Cannot install on Thinkpad E14 20R x64

Support and Help
1

You are not alone in this issue.
I have an old laptop (Thinkpad E14 20R x64) and I have never been successful to install ubuntu to my laptop. I tried to download iso file from different sources, different releases, but never managed to boot the live iso or usb to install the os. I tried to make the bootable usb on other linux distros (mint, fedora, debian), result was failure.

  • I have downloaded several different iso images from different sources as well as different releases,
  • I have used fedora media writer, debian disk app, etcher, ventoy,
  • I am able to boot live usb or install any other linux distro but not ubuntu or kubuntu.

I even tried to go through with AI, we couldn’t manage to make the usb boot and install :smile: .
I hope one day I can manage and install and try ubuntu.

2

This question seems currently unanswerable due lack of useful information.

If your want help. please review Welcome To Support And Help and provide the basic information: What release of Ubuntu, how you tried, how you know it didn’t work, etc.

Keep in mind that we are not clairvoyant and cannot see your screen, so please help us understand the problem that you are encountering.

Ubuntu installs on a wide variety of common hardware, including most Thinkpads. I’m confident we can help you.

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3

Hello cra3k,

Hope you’re well!

I’m not a Windows Expert, but I’ve noticed that nobody has mentioned virtualization method which would be ideal in your case.

Hence you’ve got a Linux ISO image “in hand”, then just simply download and install VirtualBox on your Windows machine, create VM with ISO plugged in, and simply attach USB device to it.

Setting it up is pretty easy really intuitive, so i’m pretty sure you’ll manage.

Then once VM will boot up you can do either official ubuntu disk creator or try dd method, your preference.

Let us know if you are stuck, then we can try to support as much as we can.

Good Luck

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4

You definitely need more details so start with defining ‘old’ as people have different definitions of old, 6 months, 6 years. 10 years? Download from the official Ubuntu site and when you post here, post the exact name of the iso file you downloaded, post whether you verified the download as explained on the download page, what software you used to write the iso to the usb (particularly if you did not use what is recommended) and what the results were. Warning/error message if any and what they were. What exactly happens when you plug the usb into the computer, restart and select to set the usb to first boot priority. Does it boot, are you able to start the install, what problems do you see. If you can boot and install Mint, you should certainly be able to do the same with Ubuntu.

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5

Also make sure you have updated both UEFI & SSD firmware. Required no matter what system you are running.

If you can boot live installer, you can run this, or look in UEFI settings for version.

Compare firmware versions to vendors support site
sudo dmidecode -s bios-version
udisksctl status

Do not know difference with E14 & T14 but expect similar UEFI. Expect just different options.

Lenovo Thinkpad T14 Gen3 reFInd & chroot & Shows UEFI screens posts by tea-for-one

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6

That is a relatively recent model (late 2019 and 2020) so there shouldn’t be any issue finding some release that recognized the full set of harware, unless there have been non-standard component swap-outs.

Why don’t you try downloading the Live ISO Ubuntu for 22.04.5 LTS, and see how far that takes you.


Please share the report from the following with the Community:

sudo inxi -Fxxx
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7

Hello,
First of all, I wasn’t complaining to Ubuntu or trying to put them under suspicion. If it appeared that way, I apologize. I just wanted to write about the problems I had installing it on this laptop model after seeing the other topic, because I really struggled to install it :slight_smile: and thanks alot for the community who is willing to help. Fyi, I am a beginner not an expert in linux world, I wanted to put this laptop back alive, that was all.

@ericmarceau Here is the details of the laptop;
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 20RA003WTX v: ThinkPad E14serial: PF1WMLSP Chassis: type: 10 serial: PF1WMLSP Mobo: LENOVO model: 20RA003WTX v: SDK0J40697 WIN serial: L1HF03L049X part-nu: LENOVO_MT_20RA_BU_SMB_FM_ThinkPad E14UEFI: LENOVOv: R16ET44W (1.30 ) date: 10/27/2025

CPU:
Info: quad core model: Intel Core i5-10210U bits: 64 type: MT MCP
smt: enabled arch: Comet/Whiskey Lake note: check rev: C cache: L1: 256 KiB
L2: 1024 KiB L3: 6 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 400 min/max: 400/4200 volts: 0.7 V ext-clock: 100 MHz
cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 400 5: 400 6: 400 7: 400 8: 400
bogomips: 33599
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel CometLake-U GT2 [UHD Graphics] vendor: Lenovo driver: i915
v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-1,HDMI-A-2
bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9b41 class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 1-8:3 chip-ID: 04f2:b6d9 class-ID: 0e02
serial: 0001

Drives:
Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 82.28 GiB (34.5%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Lenovo model: UMIS RPJTJ256MED1OWX
size: 238.47 GiB speed: 15.8 Gb/s lanes: 2 tech: SSD
serial: SS0L25151X4RC9BX32ES fw-rev: 2311.1.0 temp: 31.9 C scheme: GP

oldfred, All updated for sure whatever the latest updates available for this laptop.

