ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook - what can you do?

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by -Jim-, Dec 16, 2023.

  1. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

    Aug 10, 2009
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    Gents,

    A friend's wife has been given a ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook to dispose of after an employee left the company. Of course it's got a password on it which no one knows so it's basically a brick to most folks. My friend gave it to me to see what I can come up with.

    Well,, I haven't a clue as I really only muck about with Windows PCs, but I thought this could be an educational challenge. They have no interest in any data that's on it, or even if it remains on the ChromeOS. Can it be converted to Windows? Is there a way to re-image it with ChromeOS?

    I'm not adverse to taking it apart , and removing the M.2 SSD and formatting it somehow if that will help. I'm really at a loss at to where to begin.

    Can you offer any advise?

    Thanks for the assist.
     
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  2. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

    Aug 10, 2009
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    Gents, I went on line and found a couple things (like I said , It's a learning experience!).

    How do I reset my Chromebook without administrator password?
    4. Don't Let a Forgotten Password Stop You! Reset Your Chromebook Now
    If your Chromebook is powered off, press the power button and hold down 'Esc' and 'Refresh' keys at the same time.
    With both keys held down, hit the power button again.
    Then release all three, and your device will enter recovery mode.


    Once it boots to the Password Screen hit these keys and hold them simultaneously

    Alt, Ctrl, Shift and R.

    A reset screen with Powerwash pops up.

    As I don't care about the data, I'm going to try the later tip as I have the reset screen up already.

    Wish me luck!
     
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  3. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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    Well that didn't work too well. It appeared to reset but came up and said it was managed by the Company.com and was asking for an email address as a password?
     
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  4. Tito

    Tito Super Mod / Adviser
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  5. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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    As always thanks @Tito. The IT deportment has already told her that they want no part of the Chromebook. Hence how it made it into my hands.

    I know the Powerwash doesn't work as I tried it a couple of times. It's stuck in that loop and I'm looking for a way to break out of it. I'm going to dismantle it a bit and see if the M.2 SSD is replaceable. The more I hear about the possibility of an internal eMMC, the closer this is getting to the Recycle Bin, which is a bad thing for something only 16 months old.

    I have been reading about How To Remove Enterprise Enrollment from Your Chromebook With The Shimmer Exploit. But I don't think MORPHIUS is one of those with a "Shim" readily available.

    Just for grins I'll take the back off and poke around to see if the M.2 SSD is replaceable.

    Keep those tips coming!
     
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  6. Tito

    Tito Super Mod / Adviser
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  7. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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  8. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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    I did talk to my Buddy who advised the user left the company many months ago, and it's possible this box hasn't been on line / updated since about that time. The box has been just hanging around since then waiting to be recycled. He also said that I can just keep it as they don't want it back if it doesn't run Windows 11 well. So far my research is Chromebooks run optimally on Chrome OS, and even if you can get them to run on Windows, they don't do it well. My nephew (who is a software Engineer) advises Linux could run well on this box, but doesn't know if I can install it.

    Right now I'm going to take the back off the Chromebook and see if the M.2 Drive is replaceable. (Not that it will help but I'm curious.) Meanwhile I'm searching for the elusive Zork.bin Shim to try Sh1mmer and get it unlocked. So far no luck...
     
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  9. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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  10. MS_User

    MS_User MDL Guru

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    is this yoga BIOS locked if it is swamping the M.2 mite not be enough
     
  11. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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  12. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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  13. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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  15. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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  16. -Jim-

    -Jim- MDL Senior Member

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