I changed the BIOS settings on my Lenovo G50 so that I could boot Lubuntu from a USB stick (it normally runs Windows 10)
Whenever I set the BIOS settings back to how they were (by clicking restore default) they change on the screen but won't save. My laptop is now permanently trying to boot from a USB stick.
I did a Google search and somebody suggested the BIOS battery was flat. This can't be the case as the date and time are still current.
Somebody else has recently had the same problem as me, but in reverse. He can't save his new settings, they always go back to the factory defaults:
forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-B-and-G-Series-Notebooks/Lenovo-G50-80-BIOS-Settings-doesn-t-get-saved/td-p/3856678
Does anybody have any suggestions please?
Last edited by: Chris S on Sat 2 Dec 17 at 16:24
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If you leave the USB stick out does it boot to Windows? It should, as the change you make in the BIOS is just to the order it will boot in, and disks stay in the list as far as I remember.
If not, it could be that the MBR (boot record, or whatever they call it in Windows 10) has been wiped by Linux. If you didn't tell the machine at Linux install time it was going to dual boot this is a distinct possibility in my mind.
I don't know if the absence of a boot record on a disk would mean that it would not be eligible to be promoted to the top of the list. Or that it gets demoted when a boot is attempted.
If that does turn out to be the problem you would ideally need a bootable diagnostic/troubleshooting Windows 10 CD but we can cross that bridge when we we come to it...
Maybe I'm over-thinking it anyway. Just try changing something else in the BIOS, shut the machine right down, restart and see if that sticks. There are options in other screens which you can change, but keep a note so you can change it back.
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>> If you leave the USB stick out does it boot to Windows? It should, as
>> the change you make in the BIOS is just to the order it will boot
>> in, and disks stay in the list as far as I remember.
>>
Thanks - I tried that first but it still wouldn't boot. I've also tried just about every combination of menu choices to get the BIOS to save but it won't.
The USB was just a demo version of Lubuntu, I've now installed it as a dual-boot with Windows 10. I can now boot Lubuntu from the hard-disk but if I choose Windows 10 (or Windows recovery) from the menu I get a message saying, "The boot configuration data for your PC is missing or contains errors." It also recommends using the Windows installation disk and choosing 'repair your computer'.
Unfortunately my laptop was an ex-demo model with Windows already installed so I didn't get the disk. I'll just use Lubuntu unless there is something that I specifically need on Windows, I can still boot it by going into the BIOS and choosing it from the boot menu.
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So you can still boot into Windows if you select it as the primary OS in the BIOS but it doesn't remember this setting the next time you start. Is that understanding correct?
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Actually I'm not sure the Windows DVD is essential, but if so there are (or used to be) legitimate places you can download a Windows 10 image for burning to CD (and probably USB).
I can't recall them offhand but it would fit your purpose I think, as you already have the licence installed.. Let me know if you want me to try to find them. (You would need to download the same version you currently have).
But anyway, it could well be that you can do the troubleshooting and fix without it. If you start into Windows and go to Control panel and then Update and Security and then Advanced Startup then it will reboot (if that works!!) and give you a menu where you can fix problems causing Windows not to start.
If that works, the only downside may be that it deletes your Linux boot up partition but I'd like to think Windows is smart enough to recognise dual boot.
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Up-to-date and official installation media can be readily downloaded from here:
www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/home
In order to use them, you need a valid product key, BUT, for WIN10 only, a properly installed existing copy will have been issued with a digital key, which should be automatically picked up on a re-install from such media. (I've done it)
What I haven't done is subsequently repair an existing installation from this media, but it is implied you can do so, here:
www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-tip-repair-your-windows-10-installation/
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My understanding of Windows 10 was that you can install Windows 10 without a product key altogether, but you will forever get nag screens. I did it on an obsolete laptop I had and that seemed to be the case. Wouldn't have been usable on a daily basis in that state.
