I have tried everything to install Fedora (40) on my Thinkpad.
Maybe all of my trouble comes from the protected BIOS - I have bought this laptop in a used condition and only found out later that the BIOS seems to be protected. The previous owner seems to not know the password, too…
That said - here are the results of what I have tried:
the Fedora installer - fails saying “error: open ctree failed”.
everything else – repartitioning with gparted, fdisk, sgdisk, zapping … brings (mostly) no errors at all, but when I look at the partition table after the operations … it all is still the same:
gdisk -p lists the following:
umber Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name
1 2048 206847 100.0 MiB EF00 EFI system partition
2 206848 239615 16.0 MiB 0C01 Microsoft reserved …
3 239616 498997048 237.8 GiB 0700 Basic data partition
4 498997248 500115455 546.0 MiB 2700
and whatever I do … it does not change the table!!
The title probably should contain something about bios locked.
It is my understanding that once a bios has been locked with a password it is impossible (or nearly so) to unlock it without the original password.
I suspect that also prevents action that would install a new operating system on the drive, which would explain the inability to change the driver partition table and perform the installation.
Unlocking the bios probably would require contacting the manufacturer. It may not be permitted with the risk of theft and reselling.
multiple hands on laptop and bios locked even manufacturer cant do anything about it usually you need to proove you are the owner showing invoices of purchase as first owner
thanks for your answers. As I understand your replies there is most probably a connection between the locked BIOS settings and my problem of partitioning the hard drive.
I have already contacted the reseller for a statement. As she has presumably no idea of the technical backgrounds; I would guess there is no easy solution other than swapping the HDD - is it?
I will update the title to reflect the locked bios for you.
Sorry to hear the issue but it sounds like you should try and return that laptop since it apparently cannot be used with anything except the currently installed windows.
Yes; absolutely. The additional issue with Windows is, by the way, that it looped in a Bluescreen since I had to force-shutdown the Laptop due to Windows being totally unresponsive. So, in its current state it is a brick, unfortunately.
that laptop is pretty old, likely no support by Lenovo anymore
lenovo uses proprietary BIOS. Normally you could just reflash the BIOS with the default one and the lock is gone.
But it being proprietary means you need a second laptop of the exact same model, save it from there and write it to yours. Or you would need the firmware.rom directly but it is proprietary so lenovo wont give it to you (also their support is absolutely horrendous)
that may be way above your knowledge
the SSD or hard drive have nothing to do with the BIOS. Also installing Fedora or changing partitions has nothing to do with that. The only issue would be enforced secureboot, but Fedora has support for secureboot with Microsofts keys, so no issue here
So, as I understand your point, the failure to partition the SSD has nothing to do with the locked BIOS? What else could I try then to solve my problem?
Thanks for the link; I have briefly surveyed the post; although I think I would be able to follow the procedures, that would require additional hardware and lots of effort.
I am still a bit lost here - is the problem that I have described related to the locked BIOS or is it not? I could not really get a grip on it from the different answers; as helpful as they already have been!
well most of times you need to enter bios to boot from USB and since your BIOS is locked you cant access it and cant boot anything or change any settings nor see what settings or what has done to there.
I can boot from USB without problems. I just cannot alter the partition table for some reason and thus cannot install Fedora (or any other Linux OS).
Since the Windows on my SSD loops in a bluescreen, and because I am lacking of a second Windows PC to generate a Windows Recovery Stick, and have no DVD drive on my T550 (for my Windows installation DVD), I seem kind of stuck here
You have USB3 ports. I use Fedora on an old iMac with a slow “laptop” IDE internal drive, but boot Fedora from a 128GB NVME SSD in a USB3 case. Fedora boots faster from the external SSD than it did from either of the internal drives, so you could try an external SSD, but USB3 hardware varies widely in the quality of the implementation. I have often installed linux on external drives for data recovery on broken Windows systems or when the user needed a linux app but the internal drive didn’t have space for a linux install.
