Lenovo diagnostic software for Linux-safe to use?

[Seeker]

to m_pav: if you look here, at this lenovo document from 8-22-2012, you will see that "thinkpad built-in diagnostics" apparently was introduced around that time.
See: https://support.lenovo.com/in/en/solutions/ht074865
My x220 is from 2011. According to mx sys info, my bios is v: 8DET63WW (1.33 ) date: 07/19/2012
So hey, give me a break! Please tell me why it is inadvisable to use one of the bootable usb isos that I cite above from Lenovo. They say not to use the uefi one, as they stopped support in 2019. the user guide for the linux one, which they say to use instead for linux systems, is from 2020.
I am just asking for the advice we all hope to get from this forum.
Oh yes, if you look at the Lenovo document referenced above, it has pix of screens after you use f12 to go into the boot menu. there is a tab there for diagnostics--and, if you look at the menu, there are only two tests to run, if I understand it correctly. The bootable usbs provide, I think, a lot more tests!

[m_pav]

Your fears appear to be founded on having no knowledge of how to operate a machine outside of it's OEM provided state and that's not surprising because I'd say that would apply to more than 95% of the population, possible more.
Lenovo provide the F12 key for that very purpose, however, it's often disabled in the BIOS, or no wait state is defined for it's use, so many don't know its even possible. In addition to this, Lenovo usually provide a "press enter key" message to assist those who need more than just alternative booting, and this is their method of operation to access their built in diagnostics.

The only possible thing you might need to change in the BIOS is either the option to turn on or off the F12 option, and/or to add a delay before booting so you can interrupt the boot process without having to mash the keys, thereby avoiding a miss.

As m_frank said, the Lenovo ISO needs to be updated [b]every time[/b] it is used. You'd have to ensure you have an internet connection, then use the the CLI to fix the repo issue, then update/upgrade it, and then you can run the tool. That's 4 steps you'd have to do with absolute precision to ensure use of the so called all-in-one tool, which is designed for system admins, which you claim not to be. This confuses me because the very moment you installed MX Linux onto your laptop, you became the "system administrator" of that machine. If you're happy to use a third party (to us) system administrators tool, go ahead, nobody is stopping you.

I've owned Lenovo laptops for over 15 years now and I've had experience with them for over 20, so you'd think I might know a thing or two about them. I also spent some 20+ years in professional IT, so I think I've earned the right to speak with some level of competence. There is nothing the Lenovo bootable ISO provides that's not already provided for within our installation, and our installation keeps them all updated for you.

By the way, the Lenovo tool is dated October 2016, not 2019 as you claim. What we provide is 100% up to date.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

why is no one relating to this, which I cited above?
from Lenovo Diagnostic Solutions-downloads: Create Bootable USB with UEFI Diagnostics--
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/soluti ... bleusbuefi

I tried the new image version and it is broken in the same way as the old version.

They provide a windows/dos bootable generator file, but couldn't we use the MX usb bootable creator tool?

You don't need any special tools, it's a hybrid ISO image and so can be transferred using the plain cp(1) command.

[m_frank]

why is no one relating to this, which I cited above?
from Lenovo Diagnostic Solutions-downloads: Create Bootable USB with UEFI Diagnostics--
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/soluti ... bleusbuefi
They provide a windows/dos bootable generator file, but couldn't we use the MX usb bootable creator tool?
Wouldn't this be simpler solution that playing around with boot options in BIOS, as the Lenovo UEFI diagnostics seems to be operating system agnostic?
From the ReadMe:Format Description Current Version
Bootable Full version 04.12.001
Bootable Same as bootable version without Data Disposal Tool 04.12.001
Light ~300kb; 4 modules only (CPU, Storage, Memory, Motherboard) 04.12.001
Shellview command-line version; does not have Data Disposal Tool 04.12.001
Here's the user's guide: https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/thin ... 80_x64.pdf

Maybe because the zip file only contains a EFI boot file:

Code: Select all

$ unzip -l ldiag_bootable_04.12.001_rev1080_x64.zip 
Archive:  ldiag_bootable_04.12.001_rev1080_x64.zip
  Length      Date    Time    Name
---------  ---------- -----   ----
   933760  2020-01-25 01:25   EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.efi
---------                     -------
   933760                     1 file

Which may be interesting, but mxlum (MX Live USB Maker) takes a diet of ISOs, so ...


