Windows 10: Ubuntu 17.10 corrupts BIOS, bricks some Lenovo + Acer notebook models

They call it prettified apt-get[/quote] I run the Raspberry Pi Desktop (for PC and Mac) on my spare desktop. Basically an x86 version of Debian with the Raspberry Pi desktop. Same look and fell as Raspbian on my Pi. Some other odds and ends added too. I can connect a Raspberry Pi Zero via USB and use that Pi's GPIO Pins to do things.

Anyway, its an old ASUS motherboard so I guess I'm safe. I'll have to go poke around the Pi Foundation forums and see what's up.

 

Canonical (Ubuntu) and Microsoft (W8) operating systems both went into decline in 2012.
They haven't recovered.

 

That makes no sense. He got a new BIOS chip.

Are you (is he) saying if you ever installed 17.10 then every computer you buy in the future will be affected? How?

 

I would think its more like, got new motherboard, reinstalled Ubuntu, did the update, bricked second motherboard.

 

Ubuntu 17.10 runs smooth on my Lenovo Z50-70 for whatever reason.

 

That's what I thought too when I read his post on The Ubuntu forum, He probably lacked the skill to remove (desoder) the BIOS chip.

 

This could not happen with Legacy BIOS, I don't believe.

 

How so, why? The BIOS can be flashed from the OS, WinFlash for example. I don't recommend doing it that way, but it is doable. I'm sure there is a Linux equivalent. I'm a Linux Noob though.

 

Sure it could. In fact it is easier.

I run a .exe to update my legacy BIOS on a X201 Lenovo. It reboots a few times and updates BIOS firmware.

I also update the track one (of mbr disk so BIOS is not really a correct term in this case) on my old MBP to override the startup settings when running Windows. Updating the track 1 on a mbr disk overwrites what would be BIOS settings and I do that to allow AHCI SSD...

I'm not sure if more modern PC would require BIOS update to be done from USB (rather than just be recommended) but certainly you can update BIOS from userland program on old machines. Secureboot would stop (or at least limit ) this sort of tinkering on EFI machine I guess.

 

Hi,

On my most current devices (one Gen. 4, one Gen. 6 and one Gen. 7) I can update the Bios (UEFI actually) either from within the UEFI menu itself or from within Windows. Secureboot does not need to be disabled but the CPU's Txt extension does for some reason unknown to me.


MEI FW updates I flash from within Windows, TPM updates needed to be written to USB. The files were unvisible from within Windows but from the way it acted I suspect it runs after POST and prior to OS loading.
Pretty much like a these multi-boot overlays from years ago.

All these machines are Fujitsus and I recall flashing BIOS's from within Windows since the mid nineties when I was still working for them (Siemens-Nixdorf then).


Either way, odd how they released an OS that can write to BIOS so easily and brick it in the process.....


Cheers, *Wink