So, I noted here the hell I went through just to get Windows 8 to dual-boot with Ubuntu 12.04. However, just today, I had another problem with it.
To recap, I settled with my system unable to load Windows 8 from GRUB. I resorted to using rEFInd to be able to choose between Ubuntu and Win8. This isn’t a very clean solution as my Ubuntu option at rEFInd still loads GRUB (as opposed to having Ubuntu straightaway) but hey, it works.
Well, just this morning, as I booted into Ubuntu, I was greeted by a message from rEFInd which, in essence, tells me that Secure Boot is not allowing me to load grubx64.efi . Puzzled as it was only last night that I used Ubuntu, I did not see any cause to panic as the workaround is something I’ve mastered during my previous tussle with Secure Boot: I just need to (re)authorize grubx64.efi from my BIOS.
I rebooted to do this. However, when I booted into Ubuntu, I was greeted with a message that really made me panic. It read,
error: Secure Boot forbids loading module from (hd0, gpt7)\boot\grub\normal.mod grub rescue>
Like, what the hell is normal.mod, much more (hd0, gpt7)?! I’ve encountered hd’s and gpt’s in my readings during my dual boot session last time but they were never really clearly explained and I haven’t bothered to look into them deeply.
After moving around (very carefully!) around my BIOS, I noticed two things:
- Some new entries has been added into my boot order list and it has definitely changed. I remember leaving the Windows Bootloader at the bottom of the list but it is now at the top of the list; and,
- There is an option to disable Secure Boot.
Yes. I don’t know why I haven’t noticed that I can disable Secure Boot before but disable it, I did. I can now boot into Ubuntu again. What’s more is that it fixed the rather-convoluted set-up I had with rEFInd: I can now boot into Windows 8 from GRUB though it still shows some errors which I can bypass with just a button press.
So, is Secure Boot actually good for anything aside from annoying people and wasting time?