On 09/25/2013 01:29 PM, Akemi Yagi wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 1:16 PM, Yasha Karant <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> As it turns out, a colleague was able to install a different Linux distro on
>> a UEFI secure boot motherboard, despite an initial failure, a distro that
>> other respondents to the SL list did mention as supporting UEFI Secure Boot.
>> There are certain peculiarities involved, including the use of a VFAT (MS
>> format) partition.  As it is likely that SL 7 will require the same
>> mechanism(s) when it is released, I am presenting this information as
>> probable preview of coming attractions  (Linux base tends to be the same
>> across many different distributions because of the difficulty of
>> re-inventing the details of hardware support -- even if details of such
>> things as anaconda versus other installers are quite different and
>> incompatible).  The below reference should be OpenSuSE 12.3 .
>>
>>  From a colleague:
>>
>> Subject: suse 12.3 install
>>
>> Got it working on my UEFI system, required a re-install
>
> Could you confirm that Secure Boot was indeed enabled there? 'Secure
> Boot' is the part that is problematic.
>
> Akemi
>

Thank you for posting that clarification.  My colleague informs that, 
because he was building the machine from components, including a 
motherboard, UEFI was present but SecureBoot was NOT enabled by default. 
  According to him, despite the Microsoft compatibility asserted by the 
motherboard vendor, monopoly SecureBoot does not have to be and is not 
enabled on "bare" motherboards, only Microsoft "certified" systems (in 
which a complete machine is supplied, as from HP or Dell).  Does anyone 
know if this generally is true:  a "build-your-own" machine will have 
UEFI but not SecureBoot?

Thus, laptops that generally are not assembled from components will have 
SecureBoot and may require MS Windows to permanently disable SecureBoot 
in the BIOS, but not component built workstations/servers.
For myself, this would not present an issue.  When I get a new laptop 
with a MS formatted/installed harddrive, I remove and store the 
harddrive (in case the vendor demands a Microsoft environment for 
repairs under warranty), install a new harddrive, and install Linux on 
that drive from a DVD.  Presumably, before removing the MS harddrive, 
one could disable SecureBoot but not UEFI -- and thus a UEFI enabled 
Linux (e.g., SL 7) would install and run, with a mandatory MS-compatible 
VFAT partition.

Yasha Karant