
1. Can Debian Linux 6 LTS be installed on a system that already has
Debian Linux 7 installed on the system, so as to have both versions of
Debian Linux, concurrently installed, and have the option of being
able to boot into either of those two operating systems, using the
Legacy boot system (it also has Ubuntu 14.04 LTS installed)?
2. Can Debian Linux 6 LTS handle a GPT HDD, with partitions of up to
about 100GB, or does Debian Linux 6 LTS have a limit on the size of
the disk partitions that it can handle?
3. Can Debian Linux 6 LTS handle 32GB of RAM, or, does Debian Linux 6
LTS have a limit on the amount of RAM that it can handle?
Thank you in anticipation.
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
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