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Issues disabling UEFI on Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 eMMC.

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guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member -  
guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member -
Hello,

I purchased a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 with Windows 10 Home on it. I would like to install Linux Mint 20.3 Una on it, but when I launch the installation, the eMMC storage does not appear in the installer.

In the BIOS, I have disabled "Secure Boot," but I cannot set the "Boot Mode" to "Legacy" since the only option offered is UEFI.

Linux Mint works fine in UEFI. Also, can Windows block the installation of a different operating system even if deleted?

Thank you for your help!

Guillaume

6 answers

  1.
    guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member 8
     
    Hello,

    I solved the problem by using another USB drive as a storage device or "boot drive." It's not fancy, but it works...
    1
  2. brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 178
     
    Hello,

    In case the machine is loaded with a restricted version of Windows 10, some commentators suggest starting the manipulation by installing a classic version of Windows 10 from a USB stick and then restarting the operation (booting from a Linux stick), but I don't really believe in that.

    The other hypothesis is that there are no drivers for eMMC storage on the installation media.

    In this case (but regarding Ubuntu), it is suggested to cheat by various methods, all consisting not of directly installing the OS on the disk but of launching Linux in Live USB and using gparted to create a temporary partition on the disk:

    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/476726/es1-132-cannot-install-other-os-than-windows-10-bios-options-missing/p2

    Now, if the Live USB needs to be launched in Legacy mode, we're in trouble, and it might also be the case if Mint doesn't recognize an eMMC, in which case we would have no choice but to try another distro that doesn't have this issue.
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  3. guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member 8
     
    Hi,

    I read the information by following the link, it seems complicated.

    I tried with several different distros without any positive result.

    I even tried reinstalling Windows 10, the installer is asking me for a driver at the hard drive step.

    Thank you,

    Guillaume
    0
    1. brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 178
       
      The most frequently read comments indicate the impossibility of installing anything, including Windows 10, due to the fact that the eMMC is practically recognized by boot software as an SD card for which there is no storage driver.

      However, Windows 10 must have been installed initially; the question is how...

      On the contrary, a procedure is reported here as successful:
      https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/emmc-flash-storage-windows-repair/bb9cf9cf-3212-41dc-91c1-0ec87be1aeae

      Are you sure your device runs under Windows 10 Home? In principle, eMMC variants are delivered with Windows 10 in S mode: if you don't exit S mode, you have no means to install anything that does not come from the Microsoft Store.

      Linux is another version of the same question; one would need to find a distro that includes a driver recognizing this famous storage controller, which might be even more difficult since the model is already a bit old and drivers are no longer being developed.
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  4. guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member 8
     
    Yes, indeed, Windows 10 in S mode.

    Is it possible for two storage devices to want to have /dev/sda because here: 

    mint@mint:~$ sudo parted -l ; lsblk -f
    Warning: The driver descriptor says the physical block size is 2048 bytes, but
    Linux says it is 512 bytes.
    Ignore/Cancel? I 
    Model: Kingston DataTraveler 2.0 (scsi)
    Disk /dev/sda: 61.9GB
    Sector size (logical/physical): 2048B/512B
    Partition Table: mac
    Disk Flags: 

    Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
     1 2048B 6143B 4096B Apple
     2 328kB 4424kB 4096kB EFI

    NAME FSTYPE LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT
    loop0 squashfs 0 100% /rofs
    sda iso9660 Linux Mint 20.3 Xfce 64-bit 2022-01-04-19-24-15-00 
    ├─sda1 iso9660 Linux Mint 20.3 Xfce 64-bit 2022-01-04-19-24-15-00 0 100% /cdrom
    ├─sda2 vfat 54C5-9C6C 
    └─sda3 ext4 writable 838d6115-e426-498c-bb0b-bd02c1a1c7f4 11.5G 0% /var/log
    mint@mint:~$


    If we look at the Kingston USB, it is the USB stick containing Linux Mint, it is 16GB but reported here as 64GB. The eMMC is 64GB. I have the impression that both the USB stick and the SandDisk eMMC want to be /dev/sda 

    Model: Kingston DataTraveler 2.0 (scsi)
    Disk /dev/sda: 61.9GB


    Is it possible to force the 16GB USB stick to be /dev/sdb? I'm throwing this idea out there.

