code_theory

I saw someone around here state that enabling the "USB power always on" (or whatever it's called) feature in the BIOS actually caused the motherboard to slowly fry itself and eventually start showing strange malfunctions like this (along with keys on the keyboard doing it too, etc.). Or maybe it was that combined with the keyboard lighting... whatever, close enough. I have no clue if that really was true or not, but I've kept mine set to off ever since just in case. It's not like it works when enabled anyway though (cute little mistake there Lenovo). Again, I'm not even sure the person was right when they said it, but your question brought it to mind. Is this a wireless mouse, BTW? Is it 2.4ghz? If so, USB 3.0 ports can/will cause interference (apparently they overlooked this fact when finalizing the standard: it can be a problem with 2.4ghz wifi as well). I wouldn't be surprised if the HDMI port could also be throwing it off or something, but I really have no business even saying that to be honest (I'm a software guy). Note that the port you're referring to is 3.0, but so is the other USB port right next to it on the same side that you say works fine. The only 2.0 port these Y500s have is on the right side (I'm nearly positive they're both 3.0 but I'm too lazy to unplug my hub right now to double check, frankly). Actually, I've had similar issues with a wireless mouse plugged in there now that I think about it. Or maybe it was the other 3.0. Or it could have been the 2.0 port, I can't really remember -- it hasn't been an issue for a couple of months. I assumed it was caused by the bizarrely powerful interference in my house though; figured the mouse jumped on occasion when a solar flare came just a touch closer than usual or somebody turned on the microwave or something. Regardless, everything else I plug in to that port seems to work just fine 24/7. Anyway, that's about all I can think of -- I doubt you've got a stray conductor touching where it shouldn't though, since I'd expect that to cause more constant issues instead of very infrequent ones.

I'm not understanding how these two things are simultaneously possible: ... and... My interpretation of the first quote is that entering the UEFI BIOS setup, then exiting without doing anything, allows the computer to boot from the new SSD drive. But my interpretation of the second quote is that entering the UEFI BIOS setup, then exiting without doing anything, leaves the computer not detecting the SSD drive. It boots from a drive it isn't detecting...??? What's your reasoning for saying it isn't detected? My only guess here is that, perhaps (very, very "perhaps"), you've partitioned your SSD drive with an old style MBR partition table from the good old pre-EFI days. EFI likes gpt partitioned disks; also, the one-key recovery -- to my knowledge, at least -- does nothing but change the BOOTNEXT nvram value to the Lenovo recovery partition and then boot that partition immediately. If that partition is intact or even if it isn't the Lenovo recovery partition but is still bootable anyway, that could be causing unexpected behavior. Pressing the usual power button would just boot the first default from the list found in the (EFI) BIOS setup, which will display different behavior. I'm guessing that the BOOTNEXT value isn't getting properly cleared when you exit the BIOS, since the machine didn't actually boot anything? Maybe? This is all correct to the best of my knowledge, but don't take it as written in stone: I don't work for Lenovo or anything, I just own a Y500 and happened to trash the disk which left me needing to figure some of this stuff out. This may not be of much help, but since nobody else had anything for you, there it is.

It's worth noting that when I flashed my BIOS to v2.02 using the "leaked" file from the first post in this thread, bluetooth worked perfectly. It was absolutely 100% reliable in Windows 8 with the stock Centrino 802.11/bluetooth combo card. With every other BIOS version I've tried (including the stock one my Y500 shipped with), the bluetooth module is a bit... spotty, the best example of which is that whole sleeping/hibernating causing the operating system to decide there's no bluetooth hardware there at all until it's rebooted. Just judging based on that, it doesn't seem to be restricted to specific cards or drivers, but really that's just conjecture on my part. Anyway, if the info is of use to anybody, the v2.02 BIOS fixed bluetooth for me in Windows 8 with the stock WiFi card. The v2.02 isn't unlocked though; then again, if you're using a card that isn't on the whitelist, v2.02 would break bluetooth completely instead of fixing it I suppose...

Apologies for answering late. That's an excellent question, I never considered trying that... I'm not at all sure. I'm guessing it would work, but you may run into little problems (I'm sure Windows 8 takes advantage of at least something provided by the non-legacy BIOS). I'm not an authority on EFI BIOSs, so take it with a grain of salt, but again I'm going to guess yes. The issue of course is that your product key is in the non-legacy BIOS stuff, if I'm correct, soooo... yeah. You might have to buy a new one or something...

It's always a little surprising to me that people can get so vehement about something that comes down to little more than apples-and-oranges and personal taste...

Pardon me, I'm not very familiar with mSATA drives, but if I understand you correctly you're saying that the Y500 series actually comes with a stock HDD indicator LED and that it functions, but the casing doesn't have a slot for it and covers it so that it effectively doesn't exist? ... seriously?

A touch late, but I can verify that Ubuntu and Windows 8 coexist "okay." By "okay" I mean Ubuntu properly resized the Windows NTFS partition, properly installed itself, and properly boots if you toggle "legacy mode" compatibility in the BIOS. The problem is that then Windows 8 doesn't boot, and you have to toggle back to "EFI mode" in the BIOS to get Windows 8 to boot. ... but then Ubuntu won't boot. It's a hassle, but if you don't swap back and forth too often and tend to stick with one or the other for the most part, it doesn't seem to hurt anything.

I've got a Y500 with a 750m and BIOS 1.03, and I don't know what issue you're referring to. Never seen this behavior before with mine, but I'm running Win8.