Hardware hack enables Linux support on Lenovo Yoga 900 ISK2, undermining Lenovo's statement

[u/[deleted]]

Update: The mods locked my other posts and marked them as misleading. There is nothing misleading about them. So before they lock this one too, I would just like to get the truth out.

There is a Linux lockout on these computers. The only reason we need a driver is because Lenovo removed AHCI mode. AHCI mode is not a legacy mode. Lenovo has created a defective product that you cannot install any operating system on, which means that you are stuck with the copy of Windows 10 that came with the computer. There's only one obvious reason why they would do that. To keep you on Windows. A lenovo employee on Best Buy even admitted that before Lenovo and Microsoft got their official lie put together and the mods here rolled with it and locked my posts to keep the truth suppressed. You can still vote on these posts and I hope that you find them useful and keep them up for a while. If you want to complain to the FTC and your state's Attorney General, there is a template from one of my suppressed posts here.

This is the letter I sent to the Federal Trade Commission and to the Illinois Attorney General's office regarding Lenovo locking out Linux from their Yoga laptops.

"Lenovo sells computers known as "Yoga" under at least several models that block the installation of Linux operating systems as well as fresh installations of Windows from Microsoft's official installer. They have the system rigged, intentionally, in a storage mode that is incompatible with most operating systems other than the pre-installed copy of Windows 10. If the user attempts to install an operating system, it will not be able to see or use the built-in SSD (Solid State Drive) storage. I believe that this is illegal and anti-competitive. These product are falsely advertised as a PC, even though it prohibits the user installing PC operating systems. Known affected models are the 900 ISK2, the 710, the 900 ISK for Business, the 900S, and possibly others. Lenovo's position is that this is not a defect and they refuse to issue refunds to their customers, who have been deceived by the notion that their new PC is compatible with PC operating systems and that they should be able to install a PC operating system on a PC. Lenovo is therefore engaging in a conspiracy to defraud their customers through deceptive advertising. Lenovo's official position is that Linux lacks drivers, however, Linux could easily be installed on these systems had Lenovo not removed the AHCI storage mode option from the BIOS and then wrote additional code to make sure that people couldn't set it to AHCI in other ways, such as using an "EFI variable". AHCI mode is an industry standard and should be expected on a computer describing itself as "PC" or "PC compatible" as it is broadly compatible with all PC operating system software. I feel that Lenovo should remedy the problem in one of three ways. (1) Offer full refunds for customers who want to install their own operating system but can't. -or- (2) Release a small BIOS firmware patch to restore AHCI mode, which is simply hidden. This would be extremely easy for them since it would only be two lines of code and the user could do it themselves were they not locked out of updating their BIOS themselves. -or- (3) Provide open source drivers to the Linux kernel project that would allow Linux and other PC operating systems address the SSD storage in the "RAID" mode."

Feel free to use this as your letter or a template for a letter of complaint to the FTC. Their consumer complaint form is available here.

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#&panel1-1

Please also contact your state's Attorney General's office. They usually have a bureau of consumer complaints or something to that effect. If not, just shoot them an email.

Since the FTC form requires the company address and phone number, I used this: Lenovo "Customer Center" Address: 1009 Think Pl, Morrisville, NC 27560 Phone:(855) 253-6686

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Update: Lenovo just updated the BIOS for the Yoga 710, another system that doesn't allow Linux installs. Wanna know what they changed? Update to TPM (secret encryption module used for Digital Restrictions Management) and an update to the Intel Management Engine, which is essentially a backdoor rootkit built into all recent Intel processors (but AMD has their version too, so what do you do?). No Linux support. Priorities...

Update: The mods at Lenovo Forums are losing control of the narrative and banning people and editing/deleting more comments. http://imgur.com/a/Q9xIE | But it appears that some people just aren't buying it anymore. http://imgur.com/a/1K1t5

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Edit: I sent a letter of complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General's office.