That said, I did experiment with it last night by doing the following:

• Created an ESP (EFI System Partition?) named UEFI-DIAG on a GPTed USB stick (512MB from the junk bin)
• Copied the .efi file to /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.efi
• and tried booting of an UEFI machine...
  (since my Thinkpad T500 is pre-UEFI (legacy BIOS), I tried the Dell Inspiron 5566)
• It booted.
• And displayed a message that: This wasn't a Lenovo machine, so NO go ... ... but did boot.

So, can I kludge a USB stick that's GRUB-PC based, MBR/PBR bootable, with GRUB-EFI support to run BOOTx64.efi?

---

Then again, Lenovo says "Note: Lenovo Solution Center discontinued support after 2019-04. Instead, use the "Lenovo Diagnostics" Windows version or the "Lenovo Diagnostics" Linux Bootable version to diagnose your PC." That is, they are advising to use the Ldiag_4.33.0 iso.
Here's the Jan 2020 User Guide for recommended Linux Bootable Version.

Well there was this (now with link updated to 4.33.0):

:
Create Bootable USB Flash Drive for Lenovo Linux Diagnostics -- MX-Linux edition

You will need a USB flash drive with at least 2GB (Note: contents of the flash drive will be erased as part of this process).
Perform the following steps: (Be sure to remember the location where you save the files on your system).

1. Download the Lenovo Linux Diagnostics 4.33.0 iso file onto your system.
2. Insert a flash drive,
3. Use mxlum (MX Live USB Maker) [cli: mx-live-usb-maker] in Image Mode (since this is a "foreign distro" ISO )

:

FWIW:

The iso is named: ldiag_4.33.0_linux.iso
Is this the same thing you guys tried out?

No, we were trying out v4.31, which was jessie-based. That ISO is buster-based but still broken in the same way
:

[Seeker]

Hi m_pav and everyone else. Now I understand better the kludginess of the Lenovo tool from their iso. But good news for me from m_pav: "There is nothing the Lenovo bootable ISO provides that's not already provided for within our installation, and our installation keeps them all updated for you." I, too, would much prefer to use any tools within MX, even if they are cli tools, than third-party (that is, vis a vis the OS, not the hardware itself). However, even though I have gone back through previous posts, I haven't yet understood what tools MX puts at my disposal besides the smart hdd/ssd tool. I would like to test motherboard, memory, etc. I used to use, years ago, the PC Doctor provided with the x220. But I did that under Windows. Also, Lenovo superceded PC Doctor and I, for reason/s I cannot recall, was not able to move forward with Lenovo on this. So, how can I make use of specifically what tools from mx for checking out my x220 besides the smart tool for the hdd/ssd?

[m_frank]

---

For memory, there's usually a item on the boot menu for a standalone memory exercisor/checker.

[Seeker]

Before I wrap up this thread and put "solved" in the initial post, I want to note that I read through the Users Guide for the latest Lenovo diagnostic tool for Linux. It provides for v extensive testing, that apparently goes well beyond the possibilities noted in previous posts here. And all those tests are done with one tool, rather than going all over the place to find various tools. However, the guide says nothing about what you see and what to do when you boot with the usb stick with the Lenovo iso on it. In the posts above, our forum experts gave a description of what they encountered and did upon booting with the iso before actually being able to use the tool. I must admit that I do not fully understand the steps they laid out. If anyone would care to recapitulate, with explanation for a naive MX user of the terms they use, this MX user will be most appreciative! Thanks in advance. I would be willing to endure a pita once in a while to thoroughly test my x220--or another, bit newer thinkpad I would probably buy when this one becomes unusable.

[m_frank]

:
... I would be willing to endure a pita once in a while to thoroughly test my x220
--or another, bit newer thinkpad I would probably buy when this one becomes unusable.

I'm not sure how the newer Lenovo Thinkpads hold up,
but my "Lenovo" (IBM) Thinkpad T500 is still going strong,
I'm thinking about maxing out the RAM (8GB it's got 4GB).