Windows 8 fastboot hinders installation of alternative OS

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A Linux developer claims that the fastboot option on a new Windows 8-certified computer makes it impossible to boot from a USB device before the license of Microsoft’s operating system has been accepted.

On his blog describes Linux developer Matthew Garrett a “new problem”, in addition to the previous secure boot problems, that can occur with hardware certified for Windows 8 in combination with fast boot. The fastboot functionality on such systems should reduce boot time. This is done, among other things, by having Windows initialize the USB hardware using uefi, a process that can normally take a few seconds.

However, the fastboot option makes it impossible to boot directly from USB devices, for example to install an alternative operating system, Garrett writes. This is because the setup environment, which must be completed once before using Windows 8, does not offer a restart option to access the uefi settings. The user must accept the terms of use of Microsoft’s operating system. The only other option available is to turn off the system.

In an already running Windows 8 environment, it is possible to switch to the uefi environment and set a USB device as a boot device if the user presses the shift key when clicking on restart. This is therefore not possible with a PC or laptop that has not yet been installed due to the absence of that option in the setup environment. With this, Microsoft forces the user to accept the license terms for Windows 8, even if he does not want to use Windows at all and wants to install Linux, for example. This problem would certainly occur on systems without a DVD drive or an easily removable hard disk or SSD, according to Garrett. He does believe that fastboot is a useful option.

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