M710q Please my bios clean me

[hoaca388]

Hello, I cannot access the bios settings of Lenovo Thinkcentre M710q. I tried the shared files, but I could not get an image. I am sharing my original file and product information. I would be glad if you could help, thank you.
machine type : 10yc
model number : s00p2m
SN : PC1H6TVD
Product : 10ycs00p2m

Are you using Chrome OS ?

[Bios Cracker]

Lenovo m710q
Type 10YC
S/N PC0Y8EAY
Problem - Attached in Pic. Not booting further, need to change to windows
Any Help.

[Bios Cracker]

Lenovo m710q
Type 10YC
S/N PC0Y8EAY
Problem - Attached in Pic. Not booting further, need to change to windows
Any Help.

hoaca388 SMDFlea

[fromthebrink]

I found a Lenovo ThinkCentre 710q (7th gen i3, 8gb ddr4, 256 gb) and monitor ( TIO24 gen 3) at a thrift store for $15 dollars.

A friend needed a gaming setup with a newer CPU (he has a gen 4 i5-4460). Games like DayZ and CS2 crashed often. His rig had bad airflow since it was near the floor and full of dust. I wanted to fix both issues: give him better performance in a small system that could sit off the floor.

My plan was to upgrade the guts, attach it to the monitor, and save space. But it didn't go that smoothly.

When I powered it on, it was running Chrome OS—Amazon's locked-down version. This made it useless outside of Amazon's work environment.

Worse, the BIOS had no UEFI options to boot from another drive!

That kicked off a long process. I learned a lot and noted every step, including links. I had to dig through tons of incomplete resources, ( Credit to assquitoe https://www.badcaps.net/forum/troubl...me?view=thread at bad caps for the most comprehensive post I could find on this project to date)

1. Flashing the BIOS: Installing and running Flashrom to remove ChromeOS bios

• 710q bios: https://www.badcaps.net/forum/troubl...me?view=thread
  -See comment from peste
• CH341A chip + SOIC8 Clip programmer (good quality cable from first experience on amazon). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VNVVXW6...fed_asin_title
• fantastic instructions with not only how to identify your BIOS chips but also how to hook up cable to chip, ensuring that pin 1 is consistent throughout the hardware setup.
  -We will refer back to this later: https://youtu.be/lmYXiE2fQ6E?list=TL...a7wwNDA1MjAyNQ
• I had to use a steam deck as all my attempts with creating a virtual machine failed and its what I had on hand. Virtual box and HyperVM refused to work with all my troubleshooting steps. This is best with a separate PC that runs Linux exclusively.

Steam deck nuance with removing read/write

passwd deck
sudo steamos-readonly disable \\protection before and after installation

\\ We will do this again at the end to leave it how we found it

Downloading Flashrom from Arch repository on Linux with Steam OS. https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/c...ur_steam_deck/

sudo pacman-key --init

sudo pacman -Syy

sudo pacman -Syu

sudo pacman-key --populate holo

sudo pacman-key --populate archlinux

sudo pacman -S vi \\Installing a package to test out repository set up

sudo pacman -S flashrom

Prepare the CH341A Chip programmer

Unplug the PC and remove the CMOS battery before any changes.
BIOS chip is under the SSD; it says "Winbond" and starts with "25" or "24".
Pin 1 is near the circle on the chip. Match red wire of the SOIC clip to pin 1.
25 series = left side of programmer; 24 series = right side.

USB-C male to USB-A female adapter-https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4KWHRT5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Using the above adapter, plug CH341A into available usb slot. This is where the adapter from USB A to C comes into play, steam deck limited to one USB-C port...

Red light means that we are getting power.
green light on opposing side of USB interface means we are actively running.

Time to test and use the set up!

sudo flashrom --programmer ch341a_spi -r new1.bin (see video above for command source)
sudo flashrom --programmer ch341a_spi -r new2.bin
sudo flashrom --programmer ch341a_spi -r new3.bin

new#.bin are new files that we create when reading the old/already present bios Son the chip.
to ensure their validity we can compare hashes between each read of the present bios file

sha512sum new1.bin \\( see video above)
sha512sum new2.bin
sha512sum new3.bin

Results of above entries should yield the exact same strings of numbers and characters as each new#.bin is a copy of the same bios
As this is a sanity/safety check, I have NO idea what I would of done if the values were different. If they had been dissimilar I probably would have re-seat the SOIC8 clip and tried again

Once we verify all hashes are the same, we can identify the default directory of the new#.bin files. This way we can upload the stock Lenovo bios for the 710q without needing to specify a directory location in the final write command (bios link & video link)

On the steam deck the default directory was he "Home" screen of the SteamOS flavor of Linux. (/home/deck)
After unzipping the bios .rar file, I placed the stock bios in same location as .bin files (again, /home/deck)

sudo flashrom --programmer ch341a_spi -w 11.6.10.3197+outimage.bin ("1.6.10.3197+outimage.bin" was default name of bios from badcaps forum link)

wait 15-30 min.
final result (see video) should verify write and say "VERIFIED"


at this point we need to see if it worked. unplug programmer.
Plug display cable, power, and keyboard to boot into bios (f1 spam)
If you see the Lenovo splash screen, it worked. BIOS date in BIOS menu should be dated to ~ 2017
Now update the BIOS to the newest version.

sudo steamos-readonly enable
sudo passwd -d deck

2. Updating BIOS 2 electric boogaloo flash installation media

• Rufus, tool for creating USB media that updates BIOS: https://jackstromberg.com/2020/02/tu...-devices-bios/

- use this guide step by step to create the media for up to date bios

• 710q BIOS Update package: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/p...ry=BIOS%2FUEFI for the 710q

Specifically want: BIOS Update (USB Drive Package) m1ajt5ausa.zip

In BIOS:
Disable PXE Boot (Devices -> PXE Option ROM -> Disable)
Set boot to USB HDD
PC was defaulting to boot from a network connection regardless of any changes to boot order.
set to load from USB hdd after PXE boot disabled

next time you boot you should see on screen instructions as the PC recognizes BIOS update media on flash drive
I left my serial number and other meta data the same. I didn't want to find out if changing any of that would alter the boot (although I don't think it would)
It will restart several times, then take you back to Lenovo splash screen
press f1 to get back to bios, you should see updated BIOS version from 03/2025. Success!

That is it if you just came here for flashing the BIOS. The rest will be about installing Windows from USB ( in my case, the same USB, just formatted again) and discussion about using the set up for light to intermediate gaming with an externally mounted GPU.

3. Installing Windows from flash installation media

Had issues with either USB port or bad Win 10 installation media. This created a boot loop.
Fix:

• - Reflash USB, recreate it from Win 10 installation media tool .exe (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10)

• - Use another port, I did both at the same time, unsure which one fixed it

In BIOS: set CSM to "enabled", boot mode to "auto", and boot priority to "legacy first"

** goes without saying, but after Win 10 set up, f1 back into BIOS set up and change boot order to primary drive that you just installed Windows on or you will boot loop!