Windows 11 without Secure Boot

[nathanscain]

I am planning to build my first computer tomorrow - I already have all the parts, so I'm not here for hardware...

 

However, on the software side, Microsoft's documentation is unclear about whether your hardware must simply be capable of using Secure Boot to run Windows 11 or if it actually must be enabled. I plan to dual boot Manjaro for a few reasons, and it does not support Secure Boot. I do almost all of my computing in Linux - the Windows partition will be almost exclusively for gaming.

 

Does Windows 11 require Secure Boot to be enabled to function correctly (including security updates)? Or should I just install Windows 10 to get around this even though it will EOL in a few years?

 

[PlayerLorenzo]

No, I use Windows 11 with Secure Boot disabled in a supported CPU and it works fine. 

It's only a question if it is Secure Boot capable, not that it should be enabled.

[RONOTHAN##]

In order to install it, secure boot must be enabled unless you mess with the installer. Once it's installed though, you can disable TPM and secure boot and be just fine. 

 

Also, you can get secure boot to work on most distros without that much effort, some even work with it by default like Ubuntu and Fedora. It's not that big a deal. 

[Windows7ge]

At my work I have to deploy Windows 11 to a large array of laptops and desktops. Part of my procedure is actually disabling secure boot as it's a necessary evil.

 

So yes, you can.

[Bburke1990]

yes you can i use Rufus to disable secure boot and TPM when install on PC. I plan to install on my proxmox server soon.

[Asxrow]

1 minute ago, Bburke1990 said:

yes you can i use Rufus to disable secure boot and TPM when install on PC. I plan to install on my proxmox server soon.

You can use Rufus to disable the security features when putting in the Windows 11 iso.

[nathanscain]

11 hours ago, PlayerLorenzo said:

No, I use Windows 11 with Secure Boot disabled in a supported CPU and it works fine. 

It's only a question if it is Secure Boot capable, not that it should be enabled.

Thank you so much!

11 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

In order to install it, secure boot must be enabled unless you mess with the installer. Once it's installed though, you can disable TPM and secure boot and be just fine. 

So even for a clean install, I'll need to:

1. have secure boot enabled
2. Partition my drive (Does the windows 11 installer provide this option?)
3. Install Windows 11
4. Disable secure boot in the bios
5. Install Manjaro

Does that look right?

11 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Also, you can get secure boot to work on most distros without that much effort, some even work with it by default like Ubuntu and Fedora. It's not that big a deal. 

Yes, I have Ubuntu setup this way on my laptop; however, I want to try some stuff with Manjaro and it doesn't include native support. Their forums also happen to be fairly anti-secureboot since it is managed by Microsoft.

[RONOTHAN##]

9 minutes ago, nathanscain said:

Thank you so much!

So even for a clean install, I'll need to:

1. have secure boot enabled
2. Partition my drive (Does the windows 11 installer provide this option?)
3. Install Windows 11
4. Disable secure boot in the bios
5. Install Manjaro

Does that look right?

Yes, I have Ubuntu setup this way on my laptop; however, I want to try some stuff with Manjaro and it doesn't include native support. Their forums also happen to be fairly anti-secureboot since it is managed by Microsoft.

That order looks correct, and yes the windows installer has partition options (they're not fully featured, but you can bring up a command prompt and do it with diskpart if you need something more than the gui can provide). Other option is to make the windows 11 installer with Rufus which should disable the secure boot and tpm requirements in the installer so you can just leave it off. 

[nathanscain]

1 hour ago, RONOTHAN## said:

That order looks correct, and yes the windows installer has partition options (they're not fully featured, but you can bring up a command prompt and do it with diskpart if you need something more than the gui can provide). Other option is to make the windows 11 installer with Rufus which should disable the secure boot and tpm requirements in the installer so you can just leave it off. 

Thank you so much!