22 May 2013

Enable Legacy Boot Mode on Windows 8 Pre-Installed Device

Apparently Microsoft requires OEM suppliers of Windows 8 systems to set the BIOS (actually UFEI now) to Secure Boot by default. This and another setting can prevent booting from CD/DVD drives and USB devices and also prevent Windows 7 (or older) network deployments from succeeding.

To enable smooth Windows 7 (or older) installations or booting from various boot disks, e.g. for disk imaging or repartitioning, etc, you will need to do the following:
  1. Enter the BIOS/UEFI using whatever method the hardware vendor provides for this
  2. Look for the Secure Boot option and disable this
  3. Look for Legacy Boot or CSM (Compatibility Support Module) and enable this
In some cases, you will need to revert these settings to enable Windows 8 to install and/or boot.

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