Anyway for repair functions I don't think it reaches the licence screen. I can take mine through the repair process I described about without a DVD. The OP says he can get into Windows and I believe that's the "first resort" way to invoke troubleshooting now.
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>> Anyway for repair functions I don't think it reaches the licence screen. I can take
>> mine through the repair process I described about without a DVD. The OP says he
>> can get into Windows and I believe that's the "first resort" way to invoke troubleshooting
>> now.
>>
....I haven't been through this process with WIN10, but I suspect, as it did for other versions, whether or not you need an install disk will depend on whether you've elected to keep install files on the hard drive (and how many).
If you haven't saved the required files, it will prompt for an install disk somewhere in the repair process.
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Windows 10 repair stuff is quite different from other versions as it runs from within Windows.
I ran it on mine, looking for startup errors, but no fault was found. Maybe if there had been something to fix on mine it would have but I don't think so, not for a boot sector rebuild.
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If you install Belarc Advisor, you will be able to obtain the Product Key:
www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/belarc_advisor.html
This may also prove of use (Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant) as it downloads the very latest version of Windows 10, but be prepared for a long download and installation session
:
support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/3159635/windows-10-update-assistant
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Thanks - I've bookmarked those links. I've now got a laptop that 'works' so I'll wait until the holidays before I try to reinstall Windows 10.
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Don't think a re-install is required. Just repair.
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I'd be inclined to try a repair first, unless the existing content wasn't critical and/or could be backed up for later reinstall.
A clean installation is always a nice option, and, as I say, if the machine currently has a pukka WIN10 installation, then a full install from the link I've placed above shouldn't require a product key (as it is held digitally).
I've upgraded a few m/cs via the free WIN7 to WIN10 process, (as this was the route to obtaining a free, digital WIN10 key), and then installed a fresh copy of WIN10 over the top of the upgrade in order to get a "clean" install. I've never need a product key.
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Thanks - I use the laptop for work so I'll wait until the weekend before I try a repair, just in case I mess things up again :)
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If anybody is still interested I ran the Windows 10 Update Assistant. It didn't give me the option to repair Windows, it just tried to update it.
After 2 hours and a 5Mb download I got this message "Something went wrong - here is the error code 0x800704c7."
Apparently this error code "usually occurs when your computer is unstable and fails to respond or critical system files are missed".
I think I'll just put this down to experience and use my laptop as it is. In future I'll make a copy of the BIOS before I change it.
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Its not the bios, Linux has screwed up the GUID partition table. If you want to use windows you will need to completely low level format the drive, and then reinstall windows.
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Yeah, I think I'll claim to be the first to come up with the issue being in the boot area :-)
The update assistant was a red herring, never likely to solve your problem.
So try a repair. It might just work. I explained somewhere above how to do it, before the red herring was thrown in. :-)
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>>The update assistant was a red herring, never likely to solve your problem.>>
It was a suggestion, nothing else, if you read it again.
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Chances are when/if you repair the boot partition for Windows 10 it will take out the boot partition for Linux.
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>> Chances are when/if you repair the boot partition for Windows 10 it will take out
>> the boot partition for Linux.
Which would be a good thing. Linux and laptops are not happy bedfellows.
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Nothing whatsoever wrong with my reading - what with it being the "update assistant" I didn't even realise you meant it as a suggestion, especially as you went on to say it could take a long time to complete the upgrade, which was not the OP's intent or requirement. That's why I considered it a red herring, not because of any flaw in your post.
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>>.. as you went on to say it could take a long time to complete the upgrade>>
I made a mention of it as the normal Windows Update wouldn't install the Creator version - using the Assistant for the first time did download and install this version.
Only passing on my own experiences....:-)
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It looks like the BIOS was corrupted by the Lubuntu kernel.
bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1734147
It's too late to do anything about it now but if you've got a Lenovo then don't install Lubuntu 17.10.
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BIOS settings won't save on a Lenovo G50 - smokie
