Lenovo diagnostic software for Linux-safe to use?

[Head_on_a_Stick]

My guess is it was intended for corporate system admins with shiny new clusters of high-end Lenovo servers, as a tool to validate machine condition and/or warranty claims, but it has fallen by the wayside for any number of reasons, some of which could be that Lenovo have seen the light and are accepting reports from other tools and of course for financial reasons.

The ISO image appears to have been replaced by the EFI utility hard-coded into the firmware to which I referred in my earlier posts.

[Seeker]

Question re "just enable UEFI booting and press F12 as it's starting — you should see an option for the diagnostics program in the firmware ("BIOS") boot entries."
I thought when installing mx must choose between legacy boot and uefi boot, this has some sort of implications. So how is it that if on legacy boot can enable uefi boot? And does one do that and then have to reboot and then press f12 as it starts? could that mess up mx? also, I do not have latest bios, my bios goes back a ways. is this diagnostic program in firmware only since they dropped the diagnostics program I asked about at the beginning of this thread?

[Head_on_a_Stick]

So how is it that if on legacy boot can enable uefi boot?

Disable "Legacy" boot (CSM) and enable UEFI booting, use the EFI utility then re-enable "Legacy" mode to get MX booting again. The firmware on my machine has options to enable just UEFI booting, just "Legacy" booting or to have both enabled at the same time (with an option to also change the relative priority).

And does one do that and then have to reboot and then press f12 as it starts?

That's the key that brings up the firmware boot menu on my ThinkPad E485, it might be different for your machine. It will be the same key that you use to select a live image on a USB stick.

could that mess up mx?

No, you should be able to boot into MX again once "Legacy" mode is turned back on.

also, I do not have latest bios, my bios goes back a ways. is this diagnostic program in firmware only since they dropped the diagnostics program I asked about at the beginning of this thread?

Not sure about that, if it's available then it should show up as an option in the UEFI firmware boot menu.

[Seeker]

I went back to Lenovo and found this--not sure if it is same thing I noted here originally:
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/bootableusb
The iso is named: ldiag_4.33.0_linux.iso
Is this the same thing you guys tried out?

[Seeker]

Lenovo offers way to make a bootable UEFI usb diagnostics independent of Os:
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/leno ... esoverview
Lenovo UEFI Bootable Diagnostics
Overview Diagnose & Fix Tools Downloads For Administrators Premium Support
Lenovo Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Diagnostics
The Lenovo UEFI Diagnostics - Bootable USB can be booted by itself and tests hardware devices in Lenovo UEFI-enabled machines. It can be used on your Lenovo computer regardless of what operating system that your machine has.

So would this be preferable to using the diagnostics in firmware by enabling UEFI and afterwards going back to Legacy boot. I now have dual UEFI/Legacy boot with Legacy being the first one tried. Can change the order.

[JayM]

I'm curious why you prefer having to change back and forth between a legacy and a UEFI boot rather than having all operating systems use the same mode and just selecting the one you want in your grub2 boot menu?

[Head_on_a_Stick]

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

Not sure what Lenovo are playing at there but I'm beginning to think m_pav may be right.

So would this be preferable to using the diagnostics in firmware by enabling UEFI and afterwards going back to Legacy boot. I now have dual UEFI/Legacy boot with Legacy being the first one tried. Can change the order.

The EFI program hard-coded into your laptop's firmware is designed for your machine so that would seem to be a better idea but if you haven't updated your firmware then it will be old.

I'm curious why you prefer having to change back and forth between a legacy and a UEFI boot rather than having all operating systems use the same mode and just selecting the one you want in your grub2 boot menu?

The OP only has non-UEFI operating systems installed, we're talking about booting EFI applications stored in the firmware ("BIOS").

[Seeker]

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

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.

[m_pav]

I think m_frank answered everything you need re: creating the live ISO and testing it.

Re: what is easier, EFI bios or the live ISO, the answer couldn't be any plainer when reading through his very extensive in his response, which no doubt took him a fair while to produce for you, possibly up to half a day. For that alone, you owe him a great debt of gratitude and you'd do well to thank him for his extensvie efforts which went far above and beyond what needed to be done.

Let me sum it up for you, the live ISO is a complete and absolute PITA, whereas if it's built into the EFI BIOS, then you only have to run it, what could be simpler than that? With the lenovo tool, you'd have to go through a extraneous routine every time you used it and I seriously doubt you'd use it more than once after going through that exercise. Here's the only thing you need to know. Debain Linux has the tools you need, If you're serious about using Linux learn them and use them.

Please always remember that we're all volunteers who have families and concerns of our own, we provide assistance free of charge to everybody that asks politely and with the right attitude, but we're not in the business of furthering defunct propriety tools.

[Seeker]

m_pav, I was not being disrespectful to m_frank or anyone else. I of course read his postings and all the others--after all, I am seeking answers. but did not feel I had clear enough answer. Is that a crime? I would NOT feel inconvenienced running a tool separately. I do not understand why the tool is such a pita. I wish you or someone else would clarify that for me. I looked carefully at the message that says there are all kinds of mx or debian tools to use, if--as you say in your message--I would only try to understand. I looked at the smart tool in mx and used it. That is only re the HD/SSD. To have to use a different tool for each subsystem (memory, motherboard, audio, whatever) would very much be a pita. Give me a break! Not everyone wants to spend their life on the tech aspects of their os. Not everyone is a sys admin who is getting paid well to deal with all that. Some, like me, are self-employed and just want to use it. I am not a computer specialist. But I am a person who likes to use his tools well. As for the tool built into rom, I have an older bios--which seems to serve me quite well--from the time when Lenovo perhaps provided instead the diagnostics for use on bootable usb. i do not see in bios or the other place, where you can specify boot from usb, any diagnostics. Again, I use legacy boot as my first specified option. I am nervous about setting up uefi boot in order to get to diagnostics and then going back to legacy boot as my preference. Lenovo also now provides online diagnostics, but you have to use with it their windows tool that brings in your machine type and s/n.