Specifying mobos: was: To Tux or not to Tux

[Steve Litt]

On Tue, 19 Apr 2016 10:02:03 -0700
Wayne D <waydavis at centurylink.net> wrote:


> > Some day UEFI might be good, but right now you hear too much about
> > people bricking their mobos via interaction with their OS and the
> > UEFI storage area, or Linux people doing rm -rf only to find out
> > that included the mounted UEFI variable area.
> >
> > And then there's the whole Secure Boot fiasco. No problem if you
> > use a major Linux that's purchased a key from Microsoft, but all
> > bets are off if you compile your own kernel.  
> 
> 
> You really know how to pee on a parade... LOL   Ya, I'm cringing a
> little over this one.

If mobo makers want to force UEFI, or worse, Secure Boot on us, well,
I guess that's their right. But this is such an important thing, I
think that ability to boot MBR and ability to turn off Secure Boot
should be a very prominent spec, right along with number of memory
slots and enumeration of extension slots.

The fact that you have to find these things out after having the
product shipped to you, and then play the RMA game or just eat
something you don't want, is inexcusable.

You should contact the manufacturer, and ask it point blank:

1) Can you boot to a genuine MBR, and how?
2) Can you turn off Secure Boot, and how?

SteveT

Steve Litt 
April 2016 featured book: Rapid Learning for the 21st Century
http://www.troubleshooters.com/rl21