Win10 and UEFI Setup questions

win10freak · 12 Jun 2016

Just 2 quick question in regards to Windows 10 and UEFI settings.
I have pretty much a good idea by now, but still have some questions here.

1. In the UEFI settings, how can I change my Internal HDD to boot first?
I have Windows Boot Manager set as first boot option then my internal HDD.
Does this still mean that even though the first boot option is shown as Windows Boot Manager, will BitLocker still assume that my internal HDD boots as the first boot device?
I am asking this, because I ran into some issues and read, that one of the requirements for BitLocker is to have the first boot option set to boot from the internal HDD.

2. What if my HDD dies and I need to insert a new HDD on my notebook, do I need to disable Secure Boot mode first or changing to a new hard drive will not have any issues with Secure Boot?
So in other words, will Secure Boot have issues if I change any hardware like hard drives?

Arc · 14 Jun 2016

UEFI settings is not universal. It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, from board to board, from revision to revision. So the direct answer to your question is not very possible withut knowing what exact board you have.
But, if you look at the Boot Menu, the Windows Boot manager should have a bracket beside it, and the bracket should contain a disk address. That disk is your boot disk, should be the first HDD.
So you boot from the first disk actually.

If you replace the first HDD with a new one, perform a clean windows installation on that one, virtually nothing will change.

Secure Boot protects the pre-OS environment of the computer, it protects the UEFI bootloader from any possible malware/rootkit etc. It the bootlaoder is altered by a malware/rootkit, it will not remain signed-up by microsoft; and the computer will not be allowed to boot.
Apparently it should not have any issue with replacing the HDD.

Anyway, it would be better if you shared the core issue with us .... probably some of our members may have a better solution of it than the online articles.

DeaconFrost · 15 Jun 2016

1. I think your setting is correct, because it looks for any device with the Windows Boot Manager on it, which would be your hard drive. If you replace the drive, it will look for a bootable disc or USB drive to start the install.

2. As for Secure Boot, it seems to be more trouble than it is worth. I disable it on my systems. May not be the best step for you. Do you have a specific need for it to be enabled?