Four ways to install Linux on a Windows 8 PC

Microsoft RTM version of Windows 8 is believed to have been tried by many people. If it is difficult to install Linux on a Windows 8 PC, what should we do? There are four ways to do this.

Starting Linux on UEFI

First, you need to start Linux on UEFI. Because in addition to the Mac, few PCs use UEFI to replace the BIOS, so everyone is not very concerned about booting Linux from UEFI.

Nowadays, many people who want to run Linux on a Mac use the compatible support module CSM to provide simulation of the BIOS on the Mac. This method is cumbersome and not working well, and it may be even worse on Secure Boot Windows 8 PC.

There are other better ways. The best current method is Rod Smith's EFI-Booting Ubuntu on a Mac guide. Others, such as the Linux kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman's skills are also worth a try. The biggest problem is still Secure Boot.

Protecting Boots and Linux Security

Ideally, Microsoft and its partners will deploy Secure Boot in the way Linux Foundation says, making it easier for Linux installations, but this is not the case. Will happen.

So, we have three different alternatives. At this time, I don't know which one will succeed. May eventually be used. This is very uncomfortable, but as Microsoft continues to dominate in this area, Linux developers will have to work hard in the toughest situations.

First of all, Linux developers need to deal with this problem. James Bottomley of the Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board released the Intel Tianocore UEFI boot code and some code that Linux programmers can use to eliminate the Windows 8 Secure Boot limit.

Intel Tianocore is an open source image of Intel UEFI. Until recently, this image did not have Microsoft's verification code for Secure Boot. Now it has this feature. Delivering this functionality to developers greatly expands the crowd using UEFI Secure boot.

This allows programmers who do not have access to UEFI Secure Boot Hardware to have a "virtual platform that allows them to experience their own solutions. But this is a dilemma. It took only a few weeks for the safe start of the Tianocore firmware, and the signature tool has not yet appeared, so there is still a long way to go.

Even so, developers use their own security components to lock down the secure boot virtual platform, which is a big step forward for developers who use UEFI security with their own keys.

One way: Create a UEFI Secure Boot key for some versions. This method is also Canonical's approach to Ubuntu. Some people, such as the Free Software Foundation, hate this approach.

Fedora, Red Hat's community Linux version decided to use Microsoft's key signing service Verisign. So in Fedora's plan, Fedora will use Microsoft's system to create its own Windows 8 system, compatible with the UEFI Secure Boot Key.

Of course, in many open source circles, this method is like a cloud. Red Hat developer Matthew Garrett defended it, saying: "It's cheaper than any existing solution." It is compatible with a large number of hardware and allows Fedora to avoid privileges other than Linux.

Frankly, as Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth said, no plan can be perfect, but "Secure Boot's flaws in its design will eventually license Microsoft's key on every PC." Secure Boot's inability to support multiple signatures on key elements means that this option is limited, but we are always pursuing a good result. ”

Of course there is another way: using open source hardware and software. Of course, this is also the result that Linux PC open source manufacturers are happy to see.

With UEFI's Secure Boot, the Linux version does not need to be signed with Microsoft or use their secure boot. A computer that starts with open source boot mode is fine. Indeed, UEFI's Secure Boot is implemented at the original equipment manufacturer level, and all newly purchased PCs come with Secure Boot.

So open source vendors are definitely not willing to disable or use Fedora and Ubuntu methods. Disabling is OK, but disabling some features that protect security is silly. In the long run, people worry that the machine keyboard after running Linux in 2012 is very simple at first, but it will become more complicated later. It also has a major impact on OEMs. People worry that desktop Linux is too difficult for new users, and will gradually increase the decline of Linux.

In summary, the following points are the case of Linux on Windows 8 PCs today:

I hope OEMs will disable Secure Boot during pre-boot. If so, installing Linux on a Windows 8 PC will not be as difficult as on a Windows 7 system. However, this is not available on Windows RT ARM systems.

Using Linux, such as Fedora, you can use Microsoft's own Windows 8 signature tool to provide a Secure Boot compatible key.

Using the Linux version, such as Ubuntu, itself provides a Secure Boot compatible key.

Deprecation of Windows 8 systems, using open source hardware.

Some Linux distributions, such as openSUSE, don't know how they should cope with this situation.

So far, I don't know how to run Linux on a Windows 8 laptop or desktop. It depends on how the OEM handles Secure Boot.