[SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

JetGum_386 · 2025-05-24 10:03:27

Hi everyone,

I recently installed Arch Linux on my Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (15ILL9, UEFI firmware NYCN67WW updated Feb 2025) using archinstall with systemd-boot. The installation went smoothly, and the system boots perfectly from the internal NVMe SSD.

However, I'm facing a strange issue: **my laptop no longer detects any bootable USB devices during startup**, even though these same USB drives work flawlessly on other machines, and the USB port works fine in the operating system.

I've tried to create bootable USBs using Ventoy, dd, and Balena Etcher (all boot fine from other laptops and fail to be recognized in this one).

Secure Boot is disabled in BIOS. I have changed nothing since I successfully booted the Arch live USB for the installation.

USBs don't even appear in the boot menu (F12), despite being recognized normally once the system is booted.

efibootmgr shows the following:

BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,2001,2002,2003
Boot0000* EFI Hard Drive (PM9C1a Samsung 1024GB)        PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1c,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)/NVMe(0x1,00-25-38-A1-51-B7-AE-B3)/HD(1,GPT,abb65820-def2-4813-a8fe-5e872f714047,0x800,0x200000)RC
Boot2001* EFI USB Device        RC
Boot2002* EFI DVD/CDROM RC
Boot2003* EFI Network   RC

inxi -Fazy of my laptop:

System:
  Kernel: 6.14.7-arch2-1 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.1.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm
    parameters: cryptdevice=UUID=bc98d41a-79e4-4e07-b20c-8a4c543b7f20:cryptlvm
    root=/dev/ArchinstallVg/root zswap.enabled=0 rw rootfstype=ext4
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.5 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.14.0
    wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 83HM v: Yoga Slim 7 15ILL9
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 v: Yoga Slim 7 15ILL9
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: LNVNB161216 v: SDK0T76574 WIN
    serial: <superuser required> part-nu: LENOVO_MT_83HM_BU_idea_FM_Yoga Slim 7
    15ILL9 uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: NYCN67WW date: 02/08/2025
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 45.8 Wh (65.4%) condition: 70.0/70.0 Wh (100.0%)
    power: 7.1 W volts: 8.1 min: 7.7 model: SMP L23M4PF3 type: Li-poly
    serial: N/A status: discharging cycles: 13
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core Ultra 7 258V bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Lunar Lake
    level: v3 note: check built: 2024+ process: TSMC n3b (3nm) family: 6
    model-id: 0xBD (189) stepping: 1 microcode: 0x11F
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 5 cores: 8 smt: <unsupported> cache:
    L1: 832 KiB desc: d-4x32 KiB, 4x48 KiB; i-8x64 KiB L2: 14 MiB
    desc: 4x2.5 MiB, 1x4 MiB L3: 12 MiB desc: 1x12 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 400 min/max: 400/2200 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 400 5: 400 6: 400 7: 400
    8: 400 bogomips: 52838
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: ghostwrite status: Not affected
  Type: indirect_target_selection status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB: conditional;
    PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: BHI_DIS_S
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Lunar Lake [Intel Arc Graphics 130V / 140V] vendor: Lenovo
    driver: xe v: kernel arch: Xe2 process: TSMC n3 (3nm) built: 2024+ ports:
    active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:64a0
    class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-4:2 chip-ID: 04f2:b7f5
    class-ID: fe01 serial: <filter>
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.16 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.6
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: xe display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: Tianma Micro 0x2036 serial: <filter> built: 2024
    res: mode: 2880x1800 hz: 120 scale: 165% (1.65) to: 1745x1091 dpi: 222
    gamma: 1.2 size: 330x206mm (12.99x8.11") diag: 389mm (15.3") ratio: 16:10
    modes: 2880x1800
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris wayland:
    drv: iris x11: drv: iris
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.1.1-arch1.1
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Graphics (LNL)
    device-ID: 8086:64a0 memory: 15.08 GiB unified: yes display-ID: :1.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.313 layers: N/A device: 0 type: integrated-gpu
    name: Intel Graphics (LNL) driver: mesa intel v: 25.1.1-arch1.1
    device-ID: 8086:64a0 surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo,xprop
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Lunar Lake-M HD Audio vendor: Lenovo
    driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-lnl
    alternate: snd_hda_intel,snd_sof_pci_intel_lnl bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:a828 class-ID: 0401
  API: ALSA v: k6.14.7-arch2-1 status: kernel-api tools: N/A
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.4.2 status: off with: wireplumber status: active
    tools: pw-cli,wpctl
  Server-3: PulseAudio v: 17.0-43-g3e2bb status: active
    tools: pacat,pactl,pavucontrol
Network:
  Device-1: Intel BE201 320MHz driver: iwlwifi v: kernel port: N/A
    bus-ID: 00:14.3 chip-ID: 8086:a840 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-1: virbr0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-6:3 chip-ID: 8087:0037 class-ID: e001
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 3 state: down bt-service: enabled,running
    rfk-block: hardware: no software: yes address: <filter> bt-v: 5.4 lmp-v: 13
    status: discoverable: no pairing: no
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 329.24 GiB (34.5%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Samsung model: PM9C1a 1024GB
    size: 953.87 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 63.2 Gb/s
    lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 57330709 temp: 34.9 C
    scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 40 GiB size: 39.2 GiB (98.00%) used: 24.51 GiB (62.5%)
    fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1 maj-min: 253:1 mapped: ArchinstallVg-root
  ID-2: /boot raw-size: 1024 MiB size: 1022 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 288.5 MiB (28.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 900 GiB size: 884.8 GiB (98.31%)
    used: 304.45 GiB (34.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-2 maj-min: 253:2
    mapped: ArchinstallVg-home
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 4 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842 max-streams: 8
    dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 37.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 32 GiB note: est. available: 30.89 GiB used: 5.33 GiB (17.2%)
  Processes: 380 Power: uptime: 14m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: s2idle
    wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot, suspend, test_resume
    image: 12.34 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,upowerd Init: systemd v: 257
    default: graphical tool: systemctl
  Packages: 1423 pm: dpkg pkgs: 0 pm: pacman pkgs: 1417 libs: 313
    tools: pamac,yay pm: flatpak pkgs: 6 Compilers: clang: 19.1.7 gcc: 15.1.1
    alt: 13 Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.38

