Odys myBook PRO14 SE Laptop Installation Disaster

1 ½ year ago -- my wife bought an Odys myBook PRO14 SE laptop from Amazon.de

The laptop came with Windows 10 installed, with the option to upgrade to Windows 11 -- which she decided to do (massive mistake).

Suddenly nothing worked properly, and the whole desktop went glitchy. She wanted Windows 10 back, so I opened the laptop to get at the SSD, to remove and erase it.. and found that there is no SSD. The wacky thing were made in China, and the micro flash drive is actually hardwired to the mainboard.

I decided to erase the drive using a KillDisk boot usb,
but KillDisk could not find the drive, only the usb stick showed in the drive list.

As a last resort -- I used the Zorin installer to erase the drive..
Here is where it went from annoying to completely mental..

The installation had problems; Unable to connect to WiFi, so drivers were unavailable, touchpad disabled, and so on..

Tried again to Install Windows 10 -- and the installation went normally until reaching the partition list. Again, only the usb partitions were found in the list. The installation drive is invisible.

Did some digging online, and found some Terminal commands for installing grub bootloader, to make the drive visible to Windows. (x86)

sudo grub-install /dev/sda

then tried:

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

sudo reboot

None of these commands worked, so the drive is still invisible
to the installer.

I could not find any bootable formatting software which actually work.

I've used up everything in my bag of tricks

Anyone have any solutions?

Cheers!

Odys MyBook 14 Factory Reset

To perform a factory reset on the Odys myBook PRO14 SE, follow these steps:

  1. Turn off the device by holding down the power button.

  2. Press and hold the volume up (+) button.

  3. Connect the charging cable while continuing to hold the volume up button.

  4. Keep holding the volume up button until the device starts to boot into the recovery mode.

  5. Use the volume up and down buttons to navigate the recovery menu and select "wipe data/factory reset".

  6. Confirm your selection using the power button.

  7. In the next screen, confirm the "Yes - delete all user data" option again with the power button.

  8. The device will reset and format the /data and /cache partitions.

  9. Finally, select "reboot system now" to restart the device.

After the factory reset, the device will be restored to its original factory settings.

Here's hoping! :crossed_fingers:

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Try fedora, it comes with a higher kernel which might fix your issues.

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Got as far as step 3 -- then Zorin boots as usual every time.
Do I need to restore the default BIOS settings first?

By installing Fedora on the laptop?

You could start Zorin on the USB Stick and use GParted to format the Drive to NTFS and then start the Windows Stick and look if the Driver is detected.

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This is why I am not an advocate for buying Chinese made computer's, where they don't follow the proper way to make a computer, and decide to solder everything onto the board, just to make the computer cheap.

You'd be much better off buying a Star Labs computer, and select Zorin OS to be on it. Another option is to buy one of Framework's completely modular notebook's, where you can fully customize the hardware that goes into it, and install Zorin OS on that.

Sorry you are having these issues, this is how we all learn though. And Microsoft certainly aint your friend either, as you've discovered. I have high hopes that you can get Zorin OS running on that machine proper.


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Did you use Zorin to erase then format the drive into NTFS? Did you use Windows 10 ISO (on Ventoy) not Install Media of Win10? Did you enter command prompt from Win10 ISO, run diskpart and list disk to see what was going on?

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Aaah.. I didn't think of that..
I will try it now!

As your good lady was wanting Win10 back on I thought the factory reset would have done that but if you had somehow managed to format whatever is inside, I suspect some form of eMMC device it ain't going to happen.

Found this in German using Brave A.I.:

Odys MyBook 14 Factory Reset Fails

Wenn der Factory Reset auf Ihrem Odys MyBook 14 nicht funktioniert, können Sie einige Schritte ausprobieren, um das Problem zu beheben:

