Secure boot on dual boot

[yArLiRuT]

Hi!

I want to activate secure boot on the dual boot on my Omen Max 16 (2025) with Windows 11 and CachyOS.

Somehow I can't: when I delete the secure boot keys on the BIOS I can do the sbctl in the terminal but the "Setup mode" appears "Disabled" so I can't go on on the process, and when I chose the HP factory keys the sbctl says: "System is no booted with UEFI", what is not true, and also can't advance.

I'm trying to follow the guide provided on the cachyos WIKI: https://wiki.cachyos.org/configuration/secure_boot_setup/

I think it has to be something related to the ammend keys, but I tried several things and anything works. 

Please, can you help me?

Thank you in advance

[pepe999]

Hi there,

Why do you want to activate the secure boot? The user should be the one that is in charge of the security of its computer and therefore the secure boot should be removed from the UEFI settings once and for all. 

[skie609]

Hey, I’ve dealt with something very similar on a dual boot setup, so I get why you’re stuck — Secure Boot + Linux tools like sbctl can get weird fast on some OEM BIOS like HP. What’s happening usually is not your Linux install, but the firmware state getting “confused” between Setup Mode, custom keys, and HP’s own key management. I faced something like this on a laptop where BIOS kept saying UEFI mismatch even when everything was correct. What worked for me: First, fully reset Secure Boot keys (don’t mix delete + partial restore, do full clear once) Make sure CSM/Legacy is OFF and only pure UEFI is enabled in BIOS Recreate keys using sbctl only after confirming /sys/firmware/efi exists Also, HP firmware sometimes lies about “Setup Mode Disabled” until you reboot twice after changes. Not sure if it helps but I’ve seen this behavior before while working around setups in U-Shop systems too. Are you able to confirm if /sys/firmware/efi is present in your live session?

[yArLiRuT]

Hi! this is a gaming laptop, and some games as BF6 or COD:BO7 requires the secure boot active, thats why I ask for it. 

Best regards

[yArLiRuT]

Hi! thank you for youre reply. I will share some captures about the process done on my side:
Keys deleted on the BIOS

The system bios only allows UEFI boot:

I go directly to CachyOS, I start the steps to activate the secure boot following the guide and:

I really dont know what to do 😞

In addition: 

I have 2 separated hard drives, one with W11 the other one with Linux CachyOS

[yArLiRuT]

Hi

Some update in this topic:

If I delete all the secure keys, then the sbctl status says "system is not booted with UEFI".
If I load the HP default keys on BIOS, then it says:

Installed: sbctl is installed
Owner GUID: xxxx.x.x.xxxxx..xxxxxxx (where x are numbers and leters)
Setup Mode: Disabled
Secure boot: Disabled
Vendor keys: microsoft builtin-db builtin-KEK builtin-PK

What am I doing wrong? I'm desperate with this. How to activate "Setup Mode" correctly?!?!?!

Thank you in advance for your help