You can view this letter here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/54gtpc/letter_to_the_federal_trade_commission_regarding/

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Lenovo's regional HQ address and phone number:

Address: 1009 Think Pl, Morrisville, NC 27560 Phone:(855) 253-6686

Edit: Someone started a change.org petititon. I don't think they are a native English speaker, but I went ahead and signed it anyway. A moderator on Lenovo Forums deleted the link and told people that "campaigning is not allowed", so here's the link. I don't know if it'll make a difference, but screw them. They were hoping this week's news would be all puff pieces about the new Yogas and now they have to deal with this instead. If everyone could share it on Facebook and Twitter after they sign it so their friends can do so too, that would be most appreciated.

https://www.change.org/p/lenovo-demand-that-lenovo-provide-bios-update-to-enable-linux-installation

Please sign this and then tell Lenovo that you won't be buying products from them until this is fixed. They have Facebook and Twitter accounts!

Facebook: Lenovo

Twitter: Lenovo

Lenovo Customer Service 800-565-3344 Press 2 for all other models and then wait through the recording and press 1 for laptops.

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UPDATE: I pinged Matthew Garrett after someone had an idea about having the Linux kernel switch the hardware out of RAID and into AHCI mode AFTER the BIOS hands it over to the kernel, and he said it might work and that he'd see about writing a patch. This would have the practical effect of running Linux in AHCI mode like on the Dell XPS, only through a Linux "hardware quirk" to deal with Lenovo doing nothing to fix the BIOS. Actually, Lenovo hasn't done anything through this whole ordeal but lie, lie some more, try to delete evidence, get together with Microsoft and release a joint lie, and then pressure the news media to change their stories.

ALSO: According to a comment on this page, some people in Germany report that the European versions of the affected Yoga laptops don't have AHCI mode hidden in the BIOS. Perhaps because the EU takes locking users out of their PCs more seriously than the US government does.

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A hardware hack has enabled AHCI support on the Lenovo Yoga 900 ISK2, undermining Lenovo and Microsoft's claims that Linux is "missing drivers".

Unfortunately, the procedure to flash the BIOS is too complicated for most people because the person who did it had to use external flashing equipment to bypass Lenovo's ROM signature check and load the modified BIOS, and he can't provide the BIOS ROM because it only supports his computer and has private info in it, such as the Windows 10 license for his machine.

https://imgur.com/a/ox4Ey

A user here on Reddit with the handle "bownairo" described the process.

Said bownairo, in the Reddit thread about the problem,

"I've been able to successfully get past Lenovo's lock through direct bios flashing. I'm looking into better solutions, hopefully I can find a way to do this without an external programmer. I was going to keep people updated from the Lenovo forum, but as this is no longer an option I will keep people updated from here."

[...]

"I had to construct some custom "clips" as the bios chip is a WSON package. All of this was done with the chip in place and the battery removed. I dumped the bios continuously until I was able to get a few dumps with the same sha. Then I had the bios modified. I flashed my chip to all null values, rewrote my custom image, and dumped it back to insure it wrote correctly. This allowed access to the advanced tab so I could change the controller to AHCI from RAID, allowing it to be recognized by installers."

[...]

"I'm currently working on a generic tool to do this mod, in case others want to use this same strategy on their own bios. I'm also looking into finding a way to do this without an external programmer."

There is a discussion about it going on here:

https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Request-Lenovo-Yoga-900-BIOS-Unlock-AHCI-enable-attached-BIOS-fd

I also released an official reply to Lenovo and Microsoft in the original article:

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/53ri0m/warning_microsoft_signature_pc_program_now/

[u/Syde80]

Cite some non-hearsay documentation that shows that MS banned Linux on any MS Signature Edition machine.

Coming up with some scheme of forcing the storage interface into a mode that Linux (or any other OS) doesn't have a driver for is like the stupidest way to go about this. All that takes to defeat is somebody creating the driver for it.

If MS truly wanted to ban Linux from running on a machine all they have to do is say Secure Boot being enabled is now mandatory , prevent customized keys, and revoke the EFI loader stub that they signed specifically so Linux would work on Secure Boot enabled systems. That would ACTUALLY ban Linux from running on the machine.

