14 DAY TRIAL // Lubuntu developer Simon Quigley informs us that many users are reporting corrupt BIOS on their Lenovo laptops when attempting to install the latest Ubuntu 17.10 (Artful Aardvark) operating system.
The issue is causing the BIOS of several Lenovo laptops to no longer save new settings. Once you've installed Ubuntu 17.10 and you reboot the laptop, the system will start with the old BIOS settings. The cause appears to be related with the intel-spi-* drivers in the Linux kernel, which aren't ready for use.
Lenovo B40-70, Lenovo B50-70, Lenovo B50-80, Lenovo Flex-10, Lenovo G40-30, Lenovo G50-70, Lenovo G50-80, Lenovo S20-30, Lenovo U31-70, Lenovo Y50-70, Lenovo Y70-70, Lenovo Yoga Thinkpad (20C0), Lenovo Yoga 2 11" - 20332, Lenovo Z50-70, Lenovo Z51-70, and Lenovo IdeaPad 100-15IBY are among the Lenovo laptops known to be affected by the issue. A Toshiba S50t-B laptop is also affected.
Canonical is aware of the issue and will respin the Ubuntu 17.10 ISOs
Canonical is aware of the issue and posted a notification on the Ubuntu 17.10 download page of their ubuntu.com website to inform those with Lenovo laptops not to download the ISO images, though other users can still download them using the alternative downloads and torrent links. Lubuntu and Kubuntu devs are also aware of the issue and posted similar statements on Twitter.
"We're aware of issues at the moment that installing Ubuntu (and Lubuntu) 17.10 on some Lenovo laptops can corrupt the BIOS. We are exploring respinning the 17.10 ISOs and will keep you updated, but for the time being, install 16.04 instead. We apologize for the inconvenience," said the Lubuntu devs.
Lubuntu's Simon Quigley has informed us that Canonical is currently working on respinning the ISO images of Ubuntu 17.10 Desktop (64-bit). He also told us that all official Ubuntu flavors would get a respin in the shortest time as possible. We'll update the story as soon as the new ISO images are available for download so you can safely install Ubuntu 17.10 on your laptop.
This issue can affect Kubuntu installs as well, so until the new ISOs are spun, please stick to the LTS 16.04 for new installs on Lenovo. #ubuntu #artfulaardvark https://t.co/hQgfLE1AGf — Kubuntu (@kubuntu) December 20, 2017