Hi All,

I tried searching but could not find the answer on here. I might have stumbled on the answer when googling but not that I realized. New to Linux so bear with me please.

I have yet to install linux but plan to install it on the following hardware as dual boot with windows 10 Pro (with Linux as main distro):

Item Value
OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Version 10.0.18363 Build 18363
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name LAPTOP-DG9HQN5D
System Manufacturer LENOVO
System Model 20UD0013GE
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU LENOVO_MT_20UD_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad T14 Gen 1
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U with Radeon Graphics, 1700 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date LENOVO R1BET40W(1.09 ), 2020-08-07
SMBIOS Version 3.2
Embedded Controller Version 1.09
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer LENOVO
BaseBoard Product 20UD0013GE
BaseBoard Version Not Defined
Platform Role Mobile
Secure Boot State On
PCR7 Configuration Elevation Required to View
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale Germany
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "10.0.18362.1171"
User Name LAPTOP-DG9HQN5D\CAX
Time Zone W. Europe Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 16,0 GB
Total Physical Memory 15,2 GB
Available Physical Memory 10,9 GB
Total Virtual Memory 18,1 GB
Available Virtual Memory 13,4 GB
Page File Space 2,88 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection Off
Virtualization-based security Not enabled
Device Encryption Support Elevation Required to View
Hyper-V - VM Monitor Mode Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Second Level Address Translation Extensions Yes
Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware Yes
Hyper-V - Data Execution Protection Yes

I have tried a number of distros in live edition and Fedora 33 and Linux Mint 20.1 Edge both seem to work out of the box (minor issues with the touch pad in fedora). Decided on mint as I have used Mint in the past and had no complaints in functionality (apart from my security issues that affected my email account which is something I hope they have improved!). I understand this is a LTS as well so hopefully fit an forget. Now, when starting to install Mint I get the question if I want to install third part media codecs. If I tick yes, I get prompted to create a password for secure boot.

Why do third party media codecs change something for the secure boot? An what changes if I would proceed with that? And should I do that? If I do not, can i change my mind later?

I have not tried to install fedora so I don't know if I would be prompted with same choices there.

Not sure if I need to provide more information. This time around on Linux I would prefer to understand the choices I am making - before making them instead of spending hours trying to repair something that I could have avoided if been a bit more careful.

Thanks in advance!

You can either disable Secure Boot in the BIOS firmware or not install the 3rd party codecs during the initial installation. You should be able to install Mint with Secure Boot on if you do not select the 3rd party codecs option. Windows can also be installed and booted with Secure boot off. Topic discussed at the Mint forums, link below.

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=238290

3rd party codecs are not the same as 3rd party drivers - so unless you need to install 3rd party wi-fi or graphics drivers its not a problem.