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Thread: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu?

  1. #21
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    Re: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu

    You can use that key to re-activate your Windows...


    Thanks I may find that useful as HP sent me win10 and 11 usb's and dvd's. However there may still be a problem - win complained about the lack of signed drivers for the machine it was being installed on. They sent me driver dvd's but getting them in - pass no way could I do it. I had wiped the disk completely and set the bios to factory defaults. Having given up with the usb's and disks I simply rebooted. Bios said no OS would you like to install. Yes - not perfect as chuntered for a while and then stopped. Another reboot finished it off. This install when I ran it went through the usual stuff other than activation. It wanted a MS account - I simply used the outlook route it offered.

    The OP's original post. If dual booting to another OS with windows TPM should not matter providing all parties even the machine makers sticks to the UEFI spec. Win is the only thing that needs it.UEFI is aimed at multi booting. Mind you that may not strictly mean multiple OS's. Years ago a judge in the USA took steps to break up the ties between MS and HP. One factor mentioned was difficulties running multiple OS's - pass on that. Not sure I was when this happened.

    HP and MS - both have done helpful work on Linux.

  2. #22
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    Re: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu

    My present machine is an ACER E5-575-33BM with Windows 10 Home Edition; Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-7100U CPU @ 2.40GHz 2.40 GHz, RAM 4.00 GB (3.87 GB usable), System Type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor.
    I believe the Windows 10 Operating System Product Key that came with my present machine has code that is somehow burned into the UEFI or motherboard so that the Windows 10 operating system can be reinstalled via an internet connection. I think this link (https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...dows-10-a.html) contains instructions on how to do this.

    QUESTIONS: Do you think I will have trouble Virtualizing the Windows 10 that I presently have on my PC after I install the latest Lubuntu LTS given that the Windows 10 Product Key is apparently on the UEFI or motherboard?
    The tutorial is a bit mixed as it mentions product keys and later says digitally signed will correct itself. Also use of your Microsoft account. Machines may be supplied with win digitally signed or via a normal install and no installation media. Those should have the activation key some where on them. A label. It may not be on the outside of say a laptop. I think some have been stuck in the battery compartment etc. MS log the activation keys as win is installed. They may complain if hardware is changed even on the original machine it's installed on. That may be a past problem. People had to log into their account. That made adding a disk etc ok. They may have stopped doing this. This area is all down to their licensing terms - on one machine. Some might move a disk from one to another or clone etc.

    I thought that there was only a few companies that used digitally signed. 2 for instance HP and Lenovo but there could be others. If a machine comes with the activation key stuck on it reinstall is simple. Download the correct media from MS, install and use the activation key. You may need your account email address but as mine was blacked on win11 I just took out another, It was blacked because I wrecked win II and tried to reinstall with media downloaded from MS on a machine that was digitally signed. Suspicious use noticed.

    On my win10 machine I plugged in a 2nd ssd. No problems. Does win log other hardware aspects - I don't know. Digitally signed is likely to have problems used on a different machine. There are utilities around to extract win activation keys. Digitally signed too ??? Win 10 may be able to do that itself under security but if digitally signed it might just state that. The tutorial mentions generating installation media, I'd assume via win itself but with MS iso's available that's not really needed. The iso must match the legit version of win also it may complain about registering as both personal use and business use at some point so best keep even that the same.

    Maybe you best option is to play with what you have. Look at ways of getting win installation media and keys. Load a VM into linux and see what happens. Update the machine - perhaps find out how win was installed but that doesn't mean all will be ok. TPM worries may be a red herring. EEEEkkk I'll find out, my win11 machine is bound to have it and is digitally signed. Use a VM. When I have used those in the past they have been transparent from a use point of view, No resource allocation and mouse position sets what's running*. I'd ideally want that again but have no idea if it is available. A heavy resource using win app isn't going to be spectacular using one core and a bit of ram. Dual booting takes care of that. I've mostly got away with using wine under linux but I only run odd win apps. Updating firmware has needed windows also certain apps provided with cameras where it's best to use these. Spreadsheets? Fulling compatible. Yes and no. I have come across some full of macro's and they wont run correctly under linux.

    *Not exactly true but resource usage looked after itself.

    TBH I should be asking myself if I really need win but having paid for it I'd like to keep it. I have seen signs on win installs I still have that it is best to update them from time to time as not doing that may mess up recovery methods, Updates have trashed a win 8.1 install I have. My win10 hasn't been updated for several years. Dual booted and not used. I've forgotten the password and recovery on that aspect is no longer working. It has used the net connection and will make use of it even before I have logged on. Makes me feel a bit paranoid.

  3. #23
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    Re: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by ajohnl View Post
    The tutorial is a bit mixed as it mentions product keys and later says digitally signed will correct itself. Also use of your Microsoft account.
    Your comments about there being a Label somewhere inside the case, or in the battery compartment... are incorrect. Labels for those product keys haven't been used by Name Brand computer manufacturers for a very long time.

    I was a certified HP, Dell and Lenovo Onsite Warranty Service Tech. (...up until about a year ago.) The digital key, "them" saying the key is injected into the motherboard, is sort of correct, but a bit misleading. I don't know why they make it sound so "magical". What that really means is that it is flashed into the permanent storage area of the BIOS. It is in an protected area of the BIOS that not overwritten by reflashing the BIOS.

