I'm trying to upgrade my PC from Windows 10 21H2 to 25H2 as part of our rollout for 2026. I initially encountered an issue where the upgrade couldn't proceed because Secure Boot was disabled. After enabling Secure Boot in the BIOS, I got an error message stating 'checking media presence.' I've already reseated the CMOS battery, checked all SATA connections, and confirmed that the HDD is recognized in the boot order. I've also attempted to prioritize it in the boot order, but nothing seems to be working. The PC I'm working with is a Lenovo ThinkCentre M720s.
4 Answers
Even with Secure Boot disabled? That’s odd! I had a similar issue, but after enabling Compatibility Support Module (CSM) along with Secure Boot, it managed to boot up. Right now, I'm in the process of converting my disk from MBR to GPT—let’s see if that resolves the problem.
When you enable Secure Boot, it can affect how the system recognizes your boot device. You might want to try switching between UEFI and Legacy boot modes in the BIOS. Sometimes, Secure Boot can be a bit picky about the boot method used.
Have you thought about doing a registry override to bypass the Secure Boot requirement for the upgrade? It could let you move forward with the installation.
Unfortunately, I can't boot into Windows at all...
It sounds like Secure Boot might have an issue with your SATA cable. Try changing the SATA port or cable before diving deeper—it could save you some time. If that fails, you could turn Secure Boot off again and just let Windows 11 complain during installation; at least it should get through setup then.
I tried turning Secure Boot off, but I'm still stuck in the same error loop.
In the BIOS, the Boot Mode is set to UEFI, but the option to change it is greyed out, so I can't do that.