@yancek Yeah, you are right about this. To me this laptop is quite old, but as you said this is relative. About the releases what I downloaded and tried as below;

  • Ubuntu Desktop 24.04.3 LTS, 64bit (directly from website and 2 different mirrors (can not be sure which one they were)).
  • Ubuntu Desktop 25.10 (64-bit) (directly from website).
  • Kubuntu 25.10 - Plasma 6 (directly from website).
  • I have no multi-boot.

ian-weisser: The iso images above are the ones I have tried so far. I used fedora media writer, ventoy, gnome disk app, (restore iso image) and balenaEtcher several times. I had only one usb stick so can not confirm if it would have worked with another one. But with the same usb I was able to make for other distros, and still I can.

The issue was the moment I pick the usb in the boot screen, it immediately bounces back to boot selection, 1 second tries to load but screen is back to boot selection menu. This happened with all the ubuntu and kubuntu versions. I would like to say I have done nothing different than what I had done with other distros before and after installing, but still can not be totally sure it is not my fault I couldn’t manage to install :slight_smile:

Again, guys I am a beginner and just wanted to laptop back alive, and wanted to try ubuntu and kubuntu, and I am okay if this laptop can not handle the os.

Thanks everyone!

8

Let’s review by starting at the very first step.

Do you get a working session when you boot from Live ISO and choose “Try Ubuntu” ?

From that Live session, please provide the report from the following command:

sudo parted -l

That will tell us what is where.


As for what is being recognized, the following will give us an indication:

sudo grep 'menuentry' /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Those would give us some pointers as to entry points that have been recognized.


If you boot from your installed OS (physical disk), choose the “failsafe” or “Safe Mode” option, instead of the default, in order to open a console-only session.

From there, to find out which is the oldest boot session log, enter the following command:

sudo journalctl --list-boots

The oldest will be the first line, and the ID for that will be the number at the start of the line, including the “-” prefix.

Then to “distill” only the records relevant to that boot, enter the following:

sudo journalctl -b "${bootID}" > oldestboot.log

For example, “sudo journalctl -b -132”.

Examine the contents of that by looking for instances of GRUB and any mention of failure. You should be looking for mentions of any causative indicators.


IMPORTANT: As @oldfred has indicated, UEFI may be a factor. To ensure we are starting from the very root of the problem tree, please be explicit as to whether we are dealing with a UEFI installation, or a basic BIOS installation.

1 Like
9

Check your UEFI settings.

Many Lenovo models have a “Boot Lock” or similar setting in UEFI.

That is for added security so others cannot boot anything on your system.

Shows locked boot setting

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Foygxuo193ui41.jpg

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10

That is disabled fully, but when I double checked I noticed there is Secure Chip (TPM) is on, since it didn’t matter for any other distros, I can not recall if I have tried to off it and test, I am downloading the ubuntu iso again and give it a try what @ericmarceau recommended in the earlier post and also give it a try if this secure chip is the issue.

11

Did you intend to say that you 
 CAN 
 or CANNOT 
 boot from the USB stick?


So 
 are you getting the option to choose “Safe Mode” or not? Or is the UEFI layer interfering with getting the GRUB menu?


From the Live session, if you enter the following command,

sudo file -s ${block_device_of_internal_disk}

you will get a report that looks like this:

/dev/sdb: DOS/MBR boot sector, extended partition table (last)

or other, if UEFI is involved.

12

Access your UEFI settings and disable the following if present:-

Secure Boot (Some vendors require an Admin password to access the Secure Boot setting)
Fast Boot (It may prevent access to one-time boot menu via dedicated keys because the device boots too fast)
Legacy mode
Check that Legacy USB Support is enabled
TPM (Trusted Platform Module)
TCG (Trusted Computing Group)
PTT (Platform Trust Technology)
FTPM (Firmware Trusted Platform Module)
TPT (Trust Platform Technology)
PSP (Platform Security Processor)
Device Guard (some Lenovo devices)
OS Optimised Defaults (some Lenovo devices)
Lock UEFI BIOS Settings
Boot Order Lock

Can you boot your USB?

