what is boot mode change (021)?

[laruppert]

My laptop is rebooting and seems to  be changing the BIOS.  Is this a safe change?

[SeanS]

Hey Laruppert,

Did you try and update the laptop bios? If so, this shouldn't be an issue. Just continue with the update.

-Sean

[Arym]

Hi, so I was doing an HP Update and then suddenly a screen appeared which said "Operating System Boot Mode Change (021)" is pending. It gave me two options, either to press ESC (to avoid the change) or to type 1255+enter (to go on with the change).

So I wasn't sure what to do, I just pressed 1255+enter. What is this change that has happened? I don't even know what it means. 

[Cloud_Strider]

@Arym,

By chance, did you disable something called Secure Boot and enabled Legacy mode in BIOS?

What you described sounds like the verification screen one receives when these changes are made.  

Was it like the following image?

This is what is received when disabling Secure Boot as outlined in the following document.

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03653226

If this is the case, it can always be changed back by loading the defaults within BIOS.

[Arym]

That is exactly the message I got, but I didn't request it or anything. and I have no idea what legacy mode is 😕

Should I follow the steps in the link you sent and enable secure boot again?

[Cloud_Strider]

I would recommend setting the BIOS to default.  Enter BIOS and press the default key (usually f9) and then save and exit.  This should return the settings to the defaults including Secure Boot.

Secure boot is a method to prevent advanced malware from booting or unauthorized OSes from booting at startup.  With Secure Boot enabled, only OSes that have a signature in the BIOS will be bootable.  At the moment, there are some Linux distributions that have a signature file (though, a bit spotty in Linux) and Windows 8.  If you wanted to boot something else, such as Windows 7, you would need to disable secure boot.  Legacy mode is where non-Secure Boot OSes will be bootable. 

If you only want to boot Windows 8, then restoring the defaults will most likely be the simplest solution. 

[Arym]

I have Windows 7 installed on this computer, don't even have Windows 8.

I went into the F10 utility settings and Legacy Mode is enabled currently and I dont even have the option of enabling or disabling Secure Boot (the link on the sub-menu is grey and I can't select it).

I'm really confused, where do I go to BIOS default settings from?

[Cloud_Strider]

If you have Windows 7, I would leave it as is. Secure boot should be disabled by default if it came with Windows 7. If secure boot is enabled, Windows 7 will no longer boot. As to why you received the message, I wouldn't be too concerned about it at this point.

If you want to enable defaults for good measure, the key to load the default settings should be listed at the bottom of the BIOS screen. It's typically f9.

[Arym]

Thank you. I will do that 🙂

[Cloud_Strider]

You are most welcome.  I'm glad I was able to assist.

Thanks for updating the community.  🙂