Lenovo denies blocking Linux installations on Microsoft machines

Lenovo has denied claims that it's colluded with Microsoft to block Linux installations on its new Windows 10 devices.

Talk of the block first cropped up on Reddit, where user BaronHK revealed that it's impossible to install Linux onto the Signature Edition Lenovo Yoga 900 ISK2 UltraBook because the SSD is locked in a proprietary RAID mode that Linux doesn't support.

Further into the post, it's revealed that a so-called 'Lenovo product expert' had posted on Best Buy in response to a customer saying that any machine with a Signature Edition of Windows 10 Home installed has been locked after a company agreement with Microsoft.

"This system has a Signature Edition of Windows 10 Home installed. It is locked per our agreement with Microsoft," the staffer said.

Lenovo said in a statement that the problem, which is also said to affect Yoga 900S and Yoga 710S PCs, is nothing to do with Microsoft and is instead down to a recent change in how the SSD is set up on the firm's Windows 10 Signature Edition-branded machines.

"To improve system performance, Lenovo is leading an industry trend of adopting RAID on the SSDs in certain product configurations," a Lenovo spokesperson said.

"Lenovo does not intentionally block customers using other operating systems on its devices and is fully committed to providing Linux certifications and installation guidance on a wide range of products.

"Unsupported models will rely on Linux operating system vendors releasing new kernel and drivers to support features such as RAID on SSD."

Regardless, this hasn't gone down well with Lenovo PC users, who have hit out at the firm in a 20-page thread on the company's official forum.

"Unbelievable! What a nightmare BIOS! I am going to tell my students, my colleagues and my department heads to STAY FAR AWAY from the Lenovo Yoga 900," one disgruntled user wrote.

Another moaned, somewhat aggressively: "UNACCEPTABLE!!! It's OUR hardware! WE PAID FOR IT! We should be able to install any darn OS we wish!"