"Bad shim signature" error when starting Windows
Windows 11 was no longer booting after I enabled Secure Boot. I was getting the following error message:
error: Bad shim signature
I was finally able to find a solution that worked for me:
- Disable
Secure Boot. - Boot into Windows.
- Format a USB flash drive as
FAT32. - Create the following directories on the USB drive:
\EFI\BOOT. - Copy the file
C:\Windows\Boot\EFI\SecureBootRecovery.efito the\EFI\BOOTdirectory on the USB drive and rename it tobootx64.efi. - Boot the PC from the USB drive. Messages will be displayed on the screen indicating that
Secure Boothas been restored. The PC will then reboot. - Allow Windows to boot normally. Log in and restart the computer.
- Enter the PC's firmware setup (BIOS/UEFI) and enable
Secure Boot, then reboot. - Windows should now boot normally with
Secure Bootenabled.
Note: This solution worked for me. The exact steps may vary depending on the PC manufacturer and firmware configuration.
Copyright 2012–2026, Claude "Tryphon" Théroux
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