I've been reading these:

https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ#how-do-i-disable-secure-boot

And some specific info for different motherboards:

https://www.rodsbooks.com/efi-bootloaders/secureboot.html#disable

Quote from: Skhilled on Nov 30, 2025, 06:57 PMFrom what I've been reading lately, most dual-boots may need UEFI enabled on the BIOS. That's what I need to look into in order to get my USB/portable drive to dual-boot.

Sadly, I've been having server issues...again.  And, I've busy with that and my grand kids. LOL

UEFI itself isn't a problem - the Secure Boot feature of UEFI is. Apparently it can be enabled in Linux but it's a pain to do so (see https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface/Secure_Boot for more info). It's easier to just disable it.

Yes, if you want to dual boot with windows 11 you will need UEFI enabled secure boot is not needed as of now.
I think Windows 11 can be booted using legacy mode, I'm not sure how long they will support that.

Quote from: Oldiesmann on Nov 29, 2025, 02:25 AMI may also need to tweak the BIOS settings before installation. As I recall, I had to disable Secure Boot to be able to dual boot with Arch, but I'll figure that out later.

From what I've been reading lately, most dual-boots may need UEFI enabled on the BIOS. That's what I need to look into in order to get my USB/portable drive to dual-boot.

Sadly, I've been having server issues...again.   And, I've busy with that and my grand kids. LOL

EndeavourOS is installed. Still installing/configuring some things on that side but the installation went quickly and it picked up Windows as well. All I have left to do on the boot side is configure it to automatically boot into the last selected option (so I don't have to sit in front of the computer when installing Windows updates)

I've gotten most of the software I was using reinstalled at this point and generated a new SSH key for Git (because apparently you can't easily transfer them). Now I'm reinstalling PostgreSQL, and I still need to reinstall the various updates for wampserver, but I'll get to that soon.

The only thing I don't really like about this laptop is it seems the display isn't as good as the one on my old laptop. The colors just seem brighter and more vivid on the old one. Not sure why, but it's not worth the hassle of returning this one and buying a new one at this point.

Quote from: Oldiesmann on Nov 29, 2025, 02:25 AMNew laptop arrived today. I've gotten Windows basically configured the way I want it now - reinstalled some apps, uninstalled a bunch of stuff I didn't want/need, etc. The next step, either tomorrow or Sunday, will be to reinstall Linux. This time though I'm going with EndeavourOS, which is basically Arch with a GUI installer, theming and a few other things (such as a graphical package manager and firewall). I decided to go that route instead of straight Arch because installing Arch is a pain and I don't feel like going through that again (though I haven't done anything with the archinstall script thing, which didn't exist last time I installed Arch, but looking through the docs I'm not sure that would make things much simpler).

Still to do on the Windows front:
Finish transferring over any files I want to keep from the old laptop (I already copied all my MP3s off to a portable SSD to save a few gigs of space, and I don't listen to them much anyway so I'll just leave them on the portable drive)
Finish configuring installed software as needed
I'll probably also shrink and partition the C drive before installing Endeavour to make life easier as well - that way I just tell it which partition I want it to use and it can partition things further from there as it deems necessary

I may also need to tweak the BIOS settings before installation. As I recall, I had to disable Secure Boot to be able to dual boot with Arch, but I'll figure that out later.

Sounds like you're going to have fun with it. I hope it all works out for you

Quote from: Chen Zhen on Nov 28, 2025, 07:06 PMAll of that as internal?
USB 3.2 is fairly fast for file transfers so why not just get a couple of USB 3.2 hubs and load them up with SSD's.
I got a few SATA hubs that are a bit dated but the current available rigs are ie. M.2 Nvme hubs & those SSD's are a bit cheaper.

Attached is the grab of my non NAS drives. I made a mistake with the total as internal there is 7TB, disks 4 & 5 are external SSDs. You'll see there is an 'A' drive which is a clone of my 'C' drive

New laptop arrived today. I've gotten Windows basically configured the way I want it now - reinstalled some apps, uninstalled a bunch of stuff I didn't want/need, etc. The next step, either tomorrow or Sunday, will be to reinstall Linux. This time though I'm going with EndeavourOS, which is basically Arch with a GUI installer, theming and a few other things (such as a graphical package manager and firewall). I decided to go that route instead of straight Arch because installing Arch is a pain and I don't feel like going through that again (though I haven't done anything with the archinstall script thing, which didn't exist last time I installed Arch, but looking through the docs I'm not sure that would make things much simpler).

Still to do on the Windows front:
Finish transferring over any files I want to keep from the old laptop (I already copied all my MP3s off to a portable SSD to save a few gigs of space, and I don't listen to them much anyway so I'll just leave them on the portable drive)
Finish configuring installed software as needed
I'll probably also shrink and partition the C drive before installing Endeavour to make life easier as well - that way I just tell it which partition I want it to use and it can partition things further from there as it deems necessary

I may also need to tweak the BIOS settings before installation. As I recall, I had to disable Secure Boot to be able to dual boot with Arch, but I'll figure that out later.

Just to be clear.. I meant to say USB 3.2 external drive bays but you know what I meant.
I have 2 external SATA3 drive bays on my desktop (both X2 bays) and 2 external HDDs, all of which have my older drives.
Internally I only have 2 SATA3 SSDs and it's an older rig so all my PCIe slots are filled with internal USB 3 hubs and the GPU is on the 16x PCIe. No room to put in a 4X or 5X PCIe M.2 bay.
Next year I'm likely going to upgrade my PC to something more modern but it will probably be a used (approx. 5 yr) rig that has decent specs & a lot of room for expansion.

I've been browsing for some externals & found the MAIWO 4 Bay M.2 Nvme Docking Station which I might purchase.
Most of what I see from other brands are only 2 bays for external M.2 SSD's so I'm wondering about the speeds when you have that many in tandem via USB 3.2.
It will definitely need higher wattage so I kind of wonder why those type of devices don't come with 100W power supply. I suppose the PC is usually not going to run more than 2 at once so perhaps that's the reason.
Internal PCIe drive bays are likely faster with that interface but I would think you'd need decent cooling inside your tower (like an extra fan).