I was trying to play Call of Duty when I discovered that Secure Boot was disabled. After following advice to reset the Secure Boot keys, my ASUS TUF Gaming motherboard started showing a red "Secure Boot Violation" message about unauthorized changes. Windows will not boot normally, and choosing "Other OS" lets the computer start but does not allow me to enable Secure Boot. The BIOS is from around 2020, even though Secure Boot worked previously. What is the safest way to fix this?
1 Answer
The older BIOS may not contain the current Secure Boot key database. Update the BIOS first, then load the default or factory Secure Boot keys and enable UEFI-only boot mode. ASUS EZ Flash is the normal tool for this, but make absolutely sure the file matches your exact motherboard model, use a FAT32-formatted USB drive, and do not interrupt power during the update. Afterward, restore the default BIOS settings if needed, enable Secure Boot, and select Windows UEFI mode rather than “Other OS.”
I was considering EZ Flash, but the system froze when I tried to flash the BIOS from the USB drive. I’ll double-check the motherboard model and USB formatting before trying again.