How to Disable Secure Boot in Bios

If your PC won’t boot from a USB or your Windows install keeps getting blocked, Secure Boot is often the reason. In many cases, you can turn it off in your UEFI/BIOS. The tricky part is that the setting is tucked into different menus depending on the brand, and sometimes the option is greyed out. This guide shows the most common route first, then walks through fixes for the two problems people run into most.

Find the Secure Boot setting in BIOS/UEFI (what menu to look for)

On most modern PCs, Secure Boot is controlled from the UEFI/BIOS setup screen. Look for labels like Secure Boot, Boot Security, or a Security section inside the firmware menu.

A lot of systems follow a similar layout:

• Find the Boot or Security area in BIOS/UEFI
• Look for a menu called Secure Boot
• Set it to Disabled

If you don’t see it right away, don’t worry. Some setups put it under advanced options, and others hide it behind a screen like “UEFI Firmware Settings” (more on that below).

Quick heads-up: exact wording can vary by brand, but the setting name is usually still “Secure Boot,” or it sits in the boot/security portion of the firmware menu.

Use Windows to open UEFI Firmware Settings (Troubleshoot > Advanced Options path)

If you can’t get into BIOS the normal way (for example, you’re not hitting F2, Del, Esc, etc. in time), you can open the firmware settings from inside Windows.

Use this Windows path:

1. Settings (or search for it from the Start menu)
2. Go to System
3. Open Recovery
4. Under Advanced startup, choose Restart now
5. When the blue screen appears, go to:

• Troubleshoot
• Advanced options
• UEFI Firmware Settings

1. Click Restart
2. Your PC boots to the BIOS/UEFI screen

From there, follow the BIOS steps to find Secure Boot and set it to Disabled.

Disable Secure Boot (set it to Disabled)

Once you’re in BIOS/UEFI:

1. Find Secure Boot

• It’s usually under Boot, Security, or Advanced

1. Open the Secure Boot option
2. Change it to Disabled
3. Choose Save and Exit

• Use the option that saves your change and restarts the machine

After you save, your PC restarts with Secure Boot turned off, which is often what allows USB installs and certain boot devices to work.

If Secure Boot is greyed out: try “Clear Secure Boot Keys”

Sometimes Secure Boot is visible, but you can’t change it. In that case, look for an option to clear the secure boot keys.

Here’s the quick decision point:

• If Secure Boot is greyed out and you can’t select Disabled

→ look for Clear Secure Boot Keys and try that.

Typical flow inside BIOS/UEFI:

1. Open the Secure Boot area
2. Find Clear Secure Boot Keys (or wording very close to that)
3. Select it (it may show a warning)
4. Go back to Secure Boot
5. Set Secure Boot to Disabled
6. Save and exit

If you don’t see “Clear Secure Boot Keys,” check the menus inside the same Secure Boot section. On some systems it’s one layer deeper.

After Secure Boot is off: switch to legacy boot options (if needed)

Turning off Secure Boot is often only the first step. The next step is sometimes the boot mode.

If your USB won’t boot, you may need to switch from UEFI mode to Legacy/CSM mode (the label varies, but it’s usually Legacy boot or CSM).

After disabling Secure Boot:

1. Go back to Boot settings
2. Look for Boot mode
3. Switch it to a legacy option if your installer needs it

• Some systems offer UEFI and Legacy
• Others require you to choose Legacy directly

This matters because a USB installer can be “stubborn” when firmware and boot mode don’t match what the installer expects.

Brand-specific navigation tips (Lenovo, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, HP)

Menu names don’t always match exactly, but the place you’re looking is usually the same.

What to look for on any brand

In BIOS/UEFI, scan for these labels:

• Secure Boot
• Boot Security
• Security
• Advanced
• UEFI Firmware Settings
• Legacy / CSM / Boot mode

Where brands usually hide it

• Lenovo: often under a Security/Boot area in firmware settings
• ASUS: usually in the Boot or Security portion of the BIOS utility
• Gigabyte: commonly under Boot-related settings, sometimes within advanced boot options
• MSI: typically inside Security/Boot sections
• HP: often under Boot options and security settings in the firmware menu

If you’re stuck, use the BIOS “search” feature if your BIOS has one. Otherwise, browse the sections until you find anything that mentions Secure Boot, Boot Security, or firmware/security.

Windows 11 and Windows 10: how the BIOS change affects boot/install steps

Once Secure Boot is disabled, your next boot attempt should behave differently. Do the following right after you make the change.

After disabling Secure Boot

• Reboot back into Windows (or stay in BIOS if you still need to change boot mode)
• Try booting from the USB installer again
• If the USB still doesn’t show up or the install won’t start, check boot mode settings (UEFI vs Legacy)

If you’re installing Windows from USB

Many installs go more smoothly when:

• the USB is created correctly for the firmware mode you’re using
• your firmware boot mode matches what the installer expects

So if you disabled Secure Boot and the install still won’t start, the next place to check is legacy boot options (as described above).

Troubleshooting: Secure Boot stuck on, stuck in BIOS, or state mismatch

Here are the main failure points and what to try next.

Case 1: Secure Boot is greyed out in BIOS

Symptom: You can see Secure Boot, but you can’t change it.

Try in this order:

1. Look for Clear Secure Boot Keys
2. Apply it
3. Go back to Secure Boot and set Disabled
4. Save and restart

If it still won’t change after clearing keys, check whether you’re in a read-only or limited setup mode. Some systems restrict options depending on mode.

Case 2: You turned it off, but things still act like it’s on

Symptom: Your BIOS/UEFI screen and what Windows reports don’t match, or the boot/install is still blocked.

Use this checklist:

1. Reopen BIOS/UEFI
2. Confirm Secure Boot shows Disabled
3. Make sure you Saved and Exit (not just exit without saving)
4. Reboot and try again

Why this happens: the change sometimes doesn’t save, or the system reverts after a failed boot. In other cases, Secure Boot being off isn’t enough because you might still be using the wrong boot mode (UEFI vs legacy), so the install can’t proceed.

Case 3: You can’t get into BIOS, or you keep getting sent back

If the firmware screen won’t stay open, or Windows restarts too fast:

• Use the Windows method: Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings
• Change Secure Boot and save before rebooting

Case 4: You’re stuck in a boot loop after changes

This usually comes from:

• switching boot mode (UEFI/Legacy) and losing the old boot path
• the boot order pointing to the wrong device

Fix:

• Open Boot Order
• Make sure your intended drive/USB is listed first
• If needed, switch boot mode to match what your main OS install uses (or use the legacy/UEFI option that works for your setup)

What to check before you reboot (boot device and firmware settings you changed)

Before you hit Save and Exit, pause for about 30 seconds and confirm you changed the right options. People often miss one detail.

Check:

• Secure Boot is set to Disabled
• If available, Boot mode is set the way you need (UEFI vs Legacy)
• Boot order has your USB or target drive near the top
• You’re using the correct installer USB (especially for Windows installs)

Then reboot and try again.

If you’re booting or installing right after disabling Secure Boot, also double-check your boot mode and boot device settings next. After that, return to the Secure Boot menu one more time to confirm the change actually stuck.