1 Like
13

@tea-for-one ;
Check that Legacy USB Support is enabled - UEFI ONLY - Disabled
TPM (Trusted Platform Module) - OFF
TCG (Trusted Computing Group) - OFF
PTT (Platform Trust Technology) - OFF
FTPM (Firmware Trusted Platform Module) -Doesn’t exist
TPT (Trust Platform Technology) - Doesn’t exist
PSP (Platform Security Processor) - Doesn’t exist
Device Guard (some Lenovo devices) - DISABLED
OS Optimised Defaults (some Lenovo devices) - OFF
Lock UEFI BIOS Settings - OFF
Boot Order Lock - OFF
Device Guard - OFF

UEFI BIOS UPDATE OPTIONS; (The below settings in the bios, I have tried both ON and OFF)
Flash Bios updating by end users
Secure rollback Prevention
Windows UEFI firmware update

@ericmarceau ;
I tried to say, the USB I am using shouldn’t be the problem, cause I used the same USB to boot and install any other linux distros, but can not boot usb when I try to install ubuntu/kubuntu.

I can not BOOT “Ubuntu installer menu” at all, I loop into “F12 Boot Menu” every time I select USB to proceed further.

I can get into safe mode “command screen” and I tried the earlier commands you suggested,
sudo journalctl --list-boots (this command worked not --listboots) up to -17 boots.
to be honest as a beginner linux user I am not sure what I should look for, there was not any failure at all accept in the very begining of the safe boot screen, “usb 1-3 device desriptor read/64, error-101”. (I guess this is power supplying error to USB)

As I told you I am really novice level for linux but I had found some articles on the web to try to bypass SHIM and chainload groupx64.efi, and also in grub prompt tried to bypass lenovo USB handling to start ubuntu installer directly, but I couldn’t open the installer again. (I don’t remember the website or forums exactly)

Since I am not that capable to dig deeper into the problem, maybe someone who had the identical or similar lenovo laptop who is expert in linux should look into the problem.

Thank you for your helps guys.

14

Not much luck so far, but let’s see


Well, it should handle Ubuntu and Kubuntu comfortably (if only we could get it to boot the USB)

What is on this internal disk at the moment?

Some more suggestions:-

  • If possible, remove the internal disk (this should force the UEFI firmware to boot the only device available i.e. your USB)
  • Try another USB stick
  • Different USB port
  • Try Xubuntu 24.04 or Lubuntu 24.04
1 Like
15

That is the original ssd and I have a partition as /data partition to keep most of the files safe while I am jumping from one to another distro.

yes, I will look for another usb soon to try with a fresh new one, that I haven’t tried yet. But I have tried all the other usb sockets on the laptop already. And I am gonna try other ubuntu versions, one by one or even server one , and keep you updated.

16

You mentioned you had tried Ventoy before.

Makes it easy just to copy ISO to Ventoy flash drive.

I like it for experimenting or booting multiple ISO.

2 Likes
17

@tea-for-one So, Lubuntu finally worked, right now I am sending this post from “Try Lubuntu” live session right before installing it. !!!

Funny thing;

  • Secure chips on, SCM on and I was able to boot into live session anyway!!!

So what I understand that the issue might have been the USB stick whole this time, cause any the distros (including this lubuntu one) are max ~4gb, but ubuntu and kubuntu are 5.9gb each, so that made me question the issue can be about the USB. I will let you know after I test it if the USB was the issue, funny thing is none of the disk writers give a failure after integrity checks of the USB right after the flashing the ubuntu iso,

I will update if this was really usb related issue or not when I am able to test it.

1 Like
18

Splendid - 10/10 for perseverance :slightly_smiling_face:

Open a terminal and double check that you booted in UEFI mode before installation:-

[ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo "UEFI" || echo "Legacy"
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20

Hey guys,
So since I was successful to install LUBUNTU and I was able to update it by installing ubuntu-desktop.
So I got another usb to try instaling ubuntu 25, I can confirm that old USB had issue, with the new usb I was able to boot into “Try ubuntu” and also install it.

In my case, the usb stick was the issue, even tough I have never got a warning or a failure msg when i validated the iso after flashed it to usb. So if anyone else is having issue as I did, should check the USB health properly.
I was able to install ubuntu with “Secure Chips - ON’“ and “SCM - ON” so the security settings in the bios does not prevent ubuntu to boot at all.

Thank you so much for your kind patient about my problem, even tough it was totally device issue not realted to the OS at all.
Now I will enjoy using Ubuntu!

21

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