    Use the PowerShell command I posted previously to retrieve the key from the BIOS.

    When I was called in to replace motherboards, I had use the specific vendor's tools to manually enter the product key from the old motherboards, into the replacement motherboards, so that Windows would stay activated. With some vendors, you only had one-chance to get it right. If incorrectly done, we had to return the motherboard (for the depot to unlock again) and have another new board shipped out via overnight shipping. If I was called onsite to reload Windows onto a machine, Windows would use that same key to activate. It is a good idea to create at least one User with your Microsoft account, because that account would also store that key, and your 64 digit encryption key from bit-locker.

    I loved it when I was called onsite for a pre-loaded Ubuntu machine, that their own vendor support had nothing in their support scripts, to be able to support. With me getting on the phone, to a different tier, I still had to give them the serial or tag number, to prove that they sold something with Ubuntu pre-loaded from the factory, and that they had to support it. Ugh. LOL.

    Tier 1 support also had no idea that they have their own repo's with specific Linux drivers or their own products...

    IMHO... For the main name brands, stay with Dell: Dell Optiplex 3000 Thin Client, Precision 3460 Small Form Factor Workstation, Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition... All were factory builds that could be ordered with Ubuntu pre-installed. As well as any Dell EMC PowerEdge product. Dell has great support and repositories for Ubuntu. Then Lenovo, then HP. In that order... For those 3.
    Last edited by MAFoElffen; May 22nd, 2023 at 08:21 PM.

    "Concurrent coexistence of Windows, Linux and UNIX..." || Ubuntu user # 33563, Linux user # 533637
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  4. #24
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    Re: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by MAFoElffen View Post
    It is a good idea to create at least one User with your Microsoft account, because that account would also store that key, and your 64 digit encryption key from bit-locker.
    This was the main reason I stopped using MS-Windows. I've never had any MSFT account. Don't want any and certainly don't want them to have access to any of my encryption keys.

    When MSFT tried to update their EULA under Win7, Win8 and Win10 to add this and allow them the contractual wording that said they could load software without my permission, I started blocking all MSFT IPs. I have 2 Win7 systems (not currently booted) still. One runs inside a VM and is used for tax and financial software. Works great. It still tries to phone home, constantly. The financial software is from 2013 and still works fine though that company has switched to an annual subscription for $35 model. Doesn't impact me. I started using their software in 1991. I'm looking for a native Linux replacement.

    I'm fortunate that
    a) I don't need MS-Windows
    b) the software I need still works

  5. #25
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    Re: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu

    Thanks for all the posts. You guys have pretty much persuaded me to install Lubuntu and use Windows on a VM machine. Right now I am thinking that I only really need Windows for tax software.

    I personally agree with the Fu and others: I don't like Microsoft snooping all over the place. And I remember visiting some Linux forums many years ago and posters encouraging me to "give Microsoft the old heave ho," which I was more than ready to do and did. The only reason I am using Windows 10 now is because I was given a cheap brand new PC as a Christmas gift about 5.5 years ago. And I never really took the time to figure out how to dual boot Lubuntu. It's not that straightforward anymore, with UEFIs, fast and secure boots, etc. It was easier at one time with the old BIOS.

    In any case, my once brand new gift PC (5.5 year-old Acer Aspire E5-575) has two keys that don't work anymore, has a hairline crack in the lid and missing rubber "feet" on the bottom of the PC. I just need to see if I can get some free RAM from a relative to increase my RAM and see if I can buy a cheap keyboard (without the touchpad, etc) in order to keep the cost of rehabilitating my present PC down before I install Lubuntu and then Windows 10 on a VM. If I can't keep the cost of rehab down, I will spend the money on a cheap refurbished, but newer PC with more RAM and I will install the latest Lubuntu LTS with Windows 10 on a VM -- I really don't want to spend more money for Windows 11 for the VM unless somebody explains why I should.

    Thank you again and any more comments or advice will be appreciated.

    A.
    Last edited by AbleTassie; May 25th, 2023 at 10:01 PM.

  6. #26
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    Re: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu

    Acer Aspire E5-575 ... I don't know specific models, but we used to have Linux InstallFests at the local University and I definitely remember cheap Acer machines with CPUs that could support VT-x or AMD-v (those are the hardware virtual machine instructions) also having no way to enable those features in the BIOS. That means you should check the BIOS for your computer and verify that "Virtualization" can be enabled.

    I double-checked that the i3-7100U CPU does support VT-x. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us...-2-40-ghz.html

    You need to check the BIOS yourself. https://community.acer.com/en/discus...virtualization is encouraging. It says that recent Acer BIOSes have VT-x enabled, even if there's no way to enable it in the BIOS. YMMV.

  7. #27
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    Re: If I buy a new or refurbished PC with TPM 2.0, will I be able to dual boot Ubuntu

    Thanks to everybody for their replies, including TheFu MAFoElffen, oldfred, tea for one and others. I am marking this thread as SOLVED.

    Thanks again,

    A.

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