When you say “BIOS password,” which particular password are you referring to? ThinkPad laptops usually have the following:
A “supervisor password” that prevents UEFI/BIOS settings from being changed
A “power on password” that asks for a password every time the ThinkPad is powered on
A “hard disk password” that locks the SSD/HDD until this is entered
I’m assuming you’re referring to a “supervisor password,” but just wanted to be sure. Are you able to access the ThinkPad’s UEFI/BIOS and change any settings? If not, that sounds like a “supervisor password” has been set and I don’t know of any easy way to clear that on a T550.
With the symptoms you mentioned, I would try the following, but they are probably not available if your ThinkPad has a supervisor password set:
Disable secure boot
Change the boot device order (and delete any entries for Windows)
Regarding your Windows issue, I had an idea for that. Since you mentioned being able to boot from a USB drive but you don’t have another Windows computer available to create a Windows USB drive for repair or reinstallation, why not boot from a live USB and download a Windows ISO file and create a Windows USB drive that way? If you have a spare USB flash drive available, that would be worth trying if you want to fix the current Windows installation.
There are probably 2 parts involved.
Bitlocker would prevent doing anything with the disk and the bios may (and probably would) prevent a new install to the disk with a different OS.
Note the discussion about TPM in that linked guide – which may also be a factor.
If you cannot get into the bios to see the settings then it would appear this is certainly the supervisor password and the guide linked seems a reasonable approach to try and unlock that bios.
Indeed it seems as there is a supervisor p/w set. Before entering the BIOS I am prompted for a password. If I just press the Enter key, I can see the BIOS settings but cannot change anything. As I did not set and do not know the password, this is all I can do.
Thank you for confirming. Yes, that would be the “supervisor” password and unfortunately, there’s not really an easy way to clear it (as another user’s link to the process showed). If it will let you, I would suggest checking the UEFI/BIOS settings to see if a hard disk password is set as well. Based on your posts, I doubt a hard disk password is set, but checking for one will help narrow down other steps to try.
I might be wrong, but I don’t think the supervisor password itself would prevent you from making changes to the partition table or installing a different OS on your SSD (at least in this instance). A hard disk password could, but if that was set, you should have been prompted to enter it at some point. The supervisor password locks down the UEFI/BIOS so changes can’t be made without it. The supervisor password can be used to lock down the settings for boot devices, boot order, secure boot, etc. But it sounds like those settings aren’t locked down enough if you’re still able to boot from a USB flash drive. I use a supervisor password on my ThinkPad laptops to set the boot order, remove USB flash drives and other removable from the boot list, etc. and keep those settings locked down.
In addition to a Windows 10 or 11 USB flash drive, you should look into tools like Hiren’s Boot CD. They have a lot of built in recovery tools and might offer a way to repair your Windows installation if the Microsoft way doesn’t work right.
“Here’s a step-by-step guide to reset CMOS on ThinkPad T550: Required tools: - Phillips head screwdriver - Clean, dry workspace - 5-10 minutes of time IMPORTANT: This procedure will reset BIOS password and settings! Steps: 1. Power off your laptop completely 2. Unplug AC adapter 3. Remove main battery 4. Flip laptop upside down 5. Remove service panel screws: - Locate small Phillips screws on bottom cover - Keep screws in safe place - Remove bottom service panel carefully 6. Locate CMOS battery: - Look for small yellow round battery - Connected with small black/red wires - Usually near memory slots 7. CMOS Reset: - Gently disconnect yellow battery connector - Do NOT pull cables, only connector - Leave disconnected for 5-10 minutes - Reconnect battery firmly 8. Reassembly: - Replace service panel - Secure all screws - Insert main battery - Connect AC adapter 9. First Boot: - Power on - Enter BIOS (F1 at startup) - Set date/time - Disable Secure Boot - Save & Exit After this, you should be able to: - Modify disk partitions - Install Fedora - Access all BIOS settings CAUTION: - Work in static-free environment - Handle components carefully - If unsure, consult service manual - Take photo before disconnecting for reference Need any clarification on specific steps?”
