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After Protest, Lenovo Releases BIOS For Loading Linux on Yoga 900, IdeaPad 710S (liliputing.com)

Lenovo received a lot of heat in September when it said the Yoga 900 and Yoga 900S hybrids would only support Windows, and not Linux. The company has now changed its stance, though there is still a catch. An anonymous reader shares a Lilputing article: But now you can install Linux, because Lenovo has released new BIOS options for those laptops. There's a bit of a catch though. Lenovo's new BIOS has an AHCI option that lets you install Linux... but if you're using the new BIOS, then Windows is not officially supported. In fact, Lenovo says it's not officially supporting the new BIOS either... if you want to install it, you're pretty much on your own if you run into any problems. While Lenovo is presenting this as an either/or solution for choosing whether you want to run Windows or Linux. But some users have discovered that it is possible to set up dual-boot system using the new BIOS, allowing you to choose between Windows and Linux when your computer boots.

5 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Big deal : no spyware for me, thanks. by Thanatiel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lenovo has been caught putting spyware on its laptops.
    Who in his right mind would buy any of their products ?

    --
    Irrelevant news and morons using moderation to mod down what they disagree on. 2018 resolution: so long.
  2. Intel already posted Linux source for this by godamntheman · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you want to use Linux on this platform in "RAID" mode with the supported BIOS, the source code to enable it is part of this patch series from an Intel developer: http://lists.infradead.org/pip.... It's not pretty, but it sounds like that's just how the hardware works.

  3. Makes it sound like a bad thing? by unixisc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    but if you're using the new BIOS, then Windows is not officially supported.

    They make it sound like it's a bad thing. But if one wanted to support Linux, why would one be interested in Windows? Laptops nowadays are inexpensive enough that if one had to, one could buy a separate laptop for Windows. In fact, given the way some Windows 10 updates have disrupted dual boot capabilities, I'd say that the only safe way of doing things would be to have completely separate laptops for Windows and Linux/BSD. Screw this whole business of dual booting, and dedicate complete systems for either platform

  4. Re:Too much work by Camel+Pilot · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yeah I suspect in the near future you will get a virus or maybe some ransomware or just a crud filled slow system and you will be thinking about tjos while your stress level with skyrockets.

    At home I have made the switch to a linux only lifestyle... one machine still has a dual boot. I rarely ever boot back into to windows and I don't have to mess with malware bytes, mcaffee, etc. And when it is time for a new OS upgrade I can do this in couple of hours with yum or apt-get to install all my tools.

  5. Re:"consumer" vs "business" computers by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have been thinking about whether the distinction between "consumer" (eg IdeaPad) and "business" (eg ThinkPad) machines even makes sense. This is not even limited to Lenovo of course.

    Sure it does. The goals differ in several important ways.

    Cost: A "Consumer" laptop has to be as cheap as possible. Under $500 preferably. A business laptop can cost a lot more ($1500-2000) as long as you focus on what business users care about - small, lightweight, etc. Also, use higher quality materials that can withstand mobile use.

    Accessories: Business laptops are generally purchased en masse, or at least purchased alongside similar models. Thus, if you have a line that share accessories like docking stations, adapters, batteries, power cables, etc, this simplifies IT departments inventory, etc. Consumer laptops don't generally require docking stations so you can get rid of those and the only things require standard ports.

    Features: Business laptops need management features - remote management, inventorying, etc. Consumer laptops generally don't, though a LoJack option might be desirable,but optional.

    Operating System: Business laptops generally run a stable Windows - Windows 7 is typical. Consumer laptops generally run the latest since that's what all the splashy advertising shows, so they'd ship with Windows 10. (Windows 7 is typically a Windows 10 downgrade license). In addition, business laptops may be used by people in a company who don't necessarily run Windows, so alternate OS support is desirable, like Linux.