Hi all, I was setting up a brand new Thinkbook 13s G2, and doing the initial driver updates, but a system firmware failed to install, and things got buggy after that. Weird fans spinning up, bitlocker turned on. I do not remember if it was an Intel or lenovo system firmware.

Neither Windows update nor vantage will pick up the failed update to try again even when windows had it listed as failed and to retry, it now does not appear when I check for updates.

If I do the USB system recovery key from lenovo does this load stock firmware?

Do you remember if it was a BIOS/Firmware update?    They require a reboot to install, but look very different (typically they have a black background) from a Windows Update does when it reboots to complete their  installs.          

You can download and install drivers etc. manually by visiting the Lenovo support page for your model.

Go to https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en, enter your systems unique serial number, and then click on Drivers to see the latest BIOS/UEFI updates available for your system etc.         

Best of luck,

Yes it was some sort of firmware, the computer rebooted to black background and then failed

Hello, on a new thinkbook 13s Gen 2, this firmware failed to install during the windows updates and now windows update nor vantage will find it and attempt to install it again, what should I do? 

Hi EAndersen!

Greetings!

Can you provide a screenshot of the error message? Can you also provide the OS version, BIOS version and the machine type model or  MTM(ex: 10VG0005CA)?

This would help us get the model variant details while keeping the confidentiality of the serial number.

Let us know

Jwes_Lenovo

Hello, I can confirm this same issue. My machine is also the Thinkbook 13s G3 ITL (20V9004EUS) which is about 6 months old. Prior to the failed firmware update, the system was very stable with no unexpected issues. The attempted firmware update was about 1 week ago. Ever since, the secondary (right side) fan will frequently spin up to full speed. Meanwhile the primary (left side) fan will completely deactivate. Observing the system temperatures,  nothing looks out of the ordinary with CPU Core/Package temperatures all in the 45-60C range. This behavior did not exhibit prior to the failed update. Previously, both fans would always run in tandem. 

Unfortunately, I do not have version information from before the update. Here's what has been done so far:

• Checking BIOS following the failed update: BIOS Version F9CN42WW
• Checking for updates through Lenovo Vantage: No updates available, system up to date.
• Checking Lenovo Support Website for available updates: BIOS Version F9CN46WW, Intel ME 15.0.35.1898 available

I manually updated to the latest versions for both firmware files, and both installations were successful; however, the fans will still intermittently go into the "lopsided" state. I can't seem to find a way to reliably trigger the issue, but the only way it will occasionally resolve is if I either re-run the bios update utility for F9CN46WW, or do a hard shutdown by holding the power button for 10-15 seconds.

The only correlation time the computer seems to consistently enter the "lopsided fan" state is when I walk away long enough for the laptop to turn off the screen or enter sleep mode. I can typically hear the single fan turn on to full speed from the other room, and it will stay that way until I take one of the above actions.

The failed update must have also triggered a TPM clear, because I was required to enter the Bitlocker drive recovery key prior to booting after the failed update.

Any details for trying to resolve this would be much appreciated. Let me know if you need more information.

Edit: I do also see the following in my windows update history, which may correspond to the problematic firmware:

help i also have a similar problem. a notification popped on my windows update stating i have to update my firmware and it requires a restart but after the restart the update wasnt installed and every time i restart or shutdown my computer it would update all the time.  

Enter the device manager, in the firmware section the system firmware must be out of date.  first disable the controller and then re-enable it right away, DO NOT FORGET TO CONNECT THE CHARGER TO THE COMPUTER BEFORE DOING THIS PROCEDURE. is the key to everything. ....... After re-enabling the driver it will ask you to reboot your computer, accept the reboot and the problem should be fixed.To verify that this is the case, go to the device manager again and it should already appear that it is updated.the problem in my opinion happens because at the moment of updating it is necessary to ensure that the equipment is connected to the charger.

I encountered the firmware installation problem recently on my Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ALC6.  After rebooting to install the firmware update, I could no longer sign into windows using my fingerprint or PIN.  I was presented with a loop asking me to sign in with my fingerprint.  When I attempted to do so, I was instructed that this method was not available and to use my PIN.  Upon attempting to do so, I was instructed that this method was not available and that my PIN had to be reset.  When clicking the link to reset my pin, I was brough back to the point where I was asked for my fingerprint to login, beginning the loop again. 

To fix this, I clicked the power button, held down shift and clicked restart, continuing to hold down shift.  After rebooting I was brought to the windows troubleshooting menu.  I selected advanced options and repair startup.  Even though this ended with a message that the repair failed, it broke the login attempt loop and I was able to reset my pin and after that I had the option to sign in with my fingerprint again.  I should mention that before attempting to repair the startup, I did try rolling back quality and feature updates as well as restoring to a previous point.  I did not expect these to work since the update was a firmware update and not a software update. 

To be safe, after regaining the ability to login, I created a local user account named "sudo".  This was to make recovering in a similar event easier.  Since I had the account, I gave it administrative privileges and demoted my account to a user.  This has cybersecurity benefits.

After finding this thread, I did some digging.  The solution self reports in the device manager.  The laptop must be plugged in to AC power to install the update.  The install is aborted otherwise.  Also, to activate the install, the laptop must be rebooted.  A normal startup sequence will not initiate the firmware update.  I will attempt the solution now and update this post.

Update: Success!  The new firmware is now installed.