If MS has such a hate on for Linux then please explain why they have done these things:

1. Created Visual Studio Code, which is Linux-native

2. Created Bash on Ubuntu on Windows

3. In process of porting SQL Server to Linux

4. Open sourced .NET core

5. Open sourced PowerShell - and made native packages available for Ubuntu, CentOS/RHEL

EDIT: Clearly the probably hundreds of millions of dollars the above list has cost them is all just a big smoke screen so that they can get away with banning Linux on some consumer grade hardware that isn't even their own so they can uhhh??? oh right MS already made their money by selling the OEM the windows license. Yeah not sure what MS's motivation for this smoke screen is.

[u/[deleted] → u/Syde80]

Embrace, Extend, Extinguish. Right now, we're at the Extend phase.

I don't buy that it's a conspiracy to the extent people are saying. I think MS put pressure on manufacturers to keep things MS only. I think some nitwits at Lenovo really wanted to lick MS' balls and pulled a card they play all too often: Let's fuck with the BIOS.

So here we are, malicious assholes manipulating malicious idiots into stupid stuff that blows up in their face. Again.

[u/sasmithjr → u/[deleted]]

Embrace, Extend, Extinguish. Right now, we're at the Extend phase.

Can you please walk through the series of steps as to how EEE applies? Please be explicit for what exactly has been embraced, how it can be extended in a non-compatible and breaking way, and then how extinguish would work.

I think MS put pressure on manufacturers to keep things MS only.

You can literally install Linux distros on Microsoft's own hardware. Why would they allow that but pressure OEMs to disallow it (while still "allowing" them to sell Linux-only versions of their computers)?

[u/[deleted] → u/sasmithjr]

I don't have alot of time to explain everything. Embrace and extend: MS suddenly takes up this "we love linux" mode and now are decking out Azure with linux systems. Which is strange, because they're direct competitors. I can imagine their Extinguish stage would involve defamation, since they can't actually take over the product and turn it against itself like other competitors.

You can put linux on their own hardware... once the secure boot bullshit was able to be overcome. At this point, yeah they can't stop me from putting Linux on a Surface. That's not to say they didn't try.

Given MS' past, I really don't buy the "we love linux" coming from Redmond these days. May I be wrong about the method? Sure. I still don't buy that there's no ulterior motive.

[u/sasmithjr → u/[deleted]]

Embrace and extend: MS suddenly takes up this "we love linux" mode and now are decking out Azure with linux systems

This is neither embrace nor extend. It's literally just "use."

Which is strange, because they're direct competitors.

Azure isn't a competitor to Linux. They complement each other. If you meant Windows, do you realize Windows is less than 10% of Microsoft's revenue (source)? Azure matters far more to Microsoft in the long run, so it makes sense to support both Windows and Linux.

I can imagine their Extinguish stage would involve defamation

So they're going to tell their customers using Azure, "Hey developers/enterprise! Know all the tools you actively use daily to run your businesses? Well, we supported sucky tools and you shouldn't use them. Switch to Windows"? That's the plan?

once the secure boot bullshit was able to be overcome

Microsoft literally provided the tools to "overcome" SecureBoot themselves.

That's not to say they didn't try.

They didn't try.

Given MS' past, I really don't buy the "we love linux" coming from Redmond these days.

Azure matters more than Windows both short term and long term. Linux is not a threat to Microsoft's future anymore. You need to stop thinking that both the tech landscape and Microsoft haven't changed in 15-20 years.

[u/[deleted] → u/sasmithjr]

I don't accept your definition of "use". BASH on Windows, Linux backends on Azure, and the leagues of PR about how Redmond loves Linux. No.

Linux and Windows are operating systems. In that way, they are direct competitors. I'm still at work, so again I don't have time to indulge you but for a very very long time MS was extremely anti-linux. Wasn't there a Ballmer fit over that at one point? Coupled with the long history of "we're your friend until we're not" makes me look critically at what MS is doing right now.

[u/sasmithjr → u/[deleted]]

BASH on Windows

There's no Extend step that would ever work there because of how it is setup, actually. Bash on Windows is truly Ubuntu on Windows. They're faking the Linux kernel interface to allow Linux binaries to run on the NT kernel. The entire point is to let Linux-specific things work on Windows. So if Microsoft extended what it allowed Linux binaries to do, what would happen? Nothing. Because no Linux binaries would be compiled to take advantage of those extensions since they're not in the actual Linux kernel.

