A question for the Surface Pro owners

whs

New Member
VIP Member
Guru
Messages
4,514
Location
Germany/Florida
Is it possible to boot the Surface Pro from a USB stick with a Linux OS. Since I don't own a Surface Pro, I cannot check it myself.

I plan to make a tutorial about safe surfing and that would be a question in that context.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
With Secure Boot ENABLE, fully supports Windows 8, uEFI, GPT & has Secure Boot code signed by Microsoft? If yes, should not be a problem.
If NO, BIOS would need to be reset suit.




How to dual boot with Ubuntu & Windows 8, with Secure Boot ENABLED.
Practical UEFI Secure Boot (Part 3 of 3) - YouTube
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Thanks theog. It was not a question of multi booting with Linux. The question was whether you can boot from a USB stick by changing the boot priority and that USB stick would have a Linux distro installed. Like here: Emergency Kit - save your files from a dead OS - Windows 7 Help Forums

With Secure Boot ENABLE, fully supports Windows 8, uEFI, GPT & has Secure Boot code signed by Microsoft? If yes, should not be a problem.
If NO, BIOS would need to be reset suit.

Booting from a HDD, SSD, DVD, CD, or USB drive, would still be the same.

Booting from a non sign drive, you will receive a Secure Boot Violation.

Windows 8 Downgrade-003 SB.PNG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
Hmm, so it look like that would not work - to boot from a Linux stick. That secure boot is a real pain in the neck.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Yes, it is.

Whatever MS intentions were - it is clear secure boot is a major barrier to running another os on the machine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Yes, it is.

Whatever MS intentions were - it is clear secure boot is a major barrier to running another os on the machine.
That reminds me my expensive Sony Vaio that could not run Live Linux CDs. This is really stupid. How are people supposed to recover their data when the thing goes on the blink.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
SecureBoot in Ubuntu 12.10

That's certainly something of a bittersweet achievement. I'm proud of the work we've done to ensure Ubuntu will continue to work out of the box on the consumer hardware of the future; in spite of the predictable accusations on the blogowebs that we've sold out, I sleep well at night knowing that this was the pragmatic decision to make, maximizing users' freedom to use their hardware. All the same, I worry about what the landscape is going to look like in a few years' time. The Ubuntu first-stage EFI bootloader is signed by Microsoft, but the key that is used for signing is one that's recommended by Microsoft, not one that's required by the Windows 8 certification requirements. Will all hardware include this key in practice? The Windows 8 requirements also say that every machine must allow the user to disable Secure Boot. Will manufacturers get this right, and will users be able to make use of it in the event the manufacture didn't include the Microsoft-recommended key? Only time will tell. But I do think the Linux community is going to have to remain engaged on this for some time to come, and possibly hold OEMs' feet to the fire for shipping hardware that will only work with Windows 8.

Also Windows 7 x64.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
You can disable Secure Boot on the Surface Pro.

Hold Volume UP, hit power button (keep holding volume up).
Go down to Secure Boot Control and hit Enter to toggle it to Off
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
You can disable Secure Boot on the Surface Pro.

Hold Volume UP, hit power button (keep holding volume up).
Go down to Secure Boot Control and hit Enter to toggle it to Off

This. :ditto:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Personally when I do data recovery, I just simply take the boot drive/affected drive in question and plug it into my system. Run data recovery on it, STD check it, and then copy data back over onto a fresh drive to use back in the PC in question.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Personally when I do data recovery, I just simply take the boot drive/affected drive in question and plug it into my system. Run data recovery on it, STD check it, and then copy data back over onto a fresh drive to use back in the PC in question.

Hi there

we are speaking here about SURFACE PRO - not "Any System" in general. Most people here can read threads on data backup / recovery / system restore but that IS NOT what this thread is about.

So please understand the thread before volunteering (in this case irrelevant) information.

1) Please explain to me if you've ever removed the SSD from inside the Surface Pro - and how did you do it.

2) We aren't restoring to a PC but trying to BOOT a Surface Pro with a DIFFERENT OS. A surface Pro might have some PC like features but isn't quite like a "True PC" in the classical sense.

From what I've seen of the device I'm not sure if I would even THINK of attempting to open it.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
Right Jimbo. The question was really about being able to boot a persistant Linux USB flash drive with the Surface pro. But since that was not clear, I did not mention it in the tutorial.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Back
Top