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My problem is secure boot. I am trying to boot into Linux using a USB but most distros won't work with secure boot, I already know secure boot can be disabled in the UEFI settings, and I know how to get there, but I don't know my UEFI admin password. So I want a way to disable secure boot without entering UEFI or even better, recover my UEFI admin password. Thanks, I have a Windows 10 64-bit Asus laptop .

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  • The only way to disable Secure Boot is through UEFI.
    – Ramhound
    Jun 18, 2022 at 0:41
  • All motherboards I've encountered allow adding a Secure Boot entry on the UEFI firmware Boot page (you'd have to do this for each distro you'd like to boot that doesn't support Secure Boot)? For the firmware passphrase, the motherboard's OEM's support site should have info on how to clear it, else you'll have to contact them directly - as others have mentioned, it's a firmware accessible option only.
    – JW0914
    Jun 18, 2022 at 11:46

2 Answers 2

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The OS cannot just disable Secure Boot on its own – that would defeat some of the purposes of Secure Boot (e.g. preventing rootkits from installing themselves into the boot chain).

If I remember correctly – Aside from direct user interaction (going through the setup screen), the only other way to control the overall Secure Boot state is by making EFI variable changes that are signed using the Platform Key (PK).

But if you're using the "default" Secure Boot setup, then you won't have the private key corresponding to the PK – it exists either only at the manufacturer or nowhere at all. This means going through the firmware setup is your only remaining option.

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You need to go into BIOS (UEFI) to change (disable / enable) Secure Boot.

To do that every time you wish to change OS is a bit onerous.

Somehow you will need to get the password to do this.

I suggest you make your lesser used system a Virtual Machine and your most used system the Host system.

Use VMware Workstation Pro to do this. This has always worked best for me. I have both VMware and Hyper-V (on a different computer).

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