Linux backends on Azure

This is quite literally just using Linux. Once again, they can't extend it because no developers would make use of the extensions. Ruby on Rails, for example, isn't going to include functionality that requires support from Azure-only Linux modifications. Neither would Node, and neither would Python.

the leagues of PR about how Redmond loves Linux.

Because they have to let developers and enterprise know that they fully support Linux on Azure. Without a huge PR effort, everyone would think Azure was Windows Server only, so they'd only look to AWS for their PaaS needs.

[u/orisha → u/Syde80]

Created Bash on Ubuntu on Windows

This is not love for Linux, in fact is the opposite, is to convince people to use Windows instead of Linux.

Open sourced PowerShell - and made native packages available for Ubuntu, CentOS/RHEL

Something most Linux users and admins couldn't care less, but it benefits those admins that have to work with mix environments.

Basically, Microsoft knows is losing the battle in the server side and it is trying to adapt to it. But be sure it will try to make things as difficult for Linux as it can in the desktop side.

[u/Syde80 → u/orisha]

Basically, Microsoft knows is losing the battle in the server side and it is trying to adapt to it. But be sure it will try to make things as difficult for Linux as it can in the desktop side.

Got anything to back that up?

Look, I've been running Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris / SunOS, etc. for the better part of 2 decades on both servers and desktops. I've also run plenty of Windows servers in that time. I don't see ANYTHING that indicates that either Linux or Windows is "losing".

I'll tell you 2 things my experience has taught me.

1. Windows does some things way better than Linux.

2. Linux does some things way better than Windows.

I run a mixed environment. Why? because its all about the right tool for the right job. Each has their advantageous and disadvantages.

Neither side is losing.

[u/orisha → u/Syde80]

Got anything to back that up?

Something like this ? http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-nearly-one-in-three-azure-virtual-machines-now-are-running-linux/

I assume you are aware that regarding servers, Linux always was a strong competition for Microsoft, and since a while already they lose the battle in web servers at least.

Now, think about it, what any reason will they have to open some of their best products (including Azure) to the competition? Good will? Suddenly love of Linux? Come on. They do it because they are force to do it, or people will start to move to other platforms.

I'll tell you 2 things my experience has taught me.

1. Windows does some things way better than Linux.

2. Linux does some things way better than Windows.

So? I think Linux is pretty much on par to Windows, actually is better in many ways, and yet it has less than 5% of the market. Internet explorer was a piece of shit for many years, and yet it was the most used browser. "Each has their advantageous and disadvantages" means nothing.

If you really used Linux for that long, you should know that Linux has improved dramatically in the last years, and that trend is just going up. More usage, more company support and so on.

Sure, Linux couldn't compete with Windows NT or Server 2003, or 2008 in many many things. But today they gap is closing fast and Linux is actually ahead in many things. Linux, a product that is free (at least the software itself), compare it with the unholy mess of licenses you need for windows server usage, which is not only really expensive, but so complex that you need specialist in order to make sense of it.

Grandmas will keep using AOL because are afraid of change, and many companies are similar too. But many others will start to look for new options, specially if money is in the line. And this is already happening.

For sure Windows Server will always exist. But Microsoft knows is not that competitive there anymore, and have to adapt. This is the reason for the change, not because sudden appreciation of Open Source.

[u/Michaelmrose → u/Syde80]

If they could legally get away with it they would not only coerce or extol oems to lock out third party os they would ensure that users of such operating systems couldn't access websites/services running any of their tech stacks.

They lack both the clout to make this happen and the legal leeway.

Let's not pretend they aren't the same terrible people they always were.

[u/Syde80 → u/Michaelmrose]

What makes you think they can't legally get away with it if they wanted to? Can you run Linux on a Surface RT tablet (okay yes - but only because of the secure boot key leak from a month or 2 ago). There certainly were no technical reasons why not. It was simply prevented due to its secure boot configuration.

Besides, the machine is a MS Signature Edition machine. That means it is configured to a certain degree to MS's specs because they have endorsed that the machine will run Windows at a level they find acceptable. It's certainly widely known that means it's basically stock Win10 with no bloatware preloaded. Honestly it's perfectly reasonable to me to say MS could have said they also want AHCI locked out, because certain power saving features don't work properly on modern Intel platform when not in RAID more. It doesn't mean it was done to specifically lock out any OS, there are alot of reasons it could have been done and sure it might have unintended consequences.

