How to Enable Secure Boot for MW4 Beta

Secure Boot, and the related, though technically separate, TPM 2.0 are fast becoming mandatory for online PC gaming. What was once only insisted on by the most pernickety of developers is almost mandatory. You needed these for Battlefield 6, Black Ops 7, and yes, MW4 too. Here’s how to check if it’s enabled and enable it if it’s not.

You might have inferred this from the intro, but if you played Battlefield 6, Black Ops 7, or even Valorant, and haven’t made any major changes to your PC, then chances are that Secure Boot is still enabled. It’s a very manual process to disable it, so it won’t just magically choose to switch off. So, before digging into the BIOS, let’s check to see if Secure Boot is already enabled.

• Press the windows key + R to open the Run window.
• Type in “msinfo32” and hit Enter. The system information window will open.

• Scroll down the list until you see “Secure Boot State.” If it’s on, then you are good to go and can stop reading now. If it’s off, then we must take a trip to the BIOS.

We’re using Gigabyte AORUS motherboards for these examples, but the process is almost identical on any motherboard, only that the specific names for the menus can change a bit. You might have to click around to get acquainted with where everything is, but don’t worry, you won’t accidentally mess up a bunch of settings.

• Restart your PC and, as it’s starting up again, spam F2 or Delete until the BIOS opens.
• The BIOS will be in a simplified mode probably called “Easy Mode” or similar. Find the option for “Advanced Mode” and click it.

• Now click the “Boot” menu.
• Find the “Secure Boot” option and enable it. (If it says that it’s both “Enabled” and “Not Active”, don’t worry, the PC just needs to restart.)

• Save and exit the BIOS.
• When your PC turns on again, repeat the steps from earlier to check if Secure Boot is enabled.

If you’re still having issues, or the Secure Boot setting is not visible in the BIOS, then you should check the TPM 2.0 module on your motherboard. It might need enabling too.

Firstly, let’s see if TPM is already enabled, as we never want to go to the BIOS unless it’s necessary.

• Hit the “Windows key + R” combo again and then type “tpm.msc” and press Enter.

• In the TPM Management window that opened, you’ll see a tab called “Status”. If you see “The TPM is ready for use”, then you’re good to go already.

If not, then we must go to the BIOS again.

• Restart the PC and hit Delete or F2 until you’re in the BIOS
• Switch to advanced mode and click around. These settings are less consistently positioned than Secure Boot. You will probably find them in “Advanced”, or “Trusted Computing”, or “Security”.

• Additionally, the setting itself has various different names, such as “Security Device”, “Security Device Support”, “TPM State”, “AMD fTPM switch”, “AMD PSP fTPM”, “Intel PTT”, or “Intel Platform Trust Technology.” Once you find it, enable it.
• Now save and exit the BIOS, and perform the steps above to check on the TPM. If it’s enabled, you’re ready to go.

If this is the case, your system may be too old to meet the requirements for the MW4 Beta. Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 are separate technologies, but they were introduced at roughly the same time. Most modern motherboards provide TPM support through firmware (AMD fTPM or Intel PTT), while Secure Boot is a UEFI feature. If your machine doesn't support TPM 2.0, you'll need to upgrade your motherboard or PC.

Modern-day anti-cheat systems, including MW4’s choice, RICOCHET, need really deep access to your PC, down to the kernel level. This allows them to block various malevolent programs from causing havoc. Enabling Secure Boot allows RICOCHET to function, and stops any program that isn’t approved by the motherboard from running. Cheating programs are obviously not approved and thus cannot work.