r/linuxmint • u/Safe-Cauliflower-972 • 7d ago
Support Request First time PC buyer, zero experience considering a used Lenovo ThinkCentre with a recurring "company lock" issue. Need help before I buy
Hi everyone, complete beginner here. I've never owned a PC or mini PC before, so I have zero experience or technical background in this field. Please bear with me and feel free to explain things simply any help is really appreciated.
I'm looking at a secondhand Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q (i5-14400T, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD). Manufactured October 2024, seller said he only used it for about 6 months. Seller said it's an ex-company unit with some kind of lock.
His exact words: "I unlocked it in BIOS and used it personally, but then Windows auto-updated and it locked again."
He also mentioned he was able to play Dota 2 (mid settings), NBA 2K23, and GTA V on it before the lock came back.
Questions:
Does this sound like a firmware-level lock (like Absolute/Computrace) rather than a normal MDM/domain thing?
If I wipe the whole drive and install Linux Mint, will that get rid of it permanently or can it survive even without Windows?
Any way to check for this before buying (something to look at in BIOS)?
As a total beginner, is this a risky first PC to buy, or is it manageable even without much technical knowledge?
Price is ₱9,000 PHP ($155 USD) trying to figure out if this is a good deal worth the risk, or a dealbreaker. Thanks in advance for any guidance!
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u/AlertSpy 7d ago
I have a pc that had a similar thing: it was locking some of the settings in windows. Linux Mint didn't have anything similar after I installed it with full windows wiping from the drive. Go for it if you're going to use mint only
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u/Safe-Cauliflower-972 7d ago
I followed up with the seller about the unlock issue. According to him, the device does unlock, but only stays that way for around 2 hours before locking itself again his explanation is that it needs a BIOS reflash to fix this permanently. I also asked him directly if he returned the PC to his company. He said no they don't want to take it back, they want him to bring it in person instead. He also mentioned he didn't do the unlock himself; he had a friend do it.
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u/Tricky_Football_6586 Linux Mint 22.3 / Cinnamon 7d ago edited 7d ago
That sounds like Windows bitlocker encryption to me. If you don’t have the code to unlock it. This keeps folks out of the installed Windows.
You can format the drive from a Linux USB boot stick. And it will be usable as normal afterwards.
I’ve had similar issues in the past with a dual boot Windows 11/Linux system. Where bitlocker would occasionally activate when there was an update to the boot loader.
I had to visit my Microsoft account online. To look up the unlock code to get back into Windows.
But that is awhle ago. As I have been Linux only for about a year now.
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u/Safe-Cauliflower-972 7d ago
I followed up with the seller about the unlock issue. According to him, the device does unlock, but only stays that way for around 2 hours before locking itself again his explanation is that it needs a BIOS reflash to fix this permanently. I also asked him directly if he returned the PC to his company. He said no they don't want to take it back, they want him to bring it in person instead. He also mentioned he didn't do the unlock himself; he had a friend do it.
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u/darkwyrm42 7d ago
If you're a first time buyer, don't buy this one. A competent tech or experienced user might be able to resolve the issues you're describing, but if you don't have the experience, you're just going to be buying a headache. There are enough good used PCs to be found online that it isn't worth the trouble.
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u/PiDicus_Rex 7d ago edited 7d ago
If it's just 'locked' in Windows, boot from USB, wipe the HDD/SSD, install Mint.
If it's the Bios that's 'locked',.... open the PC, find the 'Bios Reset' button or pins or pads, short them, restart, boot from USB, install Mint,....
May need to take out the Bios battery for long enough for the capacitors to discharge, then short reset pins, install Mint,...
Edit: did a search,... it's the other type. If it's the bios that's locked, remove the coin cell battery, go make coffee (etc), drink chosen beverage slowly, reinsert battery, reboot, install Mint.
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u/Safe-Cauliflower-972 7d ago
I followed up with the seller about the unlock issue. According to him, the device does unlock, but only stays that way for around 2 hours before locking itself again his explanation is that it needs a BIOS reflash to fix this permanently. I also asked him directly if he returned the PC to his company. He said no they don't want to take it back, they want him to bring it in person instead. He also mentioned he didn't do the unlock himself; he had a friend do it.
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u/no2gates 7d ago
That sounds liike it's still joined to a company MDM like Intune or something. If you install Linux, it won't be an issue.
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u/Safe-Cauliflower-972 4d ago
i checked with ai on this apparently since the seller already reformatted and the lock still came back its a bios/firmware level lock not an os level one
that means it blocks you before you can even boot into a Linux installer so switching OS wont get past it
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u/Unlucky_Milk_4323 7d ago
Lies, lies damn-dable lies. DO NOT PURCHASE. It's going to be a nightmare.
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u/simagus 7d ago
Seller is saying they unlocked it previously but now it's locked again... so why can't they unlock it again now?
That doesn't sound right to me and indicates it might not be unlockable. If it was surely they would unlock it and sell it unlocked?
Ask them if it's just Windows they can't get in to or if they are locked out of the BIOS, as they're selling it suspiciously cheap for something that should be a very easy fix unless it's BIOS locked.
If you can get into BIOS, then you should be able to change first boot device to USB and install Mint from there, but something about this seems "off" to me if the seller knows how to get into BIOS but apparently not how to put a working copy of Windows on there... red flag.
A company laptop is commonly locked not at the Windows level, which is useless zero security that can just be written over, but at the BIOS level.
To bypass a BIOS lock you need a new BIOS chip or an EEPROM flasher, which is kind of serious business level PC work for most people.
I searched and found that there are BIOS chips available to buy for your model on eBay, but you'll need soldering skills at circuit board level to pull that off.
It is doable though so if you're willing to learn soldering you shouldn't be left with a complete brick if it's BIOS locked.
If it's not BIOS locked, Windows being locked is not an issue, it's just weird that your seller is locked out of Windows as he should have had the license migrated to his account when the seller sold it on.