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    UEFI vs Legacy Bios

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by Dmayner, Aug 30, 2012.

  1. Dmayner

    Dmayner Notebook Geek

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    In the thread that discusses doing a clean install of win7, it is suggested that those who use the fingerprint device should opt for the legacy bios. So I am wondering, what advantages or disadvantages are there to using one or the other? When you update the bios do you need to reset that or is there a separate update? Do you lose any features? Thanks for any help.
     
    Dmayner, Aug 30, 2012
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  2. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    In general, UEFI provides a faster boot than the legacy BIOS option, but occasionally may not play nice with some hardware and operating systems. When you install a Thinkpad BIOS update, you will not need to change your setting one way or another.
     
    MidnightSun, Aug 30, 2012
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  3. Dmayner

    Dmayner Notebook Geek

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    So you don't lose any functionality with going with the Legacy? I have read that there is better security and functionality with UEFI in general, but most manufacturers don't take advantage of it.
     
    Dmayner, Aug 30, 2012
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  4. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    Theoretically, yes, but it's not anything you'll notice at the moment.
     
    MidnightSun, Aug 30, 2012
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  5. JohnsonDelBrat

    JohnsonDelBrat Notebook Evangelist

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    My x220 only booted 4 seconds faster with UEFI, but also had a few compatibility problems. For me, Legacy is the way to go until UEFI is a bit more mainstream.
     
    JohnsonDelBrat, Aug 31, 2012
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  6. takeabyte

    takeabyte Notebook Evangelist

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    I didn't measure boot time with UEFI, but I did run into problems with my fingerprint reader when I went that route. I'll stick with legacy for now :)
     
    takeabyte, Aug 31, 2012
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  7. ThinkRob

    ThinkRob Notebook Deity

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    Yes, "Secure boot" can, in theory, increase security.

    In practice...

    Eh.

    And no, you don't lose any functionality by sticking with BIOS emulation. On my T420, the only difference is in boot times: UEFI saves close to a second. The trade-off for that? My audio card is quirky when the machine boots in UEFI mode, but not in "Legacy" mode. So... BIOS emulation it is!
     
    ThinkRob, Sep 3, 2012
    #7