[INFO] BF2042 Patch 8.8 (May 27) – Secure Boot Requirement for Supported Systems

Users with motherboards manufactured before 2012 have legitimate concerns.
For others, the issue may stem from overlooking available solutions rather than technical limitations

The first motherboards to support Secure Boot were those released alongside Windows 8 in 2012, as Microsoft mandated Secure Boot compatibility for OEM systems to receive Windows 8 certification. While the exact "first" model is difficult to pinpoint due to overlapping releases, here’s what we know:

Key Milestones in Secure Boot Adoption

1. Intel 7-Series (e.g., Z77) and AMD 900-Series Chipsets
   • Early consumer motherboards with UEFI firmware (post-2011) began supporting Secure Boot to comply with Windows 8 requirements. Examples include:
     • ASUS P8Z77-V (Intel Z77, 2012)
     • Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 (AMD 990FX, 2012) (source).
2. OEM Systems Leading the Shift
   • Prebuilt PCs (e.g., Dell, HP) were among the first to enable Secure Boot by default, as they adhered to Microsoft’s Windows 8 certification rules (source 1)(source 2).
3. UEFI Standardization
   • Secure Boot became widespread with UEFI 2.3.1 (2011), which formalized the feature. Motherboards with this firmware revision or later (e.g., ASUS "Windows 8 Ready" models) included it (source 1), (source 2).

Why Earlier Boards Missed Out

• Legacy BIOS vs. UEFI: Pre-2011 motherboards typically used legacy BIOS, which lacked Secure Boot. Transitional boards (e.g., some Intel 6-series) had partial UEFI support but often required firmware updates (source 1)(source 2.

For a deeper dive, see Microsoft’s Secure Boot documentation  or threads discussing early UEFI adoption (source).