Booting Predator Desktop to "Legacy Mode" for dual-boot. Predator Orion 3000.

Hello,

I am having an issue where I cannot setup my Predator for "dual-boot" OS. And the computer does not detect any other boot devices in BIOS other than "Windows Boot Manager".

I downloaded a linux-based crypto mining OS called "ethOS" and flashed it to an old laptop SSD I have (using the provided instructions).

Like I said the computer will not detect the boot device. I tried plugging the hard drive into an old Acer Laptop I have, and the laptop was able to boot to the drive using "Legacy" mode. So I know this is the issue.

So I went to my Predator Desktop and tried to switch to "legacy" boot mode but the option is greyed out on the "boot" tab of the BIOS and only selects "UEFI".

I have done the following to try and get the option enabled:
- Switch SATA mode to "AHCI" and enable current windows installation to boot in this mode.
- Enter supervisor password
- Disable Secure Boot

The option is still greyed out.

Any suggestions?
Thanks,

Accepted answers

All comments

billsey

We're going to have to know which Predator model you have. The BIOS options are different on different models. If it's one of the newer ones, legacy mode will not be available, nothing since the Windows 7 days uses it. What is the base OS on your crypto mining package? I'd have expected them to run a minimal OS based on Ubuntu or Debian or some such, and those all support UEFI booting.

Kaaaaahle

billsey said:

We're going to have to know which Predator model you have. The BIOS options are different on different models. If it's one of the newer ones, legacy mode will not be available, nothing since the Windows 7 days uses it. What is the base OS on your crypto mining package? I'd have expected them to run a minimal OS based on Ubuntu or Debian or some such, and those all support UEFI booting.

Thanks for the response. I have a Predator Orion 3000. I can take a picture of the BIOS screen or something if needed.

Basically I'm using an application called "rufus" to flash a .IMG file to a USB drive. My other laptop, which has legacy boot, can detect the flash drive in BIOS boot manager. But my Predator will not.

I think it has something to do with Windows, honestly but I'm not sure.

Kaaaaahle

Also yes, this is a pretty new computer. About 6 months old.

billsey

There are three different Predator Orion 3000 model lines, PO3-600, PO3-610 and PO3-620, with many hundreds of SKUs in each line. I am going to assume you have one of the last two since you bought it recently. Neither the 610 or 620 versions will have support for legacy booting, Intel never created drivers for them with Windows 7. It looks to me like ethOS should work in a UEFI environment, as long as you have Secure Boot disabled since it's not a signed EFI image. Fire up your BIOS and take some pictures of the screens, hiding serial numbers, and post them here. We especially want to know what is set in the Advanced; Integrated Peripherals settings.

Kaaaaahle

billsey said:

There are three different Predator Orion 3000 model lines, PO3-600, PO3-610 and PO3-620, with many hundreds of SKUs in each line. I am going to assume you have one of the last two since you bought it recently. Neither the 610 or 620 versions will have support for legacy booting, Intel never created drivers for them with Windows 7. It looks to me like ethOS should work in a UEFI environment, as long as you have Secure Boot disabled since it's not a signed EFI image. Fire up your BIOS and take some pictures of the screens, hiding serial numbers, and post them here. We especially want to know what is set in the Advanced; Integrated Peripherals settings.

Sorry I should have just posted the model number. It is PO3-620. I took some pictures of the BIOS screen, they are below.

First: screenshot of windows disk manager, showing the USB drive inserted with the ~5GB ethOS partition.

Next, bios screens:

[edit: i deleted this photo since it has my computer's S/N. just says Predator P03-620
basic info

SATA mode AHCI. I think this is the screen you were asking for but let me know if not.

secure boot disabled

boot screen, boot mode only allows UEFI

windows boot manager only option in boot menu.

Thanks for the help!

[Edited the thread to hide sensitive content]

Kaaaaahle

I realized now there are serial numbers for the hard disks and i can't edit the post. Hope it's not a big deal.

Kaaaaahle

By the way, just as a double check to make sure the USB drive isn't bad, I used another program called "HDD Raw Copy Tool" to clone the .IMG file to a spare SATA drive I have (all according to directions on the ethOS website) and tried plugging it in. The motherboard detects the physical drive but once again it does not show up in the boot menu.

billsey

Serial numbers for the drives is not an issue. Do a directory on the thumb drive to see if it has the UEFI files on it. There should be a boot or efi folder.