Has anyone encountered similar behaviour or have suggestions for troubleshooting? I'd greatly appreciate any insights!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Last edited by JetGum_386 (2025-05-27 22:14:33)

Ranguvar · 2025-05-25 19:14:39

Have you tried resetting UEFI to defaults, as well updating it?

If the UEFI/BIOS cannot recognize external media but the OS and other machines can, it's an issue with that firmware.

Operating systems can trigger firmware bugs by writing to NVRAM (boot entries, etc.), but it almost certainly isn't the core problem.

JetGum_386 · 2025-05-25 21:40:08

Thanks for replying! I was afraid of resetting the BIOS to factory settings for fear it would stop booting Arch too! :-D
Anyway, I might give it a try.
I can't update the BIOS because I don't have a copy of Windows installed on this laptop, and Lenovo only releases Windows *.exe updates for the moment.

Ranguvar · 2025-05-26 18:57:01

That's awful. I'd contact Lenovo and give them some feedback.

I was able to open the EXE using wine.
While it's open and displaying the Insyde H2OFFT error, the '.fd' file can be copied from

$HOME/.wine/drive_c/windows/temp/7z#####.tmp/

I uploaded it to my server. Decompress it with `unxz` or `pixz -d` first.
I recommend you extract yourself instead of trusting me, as I can take no responsibility for any errors that may occur. Best of luck!
Could also try fwupd.

https://ranguvar.io/pub/uefi/NYCN69WW.fd.xz
b9b82f4c8ef30129536e082f96b2fc8031108d9ac44c4e01bd35d45fa7b8c1e5 (sha256sum)

Last edited by Ranguvar (2025-05-27 19:23:22)

JetGum_386 · 2025-05-27 20:51:35

You have no responsibility, of course!

In the meantime, I have an update. For some reason, the Ventoy USB disk is detected if plugged into the USB-C port with an adapter. The USB-A port still doesn't work. Mystery.

Thanks for the suggestion on how to extract the BIOS update. I'll try myself to be sure. Once I have the *.fd file shall I just copy it on a USB drive?

seth · 2025-05-27 21:59:04

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lenovo/comment … t/ljuhh6m/ - or is the very usb key you used to install arch also affected?

JetGum_386 · 2025-05-27 22:09:55

In the end I just copied Hiren's BootCD PE on a Ventoy USB stick (on which I had also copied the BIOS update *.exe), booted, ran the *.exe et voilà, BIOS updated.

JetGum_386 · 2025-05-27 22:17:41

seth wrote:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lenovo/comment … t/ljuhh6m/ - or is the very usb key you used to install arch also affected?

Thanks for the link, I hadn't noticed it.

All I can say is that the USB-A port doesn't work, no matter which USB stick or ISO I try, no matter how formatted. But USB-C sticks with the adapter work. Actually, after pressing F12 the USB stick might not show up, but if I unplug it and plug it again it shows up. Tested multiple times. I'm still curious about why the USB-A port doesn't work for booting, but it's more a speculative question, given that the two other ports work.

However, if the same USB stick works when connected to the USB-C port and doesn't work when connected to the USB-A port, that doesn't seem a BIOS issue to me.

Last edited by JetGum_386 (2025-05-27 22:19:52)

seth · 2025-05-28 06:00:40

if the same USB stick works when connected to the USB-C port and doesn't work when connected to the USB-A port, that doesn't seem a BIOS issue to me.

What else would it be?
The USB key works, the port works (you can use the key after the OS has taken over) and nothing else but the firmware is involved at this point.
And afaui updating the BIOS then also fixed it?

Many firmwares will also let you control which USB ports to boot from at all resp. to power up before the boot, so if this is still an open issue, I'd look there.

JetGum_386 · 2025-05-28 12:07:41

I will try if the BIOS update fixed it and report it, I haven't had the time to test it yet.

EDIT: It works now, like for the other ports: when you turn on the laptop with the USB stick plugged in and press F12, it's not detected. If you unplug it and plug it, it is detected.

Last edited by JetGum_386 (2025-05-28 15:02:54)

Arch Linux

#1 2025-05-24 10:03:27

[SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#2 2025-05-25 19:14:39

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#3 2025-05-25 21:40:08

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#4 2025-05-26 18:57:01

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#5 2025-05-27 20:51:35

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#6 2025-05-27 21:59:04

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#7 2025-05-27 22:09:55

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#8 2025-05-27 22:17:41

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#9 2025-05-28 06:00:40

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

#10 2025-05-28 12:07:41

Re: [SOLVED] Laptop ignores all bootable USBs after Arch installation

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