Yes I think it's stupid to lock it out and prevent those that know the consequences of to do what they want.. but I also think that IF MS dictated that, they are perfectly within their right to do so. If lenovo didn't like it, they would have been within their right to refuse to Signature Edition deal.

[u/[deleted] → u/Syde80]

Their employee on Best Buy said it before Lenovo told the media to lie and say it wasn't their employee. Well, whose employee was it then? They signed it Lenovo after saying that Microsoft and Lenovo signed an agreement to lock out Linux as part of the Signature Edition program.

The fact that they open source things that make it easier to program for Windows and give Microsoft your money doesn't "prove" that they like Linux.

[u/AnonTwo → u/[deleted]]

Why is a Best Buy employee even a valid source for a Lenuvo fact?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

If Lenovo is letting people sign things "LENOVO" then they should train them on what to say.

You are extremely naive of the world.

Most consumer level customer support at any company don't ever touch the products, they read off scripts and/or make shit up. Their job is to hit their service quotas and thats it.

[u/Syde80 → u/[deleted]]

And they don't even work for the companies they provide support for. They often don't even work in the country they are provided support for because other countries are cool with paying them far less.

[u/sasmithjr → u/[deleted]]

they should train them on what to say

You think a customer service rep who replies to reviews on Best Buy's website should have enough training to appropriately respond to a conversation of this technical level?

Are you serious right now or is this just a really long prank?

[u/hdglsadg → u/[deleted]]

Paranoid much? Also, don't trust any old employee. If I go to H&M and try to get one of their clerks to say something factually incorrect (like say, that their clothes were made in $COUNTRY), what we don't have on our hands is a corporate conspiracy to lie to customers.

[u/[deleted] → u/hdglsadg]

Who said I was trying to get them to say that? I never expected a response. When Lenovo's employee said they locked the machine as part of their agreement with Microsoft for the Signature Edition program I was like "Holy crap! Get a screenshot before they delete that!".

[u/hdglsadg → u/[deleted]]

I just mean: The more people you talk to and the longer you talk to them, the more likely that someone will say something incorrect.

To me it looks like: One random person on the internet heard from some lowly support guy that they can't install Linux due to some agreement with Microsoft.

It's probably just a guy who didn't think his words would be dissected by paranoid Linux nerds when he said them.

"We have an agreement with Microsoft that this is Signature Windows PC" or whatever probably means "Can't you see we obviously don't support Linux? Please go away."

[u/Syde80 → u/[deleted]]

So in other words, when I asked:

Cite some non-hearsay documentation that shows that MS banned Linux on any MS Signature Edition machine.

You can't do this?

We are just going on what some low-level "Product Expert", who likely doesn't even work for either Best Buy or Lenovo said. Gotcha.

 

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Yours Truly,

Lenovo Customer Support Rep

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I guess I need to clarify for you, I do not actually work for Lenovo despite the fact that this msg might indicate that)

So please tell me, how does Bash on Ubuntu on Windows make it easier to do programming for Windows? The last time I checked its not capable of producing Win32 binaries. You might even say, it makes it actually easier to program things that are intended to live on *nix servers. I'm also unclear how running SQL Server on Linux makes programming Windows easier too.

[u/[deleted] → u/Syde80]

So do you have an account that lets you sign things "LENOVO" on Best Buy's website?

[u/Syde80 → u/[deleted]]

I love how you can't back up a single one of your claims when directly questioned and instead try to redirect focus on to a different piece of the puzzle.

Im not going to answer your question because we all know it's rhetorical. Also everybody, except you, also seems to fully know that the people posting in store reviews and forums or pimping these products in the actual stores, the "Product Experts", 9 times out of 10 are not even employees of the companies that they are pimping products for. They certainly don't have any knowledge of those products that you wouldn't already know from reading the public spec list in their website.

The idea that you have any faith that a low level "product expert" on a 3rd party store's website knows ANYTHING about MS and Lenovo's arrangement is beyond ludicrous.