Do all distros supports UEFI

Roy.Geer · 02-25-2015, 08:57 PM

Hi

I've build my desktop from scratch a long time ago and it's using the standard BIOS.

I am planning to get a laptop at some time and it has windows 8.1 with UEFI. My plan to to wipe windows off the thing and install linux.

I will be dealing with UEFI for the first time, so my question is, do I need to get an UEFI supported distro or will any linux distro detect the UEFI and install accordingly?

Thanks

yooy · 02-26-2015, 12:02 AM

can't you disable uefi in bios?

if you are buying laptop i would suggest you that you buy without windows (this means freedos or linux) so you don't pay MS for the licence.

jdkaye · 02-26-2015, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Does Your Distribution Support EFI?

As I write (in late 2013), most Linux distributions support EFI; in fact, most have supported it for years. The quality of that support varies from one distribution to another, though. In my estimation, the quality of EFI support is best in Fedora and drops off through OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, and Mint, to name a few popular distributions. Some more "do-it-yourself" distributions, such as Gentoo, don't officially support EFI, but their nature makes it easy to add EFI support to them. In fact, it's possible to add EFI support to any Linux distribution: You need to install it (even in BIOS mode) and then install an EFI boot loader on the computer. See my Managing EFI Boot Loaders for Linux page for information on how to do this.

You should check your distribution's feature list to determine if it supports EFI. You should also pay attention to your distribution's support for Secure Boot, particularly if you intend to dual-boot with Windows 8. Note that even distributions that officially support Secure Boot may require that this feature be disabled, since Linux Secure Boot support is often poor or creates complications.

Source: http://www.rodsbooks.com/linux-uefi/

A quick search found this. Try it some time.
jdk

syg00 · 02-26-2015, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yooy

can't you disable uefi in bios?

No, you can't.
Several options can be disabled, and it can appear to be in "BIOS mode", but if you have UEFI firmware, you can't have a BIOS.

All the modern distros seem to handle UEFI ok these days - if in doubt pick one of the popular ones. Fedora, Arch, Mint certainly handle it seamlessly.

beachboy2 · 02-26-2015, 12:53 AM

Roy.Geer,

All major Linux distributions support UEFI.

You don't have to wipe W8.1 necessarily, although that is what I do.

You can dual boot Linux and W8.1:
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/d...-8-ubuntu.html

The above link features Ubuntu 14.04 but you can use whatever you prefer. Have a look at Linuxed which specialises in reviewing Linux distros:
http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.co.uk/

My preference is for LM 17.1 MATE:
http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.co.uk...te-review.html

You don't even need to buy a brand new laptop. There are lots of good used laptops available, including plenty of “low-mileage” W8.1 machines which are for sale simply because their owners cannot cope with this operating system and just want rid of them.
Their loss is your gain.

With a UEFI laptop you will need to access Startup/BIOS, disable secure boot, enable legacy mode and change the legacy boot order. See post #4 on:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...uy-4175534783/

veerain · 02-26-2015, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syg00

No, you can't.
Several options can be disabled, and it can appear to be in "BIOS mode", but if you have UEFI firmware, you can't have a BIOS.

All the modern distros seem to handle UEFI ok these days - if in doubt pick one of the popular ones. Fedora, Arch, Mint certainly handle it seamlessly.

I read some ASUS/Gigabyte motherboards support hybrid BIOS/UEFI.

Head_on_a_Stick · 02-26-2015, 01:42 AM

It is actually part of the official UEFI specification that the firmware ("BIOS") should have an option to disable EFI-mode and boot up in "Legacy" mode (sometimes called "CSM").
http://www.uefi.org/specifications

All UEFI systems should have this option -- if you choose a distribution that does not support EFI-mode booting you can just select "CSM" or "Legacy" mode from your firmware ("BIOS") options and party like it's 2010...

Roy.Geer · 02-26-2015, 11:09 AM

Thanks everyone for the replies. Once I get the laptop, and depending on what I can customize on the UEFI firmware, I will explore all those options given.

@ yooy

According to your quote

Quote:

if you are buying laptop i would suggest you that you buy without windows (this means freedos or linux) so you don't pay MS for the licence.

If I had the money to pay in full, I would opt for a good laptop from system76. But, I am buying my laptop on monthly installments from QVC and they only have MS windows on it.

273 · 02-26-2015, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yooy

can't you disable uefi in bios?

if you are buying laptop i would suggest you that you buy without windows (this means freedos or linux) so you don't pay MS for the licence.

Sadly this isn't an easy option in most countries and means buying very specific laptops from certain brands only with very little choice.
Personally, since I had to buy Windows 8* and the laptop I bought has a 1TB hard drive, I went for dual boot at the moment so that any warranty claim will be easier and for the odd program I want to use which requires Windows -- at the moment that is only Amazon Video but should I apply for any new jobs soon I will likely need Windows at some point in the application process (I know I did for my current position).

*Technically, in a lot of cases, OEM discount from Microsoft, the inclusion of third-party programs and having no need to support any other OS actually makes Windows virtually free for OEMs, hence its ubiquity. This also explains the much broader choice of less expensive Windows machines.

smeezekitty · 02-26-2015, 12:04 PM

I don't really see a problem with Linux and UEFI. Just disable secure boot and I am sure it will work unless it is a really old distro.

jefro · 02-26-2015, 10:16 PM

UEFI doesn't seem to be very standard. Hopefully you have a way to boot legacy in case.

It shouldn't be too hard to get a known working system up. As always laptops are more trouble.

I'd think that more popular makers or larger makers of laptops may support linux a bit better out of the box.

We can't however assure you that your choice will work.

AvinashSam · 03-01-2015, 03:05 AM

I m using sony vaio with windows 8,but I use dual boot for Kali linux .uefi for windows and legacy for linux..it doesn't cause any problem so its better having both modes