Problem booting from USB drive on Lenovo Yoga

[CharlieG]

I have a Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB that I can't get to boot from a USB drive. I've followed the instructions I found on the web to go into the BIOS (F2) and disable OS Optimized Defaults, switch from UEFI mode to Legacy mode and turn off secure boot. I enabled USB boot, saved and exited. But when I reboot and go to the Boot menu (F12) UEFI is the only boot mode available.

The USB drive itself seems to be fine. I was able to boot from it on a different computer and run ReadSpeed.

Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?

 

[PHolder]

Is there an option to enable a CSM?

https://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/yoga730-13ikb_yoga730-15ikb_yoga730-13iwl_yoga730-15iwl_ug_en_201809.pdf

page 30

BIOS setup utility
What is the BIOS setup utility?
The BIOS setup utility is ROM-based software. It communicates basic computer information and
provides options for setting boot devices, security, hardware mode, and other preferences.
How can I start the BIOS setup utility?
To start the BIOS setup utility:
1 Shut down the computer.
2 Press the Novo button and then select BIOS Setup.
How can I change the boot mode? (on select models)
There are two boot modes: UEFI and Legacy Support. To change the boot mode, start the BIOS
setup utility and set boot mode to UEFI or Legacy Support on the boot menu.
When do I need to change the boot mode? (on select models)
The default boot mode for your computer is UEFI mode. If you need to install a legacy Windows
operating system on your computer, you must change the boot mode to Legacy Support. The
legacy Windows operating system cannot be installed if you don't change the boot mode.

Note it says on selected models "How can I change the boot mode? (on select models)"

 

[CharlieG]

Thanks for the information. I fired up the BIOS and went to the screen that has the "Set Boot Mode" field but I cannot enter that field to change the value from UEFI. It looks like I have one of the "select models" where legacy support cannot be enabled. So it looks like booting DOS from a USB drive is just not possible for this model.

And just to cover another question - I have updated by BIOS to the most recent version.

 

[PHolder]

I don't really know what the Novo button is, but does this exact procedure make any difference?

1 Shut down the computer.
2 Press the Novo button and then select BIOS Setup.

 

[rfrazier]

Be sure to put the prepared ReadSpeed USB in before powering up.

@PHolder Your comment jogged a memory of a quote from another thread posted here recently. This MIGHT be relevant.

https://forums.grc.com/threads/most-common-boot-menu-keys-to-press-at-startup.340/

"PIN" method
------------
Most modern LENOVO laptops no longer use a key. You have to turn off the computer and then wake it by introducing a pin into a small hole in the side of the computer. That will show the bios boot menu.

May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast. Ron

 

[CharlieG]

The Novo button (on my computer a the pin hole on the side) just seems to be a different way of getting into the BIOS. F2 at the start of the boot process seems to do the same thing. I guess with the Novo button you don't have to worry about hitting F2 at the right time. But either way, the available options in the BIOS seem to be the same. And unfortunately legacy boot mode doesn't seem to be one of them for me.

 

[PHolder]

Okay @CharlieG well at least we gave it an honest try. Sorry that you're out of luck for now, but you're well primed to help test when the UEFI test option comes around

 

[CharlieG]

On the plus side - on my other computer which will boot from DOS ReadSpeed was awesome (and my drive was consistent).

 

[EbayIronman]

The Novo button (on my computer a the pin hole on the side) just seems to be a different way of getting into the BIOS. F2 at the start of the boot process seems to do the same thing. I guess with the Novo button you don't have to worry about hitting F2 at the right time. But either way, the available options in the BIOS seem to be the same. And unfortunately legacy boot mode doesn't seem to be one of them for me.

Old thread, but ran into this today, you must enter bios with F2 or Novo button and enable USB boot. Disabled by default.

 

[stu_deimus]

I spent way too long on this today... but I think this advisory from Lenovo is pretty conclusive on this topic:

https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht510878-legacy-bios-boot-support-removed-in-lenovo-2020-products

So, for those of us with such machines (Lenovo's built since 2020 - likely similar for other brands), I guess the only options are to:

1. Wait for SR7
2. Run SR6.1 in a VM (per these instructions (I think I'd rather a kick in the head than this)(also note the reminder in that thread, that SR6.1 isn't ideal for running virtually)
3. Pull the disk/SSD from that newer machine and fit to an older machine that CAN boot into legacy/bios mode to run SR6.1 over.

I'll be opting for option 3 until option1 avails itself to us.

Edit... not surprisingly, this newer laptop has an nvme drive, which also ain't gonna work with SR6.1

 

[miquelfire]

You might be lucky with the older machine in that the NVMe can be accessed from the BIOS, so 6.1 (and 6.0) can still do work on it.

 

[stu_deimus]

ok, will give it a look-over.

 

[stu_deimus]

I spent way too long on this today... but I think this advisory from Lenovo is pretty conclusive on this topic:

https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht510878-legacy-bios-boot-support-removed-in-lenovo-2020-products

So, for those of us with such machines (Lenovo's built since 2020 - likely similar for other brands), I guess the only options are to:

1. Wait for SR7
2. Run SR6.1 in a VM (per these instructions (I think I'd rather a kick in the head than this)(also note the reminder in that thread, that SR6.1 isn't ideal for running virtually)
3. Pull the disk/SSD from that newer machine and fit to an older machine that CAN boot into legacy/bios mode to run SR6.1 over.

I'll be opting for option 3 until option1 avails itself to us.

Edit... not surprisingly, this newer laptop has an nvme drive, which also ain't gonna work with SR6.1

For those needing to run level3 passes in SR to freshen SSD's that might have gone stale after a few years , perhaps this option 4 will get them over the line: toggle bitlocker on that drive in whatever way suits. That would seem to literally freshen all files, with full re-writes. In my case, bitlocker was enabled, so I disabled it... waited for decryption to complete... rebooted... re-enabled bitlocker on that drive... waited for encryption to complete, and then rebooted again. Its a bit too early to tell if that has sufficiently freshened the volume/files, be it seems worth a try.