I'd like to switch my BIOS mode from Legacy to UEFI; can someone tell if it's possible please

[SuperSquirrel1]

I am attempting to partition & dual boot my Windows 10 HP laptop to have Ubuntu [any version of Linux] also, for learning purposes for my son's college courses in cyber security, & while researching I have found that my BIOS mode is Legacy vs UEFI.  I guess my question is whether my motherboard can switch to a BIOS mode UEFI from Legacy... I have typed all of my system info to help figure this out because I can not find a definitive answer through all the research I have done.  I would greatly appreciate any help and thank anyone for their time reading my question and giving me some advice. 

I did my best to leave any personal info blank, however, using these forums is a first for me & I am not even sure I am doing this question in the proper section, format, or anything for that matter; so I do apologize if there's any confusion in what I have posted.  I just hope I can get the help I truly need.  If I have the answer, then I am sure I will be able to figure out how to do the update and the dual boot.   This is a surprise attempt for my son, as he has shown interest in wanting to work with Linux and I have this older notebook that I don't mind trying some different things with.

Item      -      Value

OS Name - Microsoft Windows 10 Home

Version - 10.0.19045 Build 19045

Other OS Description - Not Available

OS Manufacturer - Microsoft Corporation

System Name - 

System Manufacturer - Hewlett-Packard

System Model - HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook PC

System Type - x64-based PC

System SKU - 

Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz, 2201 Mhz, 4 Cor

BIOS Version/Date - Hewlett-Packard F.1C, 1/23/2013

SMBIOS Version - 2.7

Embedded Controller Version - 16.90

BIOS Mode - Legacy

BaseBoard Manufacturer - Hewlett-Packard

BaseBoard Product - 1802

BaseBoard Version - 10.5A

Platform Role - Mobile

Secure Boot State - Unsupported

PCR7 Configuration - Binding Not Possible

Windows Directory - C:\Windows

System Directory - C:\Windows\system32

Boot Device - \Device\HarddiskVolume1

Locale - United States

Hardware Abstraction Layer - Version 10.0.19041.3636"

User Name - 

Time Zone - Eastern Standard Time

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) - 8.00 GB

Total Physical Memory - 7.95 GB

Available Physical Memory - 3.95 GB

Total Virtual Memory - 9.82 GB

Available Virtual Memory - 5.55 GB

Page File Space - 1.88 GB

[Paul_Tikkanen]

That model notebook does not have a UEFI BIOS.

You can easily tell if your notebook has a UEFI BIOS because in the F9 boot options menu, it would have to sets of boot options...a list of (U)EFI boot sources and a list of legacy boot sources.

Your notebook just has one list of boot sources, and it is not labeled (U)EFI or legacy.

[SuperSquirrel1]

Yes, I realize it's not UEFI BIOS & it is a Legacy BIOS; however, I was wondering if I am able to upgrade, change, switch, etc... to a UEFI BIOS vs using Legacy BIOS. 

  In other words, I'm wondering if I am able to change it to a UEFI BIOS, because I've seen where some motherboards that are using Legacy BIOS from the factory, are able to switch out with an update or code command, switching it to a UEFI BIOS. Through my research I've found that some motherboards come like mine, using Legacy but are able to change & there are some motherboards that are not able to change. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Your notebook's BIOS/motherboard is not one that supports any kind of update to make it a UEFI BIOS.

There's no real advantage to having a UEFI BIOS in a notebook that old other than being able to use a hard drive or 2.5" SSD greater than 2 TB as a boot drive.

[SuperSquirrel1]

Correct... I'm aware it doesn't have UEFI BIOS & I know how to check; that's not my question though. My question is if I can change it with a line of code or by doing something to make it UEFI. I'm wondering if my motherboard is capable of supporting UEFI or not. I found a way to remove Legacy & make it UEFI BIOS, but I need to know if the motherboard is capable of supporting UEFI. I'll add a short description of what I'm talking about, because there seems to be some confusion about how I worded my question or how everyone is answering my question. 

Below is a partial description of what I need to do to make my BIOS a UEFI & remove Legacy; maybe this will help clear up my question in the original post. 

**Although UEFI can do a better job than Legacy, not all devices allow users to change to UEFI. There are some prerequisites you need to know. Otherwise, your Windows hardware may fail leading to a black screen.

1. Although there will be no data loss during the conversion of legacy BIOS to UEFI, you should back up your system as a precaution.

2. In the first instance, make sure your Windows machine is capable of supporting UEFI. In general, all motherboards released after 2014 support UEFI secure boot, however this is not always the case. As a result, you need to individually

check the eligibility of your device.

3. You should be using Windows 10 v1703 or higher. If you are not sure, press Win + R, type winver and press Enter. On the second line, you should see "version 1703" or higher.**

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Thanks for clarifying.

Unfortunately, I would no idea how you would be able to do that.

How do you get into the BIOS to enter code, to make changes, etc., when it is completely locked by HP?

That I do not know.