    Thank you,

    Guillaume
    0
    1. brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 178
       
      I don't know, I'm not very comfortable with the Linux terminal, so you should probably ask this specific question in the Linux section.

      The boot medium from which Linux is launched (the USB stick) is likely seen in these circumstances as the primary device (sda), but it shouldn't "measure" 64 GB unless it is a virtual disk; aside from the EFI partition, it's also not very clear what the role of a Mac/Apple boot sector at the forefront is, nor why the USB stick should have free space in ext4 if it doesn't correspond to a "free space" of the Linux ISO when it is mounted (if I recall correctly, a bootable Linux USB stick remains in FAT32).

      Depending on the desktop environment, we also read (I haven't tried) that one might prefer to mount Cinnamon over XFCE (even though the latter is obviously lighter; as I do, you can run Cinnamon in a virtual machine with less than 1 GB of RAM, although I use 4 and have a free space of about 20-30 GB).

      If we need to continue using Windows 10 by itself or even to install or modify anything, we should be able to migrate from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Home:

      https://support.microsoft.com/fr-fr/windows/sortie-du-mode-s-dans-windows-4f56d9be-99ec-6983-119f-031bfb28a307
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  6. guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member 8
     
    Hi,

    I'm going to try Cinnamon, I definitely don't want to use Windows. If I have to go through Windows to disable "Fast Boot" as several tutorials suggest, I'm okay with that, but I can't use Windows after that, meaning once the laptop is set up.

    I'll update you soon!

    Thanks!

    Guillaume
    0
    1. brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 178
       
      I wonder, given the USB drive's content (and again unless the command shows the status of a mounted Live USB), if the drive in question is poorly formatted and should be reset to the beginning.

      It's not about continuing to use Windows 10, but rather being able to "enter" it while it's present to install something else, and the S version may be part of the blockage.
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      1. brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 178 > brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         
        I don't use it directly in Cinnamon either, and I'm not even sure if it integrates (and then there's the Schrödinger paradox since you have to boot the Live USB to use it): I use Gparted as a graphical interface from a dedicated Live CD or a Puppy Linux Live CD when I need it, but it also exists as a Live USB.

        It would be good to check if such a Live CD or USB "sees" the partitions correctly, including the famous eMMC.
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      2. guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member 8 > brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         
        Do you mean that the solution might involve reinstalling Windows 10 S and then exiting S Mode, subsequently disabling "Fast Boot," and finally trying to install Linux Mint again?
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      3. guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member 8 > guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member
         
        Also, I forgot to mention, to install Windows 10 S, do we have to go through Windows 10 "Classic"? It's because when I try to install Windows 10 "Classic", the installer doesn't detect the eMMC either.

        Is it possible that nothing can be done and that the laptop is dead?
        0
      4. brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 178 > guillaumegilbertsoucy Posted messages 369 Status Member
         
        Why reinstall Windows 10 S or not? You formatted your device; there’s nothing left on it?

        As far as I know, we cannot install Windows 10 S (and anyway, it isn't useful). We don't need to install Windows 10 from S through the usual method (USB key), but rather through the process provided by Microsoft.

        Once the standard Windows 10 is in place, we can install programs that might allow us to perform the operation; I don't think the PC is dead, but if the eMMC isn't recognized through the usual means, it's because the manufacturer used a different method (which one?) to install it. I will check to see if I can find anything about it.

        You should start by testing what is recognized or not from a Gparted bootable medium (preferably on a CD, but I suppose there is no drive).
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  7. brucine Posted messages 24945 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 178
     
    One intervention argues that manipulation could be possible via diskpart (thus from a Windows 10 installation media) and that it would fail because the eMMC is by default in MBR, and therefore it should be reformatted to UEFI (of course, to do this, access is needed, via diskpart or otherwise).

    If Windows 10 is still active, hibernation and fast startup modes could hinder the manipulations:

    https://www.udoo.org/forum/threads/installing-win10-to-the-emmc.6878/

    Another issue could stem from a poorly created installation media:

    https://superuser.com/questions/1293899/windows-10-32-gb-emmc-laptop-windows-cant-be-installed-on-drive-0-partition
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