Thank you everyone!!!

[meber0624]

I had made the decision to move my G750JX to an SSD drive. Fortunately the version of software I had for cloning wouldn't run and that is when I discovered all the posts here about how Microsoft wants to screw us to the wall. So here is how I had an uneventful conversion:

First I turned off Fast Boot in Windows. Very tricky since the initial option is locked from disabling.
Next after a reboot I ran the cloning software which (I just discovered) perfectly copied all of the dumbass partitions that Windows 8 required.
Then I removed the SSD and rebooted into the BIOS by spamming F2.
I turned off Secure Boot and Fast Boot and then saved that and booted into Windows. Yes it complains on the desktop but who cares? I ran several programs and they all ran just fine.
Then I shutdown Windows, removed the existing hard drive, installed the SSD and booted back up.
All is well. I'm up. I'm running. And now I'm free to explore which options will continue to work once Secure Boot is turned off. After all in a Microsoft blog they claim it can be turned off "at your own risk" however when was the last time you had a rootkit install itself and run it's own operating system. (Or is that the term they are giving to Ubuntu dual boot??)

[skidoo]

what brand and version of cloning software did u use, if I may ask??

[meber0624]

So for anyone reading this: I am slowly enabling all features EXCEPT that microsoft prevention of running Ubuntu alongside Windows 8. (UESI or whatever it is called) As long as you keep Secure Boot disabled you are allowed to change things however you want.

Also it is imperative that you turn off Fast Boot in Windows 8 and reboot BEFORE ANY DRIVE REPLACEMENT. If you disable it then the OS is configured to not look for the system data stored in system memory. This is key to a quiet replacement and reboot of your drives.

I'll try to keep this post updated as to the features turned on.

Windows 8 Fast Boot has been successfully reactivated!
BIOS Fast Boot has been successfully reactivated!

[meber0624]

I used the Apricorn Notebook Drive upgrade kit. I needed a REV3 version of the software that was sent to me by support email. EZ Gig IV.R3 to be exact. To be extra safe during the process, after opening the SSD package I just rotated the drive in it so that the connectors pointed out. That way I always handled just the anti-stat packaging. It came with an SSD to USB connector for the cloning. All WIn8 partitions were copied during the process. Including my recovery partition.