Re: Big problem
On 10/15/25 11:56, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
> A friend of mine bought a refurbished computer. It is an all in one
> ThinkCenter by Lenova. I have changed settings in the CMOS so that the
> USB would show up first. Nothing that I have done works. It just says
> no files to load and I tried many times. It is an older computer and it
> weights a ton. Can anyone tell me how to get Linux on this machine.
> Since I did not buy this one I have no idea what is inside of it. Hope
> some knows how to get around this problem.
On 10/15/25 16:48, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
I should have been clearer to you guys. Sorry about that.
It is a Lenova Think Centere SN-MJO1ES56
Using the Lenovo serial number lookup web page, I see:
https://snlookup.com/lenovo
Enter device serial number: MJO1ES56
Device Information
Brand: Lenovo
Model name: M93z
Machine Type: 10AF
Product Category: Information Technology
Market Region: USA / Canada
Purchase Location: United States of America
Purchase Date: Sep 4, 2014
STFW "lenovo.com M93z 10AF" provides several hits. This one looks
promising:
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre-m-series-desktops/thinkcentre-m93z/10af/10afa00rls/mj01chph/downloads
Clicking "Guides & Manuals":
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre-m-series-desktops/thinkcentre-m93z/10af/10afa00rls/mj01chph/document-userguide/doc_userguide
These documents look interesting:
* Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) - ThinkCentre M93z
* (English) User Guide
The User Guide, Chapter 7 "Using the Setup Utility program", section
"Starting the Setup Utility program", page 83 says:
Starting the Setup Utility program
To start the Setup Utility program, do the following:
1. Make sure your computer is turned off.
2. Repeatedly press and release the F1 key when turning on the
computer. When you hear multiple beeps or see a logo screen,
release the F1 key.
Note: If a Power-On Password or an Administrator Password has
been set, the Setup Utility program menu will not be displayed
until you type the correct password. For more information, see
“Using passwords” on page 83.
Can you access the Setup Utility program?
and I have no idea what is
inside of it
The Setup Utility program should be able to tell you CPU, memory
modules, disk drives, etc.. I find it is useful to use a camera and a
tripod to photograph all of the Setup pages and gather all of the
information. Later, I can look at the photographs for specific details.
The challenge is keeping track of the changes I make after taking the
pictures.
since even windows won't load without a code,
Please tell us what text is displayed on the screen and when -- e.g.
during POST, after POST and before Windows starts, before the Windows
login screen, after logging in to Windows, after starting some app (and
what app), etc...
the problem
is he cannot get to his email. It comes from AOL,
Please tell us how he is trying to get to AOL electronic mail -- what
app he is starting, what is displays on the screen, etc..
verizon sold us to
them. I tried to get to his email but he does not know his password. He
is trying to use his phone to change his password.
Beware of attempting too many password changes. You will trigger a
security response that could be very bad, such as wiping the device.
Until then I cannot
even get windows up at all without the damn code.
What Windows? What code?
He will never do that
again
Do what again?
but he was trying to save some money. I can get into the CMOS and
will see what I can find there.
I assume you mean the Setup Utility program?
I will also look at the video about
using a usb instead.
What video? Using USB for what?
On 10/15/25 17:03, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
> It is a cd and 0ne of a set of 3 to install linux debian. It has UEFI
> for sure. I can use my computer to put disk one on a usb drive. Or
> maybe it would be better if I bought one.
Downloading a Debian installer ISO and burning it to a USB flash drive
is a skill that you will want to learn.
STFW "debian download iso and burn to usb" produces several hits that
look promising, including some debian.org pages:
https://html.duckduckgo.com/html?q=debian%20download%20iso%20and%20burn%20to%20usb
On 10/15/25 17:27, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
> I have not tried a USB drive yet.
The user guide Chaper 1. "Product overview" "Features" "Internal drives"
pages 1 states:
Internal drives
• Optical drive: slim DVD-ROM , slim Rambo, or Blu-ray (optional)
• Hybrid drive
• Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard disk drive
Note: Your computer only supports SATA 3.0 devices. For more
information, see “Locating parts on the system board” on page 16
If the optical drive still works (you should test this), then you can
burn a Debian installer ISO to CD/ DVD/ BD.
On 10/15/25 19:35, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
> Product Image <https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?
>
C=83GV7WG09RVL&K=HP043NH824CG&M=urn:rtn:msg:202510160225592a7d108c370c48e3aea60e98f4f0p0na&R=HVKX807PDJCP&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07GRKQKJ9%3Fref_%3Dpe_127665860_1053960000&H=RVDUQPUMYOP0ZBA7ZCWVNP0NREKA&ref_=pe_127665860_1053960000>
Lenovo ThinkCentre M93Z 23in FHD All-in-One AIO Premium Flagship
Desktop Computer, Intel Quad Core i5-4570S up to 3.6 GHz, 8GB RAM, 500GB
HDD, DVD, WiFi, Windows 10 Professional (Renewed) (New)
>
> I just found the settings for the all in one. Hope this helps.
Yes, it helps. :-)
David
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