My response regarding Microsoft and Lenovo’s effective joint statement:
Microsoft and Lenovo got together and agreed on the lies that they would tell in response to this. The lie is that it’s a driver problem. That Linux just doesn’t support the fake RAID mode that they forced the storage into when they deliberately sabotaged the BIOS by writing new code to hide AHCI mode and also code to reset the BIOS to their fake RAID mode if the user used EFI Shell to try setting it to AHCI. Let me make my position clear, that Lenovo is lying through their teeth just like they did with Superfish malware incident. They lied until they couldn’t lie anymore. Linux should not have to support the RAID mode because the mode should be able to be changed to AHCI, which is fully compatible with Linux, by the user in about 20 seconds.
If, by some chance, some Very Smart People ever figure out a way to make the SSD visible again, I would STRONGLY advise never upgrading the laptop’s firmware again, lest Microsoft and Lenovo find something else to break and then tell us “Oops. Better run Windows 10 so you can use our 360 degree hinge! Have we told you about our 360 hinge?”.
I believe that if Linux ever gains driver support for the forced fake RAID configuration, that future laptops from Lenovo will just toggle something else so Linux doesn’t work on them for a while.
I would strongly advise avoiding the Yoga 910 and Yoga Book when they come out until we find out whether they broke those models as well.
Even if your intent is to never run Linux, Lenovo is the first PC maker I’ve seen that ships computers that you can’t even realistically (for the average user) reinstall Windows on. I will never buy another Lenovo computer again and I will advise others to avoid them whenever the chance arises. I had to spend about an hour googling random support topics before I found a recommendation to use Universal Extractor to get their Windows storage driver to use in a Windows installation thumb drive. Then I had to find a beta version of Universal Extractor that supported the archive format in the setup program just to dig the Intel RST driver out of their godawful installer so that I can slipstream it into a Windows installer.
Most people will have to pay to ship it back to Lenovo if Windows needs to be reinstalled, and will be unable to use the computer for weeks, and it’ll probably have some sensitive, confidential, work-related information on the SSD that someone at Lenovo could copy and steal while it’s in their repair center.
Their arrogant forum moderator “Andy_Lenovo” posted Lenovo’s ridiculous press release to their forum and then marked it as solved. The only part of it that is true is that Linux will likely never be able to install on Yoga laptops, because they are “designed for Windows 10”, which in my experience has been unstable and full of bugs (like updates stalling out requiring manual installation from offline packages, telling me to reboot everytime I pair my bluetooth headphones, etc.).
Unfortunately, in addition to Lenovo and Microsoft’s lies, Matthew Garrett wrote some more horsefeathers when he blamed Linux for not supporting a storage mode that shouldn’t even be in use anyway. He apparently has a long record of apologizing for Microsoft and misleading people, and it’s a shame that he’s in the FSF. Of course, the FSF has put some other people in high places that have proceeded to undermine their mission in the past, like Miguel de Icaza.
Maybe it’s true that you need “special drivers” to make Windows run, but Microsoft doesn’t care. It breaks Linux on Lenovo laptops and then makes it look like the problem is in Linux, when it’s actually in Microsoft’s storage driver and Microsoft is undoubtedly leaning on Intel to keep the way the RST driver does power management a secret.
To make sure that you don’t accidentally buy a Signature Edition computer, on the demo model, click the start (Windows logo) button, click “about your PC”, and under Windows 10 it will say “Signature Edition” if it’s part of this program. Also, make sure you try installing Linux before the return period expires. If the Linux installer in Live mode can’t see your SSD, stop. Unplug the thumb drive, turn the computer off, and I would recommend that you return it. Just tell the store that you decided that you didn’t need it or something. It’s true… Nobody needs this kind of aggravation.
END of my response to Lenovo and Microsoft.
(You do not need to ask for my permission to repost this response in its entirety anywhere else, in hard copy, or on a website.)
