Highguard’s “Secure Boot disabled” messages are a hot topic right now because the game literally refuses to launch if your PC doesn’t meet its machine‑integrity checks.

What “Highguard secure boot disabled” actually means

When you see “Highguard secure boot disabled” or “machine integrity failed – Secure Boot disabled,” the game’s anti‑cheat is detecting that your system either:

  • Is not booting in UEFI mode.
  • Has Secure Boot turned off.
  • Or doesn’t meet related requirements like TPM 2.0.

Highguard’s anti‑cheat runs very low in the system stack and expects a “trusted” boot chain (UEFI + Secure Boot + TPM) before it will allow the game to start.

Why Highguard insists on Secure Boot

The logic from the devs and industry trend:

  • Secure Boot only allows signed, trusted bootloaders and drivers at startup, which makes kernel‑level cheats and rootkits harder to load.
  • TPM 2.0 lets the system attest to its integrity (and is also a Windows 11 requirement), which dovetails with anti‑cheat “machine integrity” checks.
  • Highguard’s launcher checks these before starting; if something’s missing, you get an error instead of a game.

So “highguard secure boot disabled” is less a generic Windows warning and more a strict gate built into this specific PvP shooter.

How forums and players are reacting

Across Steam, Reddit, and gaming communities, there’s an intense debate around this requirement.

Common viewpoints:

  • Security/cheat‑prevention side:
    • Some players argue that competitive shooters need stronger anti‑cheat, and tying it to Secure Boot and TPM is a natural evolution.
* They see it as similar to kernel‑level anti‑cheats used by other big titles, just more tightly coupled to firmware security.
  • Privacy/control concerns:
    • Others dislike that to play a game, they must change firmware settings, enable TPM, and rely on a trust chain largely controlled by Microsoft.
* There’s worry about how much power anti‑cheat has, and what data or system access is implied when it hooks so low into the OS.
  • Tech‑risk warnings:
    • Some community posts explicitly warn: “Don’t just flip Secure Boot on if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can soft‑brick your boot setup if your disk layout or BIOS mode is wrong.”
* Older systems, legacy/MBR installs, dual‑boot Linux setups, and modders are particularly nervous.

The result is a mini‑“culture war”: people who just want a plug‑and‑play shooter vs. those who see this as overreach into how they configure their PCs.

Typical causes of the error

From guides, videos, and posts, the “highguard secure boot disabled” / “machine integrity” errors usually boil down to:

  1. BIOS mode is Legacy/CSM, not UEFI.
  2. Secure Boot is turned off in firmware.
  3. TPM 2.0 is missing or disabled.
  4. System drive is MBR instead of GPT (Secure Boot support usually expects GPT).
  1. On some boards, CSM is enabled, which can break Secure Boot.
  1. Users on multi‑boot or custom setups have non‑standard bootloaders, confusing the integrity checks.

When any of these are off, Highguard refuses to start and throws Secure‑Boot‑related errors.

Commonly shared “fix” approaches (high‑level)

Forum guides and how‑to articles/videos outline similar high‑level steps for people who do want to enable Secure Boot to play:

  1. Check current status in Windows:
    • Use System Information (msinfo32) to see BIOS Mode (UEFI vs Legacy) and Secure Boot State (On/Off).
 * Use tpm.msc to verify TPM 2.0 is present and enabled.
  1. Switch to UEFI and Secure Boot:
    • Boot to firmware settings, change BIOS/boot mode to UEFI, disable CSM/Legacy if required, then enable Secure Boot.
 * Ensure OS Type is set appropriately (often “Windows UEFI” or similar).
  1. Convert system drive to GPT if needed:
    • If the disk is MBR, some guides show converting it to GPT so Secure Boot can work, usually via Microsoft’s mbr2gpt tool.
  1. Reboot and re‑launch Highguard:
    • Once UEFI + Secure Boot + TPM 2.0 are correctly configured, the “machine integrity” and “Secure Boot disabled” errors generally stop and the game launches normally.

These steps are widely shared, but they also come with warnings: changing partition style or firmware mode without a backup can break your Windows install if done incorrectly.

Multi‑viewpoint snapshot of the debate

Here’s how different “camps” frame the “highguard secure boot disabled” situation today:

  • Competitive players:
    • Prefer fewer cheaters, even at the cost of stricter system requirements.
    • See Secure Boot enforcement as part of the price of a “serious” ranked shooter.
  • PC tweakers / dual‑booters / Linux users:
    • Feel punished or locked out because their custom setups don’t neatly align with Windows‑centric Secure Boot expectations.
    • Worry about breaking multi‑boot, custom bootloaders, or older hardware just to play one title.
  • Security‑focused commentators:
    • Point out that Secure Boot is a legitimate security technology, widely recommended beyond gaming.
* But some also question whether tying game access to firmware configuration is proportionate, especially given ongoing concerns around kernel‑level anti‑cheat.
  • Casual players:
    • Many are simply confused: they bought a game, it shows a strange “machine integrity / secure boot disabled” code, and now they are reading long BIOS/TPM guides just to play.

SEO‑style quick notes

  • Focus keyword use:
    • “highguard secure boot disabled” currently spikes with related searches like “machine integrity error,” “Highguard secure boot & TPM 2.0 not detected,” and “how to enable secure boot for Highguard.”
* It’s tightly tied to “latest news” on Highguard’s launch and the community backlash around PC requirements.
  • Meta‑style description:
    • Highguard’s “secure boot disabled” error is a launch‑blocking integrity check tied to UEFI, Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0, sparking intense forum discussion over security, privacy, and player control.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.