Gigabyte Motherboard Specific Guide

This guide is written specifically for NZXT Gaming PCs using Gigabyte branded motherboards. Screenshots were captured on the Gigabyte B650 UD AC motherboard.

Secure Boot is a vital feature found on many motherboards that is necessary for newer operating systems, software, and features such as Secure Drive Encryption using tools such as BitLocker.  A common reason Secure Boot will need to be enabled for Gaming PCs in particular is as a requirement for anti-cheat used in various games such as Valorant, EA Sports FC, Battlefield 6, etc.  If you attempt to run these games without Secure Boot enabled, the game may refuse to launch or will provide an error popup.

Preparing for Secure Boot

To adjust the Secure Boot settings you will need to reboot your PC into the UEFI.  This can be done by rebooting your PC and pressing the Delete key at the Gigabyte splash screen as shown below:

Once in the UEFI, make sure that you are in Advanced Mode by checking the top of the screen.  If you are in Easy Mode, click the button to switch modes.

In order to enable Secure Boot there are two key settings that must be confirmed:

• Compatibility Support Module (CSM) is Disabled.
• Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is Enabled.

Compatibility Support Module

In order to enable Secure Boot and the Trusted Platform Module, the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) must be set to Disabled.  This setting normally will block the use of Secure Boot, however if both settings are enabled it will prevent the PC from properly starting.

To disable CSM, open the Boot tab and make sure that CSM Support is set to Disabled.

If this option was changed from Enabled to Disabled, click the Save & Exit tab and choose Save & Exit Setup to restart the PC and then re-enter the UEFI.

Trusted Platform Module

For all supported NZXT Gaming PCs, we will use the Firmware TPM built-in to the motherboard.  These settings can be found in the Settings tab under Miscellaneous.  

To enable the Trusted Platform Module, make sure that it is set to Auto.  To confirm the setting is active, select Trusted Computing 2.0 and make sure that Security Device Support shows Enabled.

With the Trusted Platform Module enabled, we are ready to enable Secure Boot.

Enabling Secure Boot

To enable Secure Boot, click the Boot tab and select the Secure Boot option.

In the Secure Boot settings, make sure that Secure Boot is set to Enabled.  If it is set to Enabled but shows Not Active, you may need to restore the factory secure boot keys on the motherboard.

To do restore the factory keys, change the Secure Boot Mode from Standard to Custom, then select Key Management (may also be listed as Expert Key Management).

In the Key Management options, the lower section of the settings should show various Secure Boot variables including the Platform Key (PK) and various other information.  For this situation, it will likely show 0/0/No Keys.

Select Restore Factory Keys, then when prompted to Install factory defaults click Yes.  If prompted to Reset without saving, select Yes to continue.

To confirm Secure Boot is properly enabled, re-open the UEFI and check the Secure Boot settings to make sure that it is Enabled and Active.

Checking Secure Boot in Windows

The best way to check if Secure Boot is properly enabled is either to launch a program with the Secure Boot requirement or to check the System Information app.  You can open the System Information app by pressing the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run box, then type in msinfo32 and press Enter.

In the System Information app, look for Secure Boot State which should appear as On.