  1. Überprüfen Sie die Befehlsfolge : Stellen Sie sicher, dass Sie die richtigen Tasten gleichzeitig drücken. Für den Odys MyBook 14 ist die Befehlsfolge wie folgt:
  • Das Gerät komplett ausschalten.
  • Die Lautstärke-Taste „+“ gedrückt halten.
  • Das Ladekabel anschließen, während die „+“-Taste gedrückt gehalten wird.
  • Die „+“-Taste solange weiter gedrückt halten, bis das erste Bild auf dem Display erscheint.
  • Das Gerät bootet sich in den Recovery Modus.
  • In diesem Modus wählen Sie die Option „wipe data/factory reset“ aus.
  1. Überprüfen Sie die BIOS-Einstellungen : Stellen Sie sicher, dass Secure Boot deaktiviert ist. Dies kann in den BIOS-Einstellungen unter „UEFI -> Security -> Secure Boot“ durchgeführt werden. Ändern Sie den Wert von „Enabled“ zu „Disabled“.
  2. Versuchen Sie eine andere Installationsmethode : Wenn der Factory Reset immer noch nicht funktioniert, können Sie versuchen, eine andere Methode zur Installation des Betriebssystems zu verwenden. Ein Benutzer berichtete, dass es erfolgreich war, wenn man den „south bridge“ auf „Intel Linux“ und Secure Boot auf „Customize“ einstellte. Nach dem Eintragen von EFI über „Keymanagement“ und dem Booten von EFI und Grub-Menü konnte er erfolgreich Ubuntu installieren.
  3. Kontaktieren Sie den Hersteller : Wenn alle anderen Methoden versagt haben, kontaktieren Sie den Hersteller oder den Kundendienst von Odys. Sie können auch Supportforen oder Community-Plattformen wie fragprofis.de nutzen, um Hilfe zu erhalten.

Es ist wichtig, dass Sie Ihre Daten vor dem Factory Reset sichern, da dieser alle persönlichen Daten und Einstellungen löscht.

Translation:

If the factory reset does not work on your Odys MyBook 14, you can try a few steps to solve the problem:

  1. Check the command sequence:
    make sure you are pressing the correct keys at the same time. For the Odys MyBook 14, the command sequence is as follows:
    Switch off the device completely.
    Press and hold the "+" volume button.
    Connect the charging cable while holding down the "+" button.
    Continue to hold down the "+" button until the first image appears on the display.
    The device boots into recovery mode.
    In this mode, select the "wipe data/factory reset" option.

  2. Check the BIOS settings: Make sure that Secure Boot is deactivated. This can be done in the BIOS settings under "UEFI -> Security -> Secure Boot". Change the value from "Enabled" to "Disabled".

  3. Try a different installation method: If the factory reset still does not work, you can try using a different method to install the operating system. One user reported that setting the "south bridge" to "Intel Linux" and Secure Boot to "Customise" was successful. After entering EFI via "Keymanagement" and booting EFI and Grub menu, he was able to successfully install Ubuntu.

  4. Contact the manufacturer: If all other methods have failed, contact the manufacturer or Odys customer service. You can also use support forums or community platforms such as fragprofis.de to get help.

It is important that you back up your data before the factory reset, as this deletes all personal data and settings.

1 Like

You may be right -- it could be an eMMC.
The factory reset approach failed on the first go.

I will try this and see what happens.

GParted could not find the partition, just the same as all the other formatter apps. As though the drive did not exist..
and yet Linux is installed and running on the drive. (Bloody weird this).

_________________________________________________________________

Just finished my workday -- so now I can spend some time on this.

Getting back to the Odys user who setup the BIOS for installing Ubuntu;
This would not be very useful for installing Win10 in NTFS.
I will have another go at getting the factory reset to work.
The method you have here should work with the proper BIOS setup.
It's just 'finding' that setup which takes time.

Messed about with the BIOS loads of times, and got some truly weird reactions.
I wrote down the original BIOS settings, so I can always revert.

Right.. so, I will get to it.

_________________________________________________________________

I installed Zorin with the intention of erasing the Win11 boot partition -- which worked of course, but now there is no going forward. It were not possible to format the partition from Zorin thereafter in Try mode, since it's no longer an NTFS formatted partition -- it had been formatted in Ext3 or Ext4, and is now invisible to all formatters.
No, actually I've never used Ventoy.
The issue now is 'seeing' the partition -- since no installation can happen on a partition which cannot be seen.

_________________________________________________________________

It's nearly impossible these days to find a laptop which is not made in China.
20 year ago it would have been easy, but today China nearly has a monopoly on PC manufacturing. Not a pretty situation.

_________________________________________________________________

In BIOS > Security.. I did a factory restore, and reboot, after which I were able to use the + volume key on startup method.
Got a screen I haden't seen before, but +/- volume keys had no effect. Zorin booted up normally on restart, so the partition were unaffected by the changes.

It's quite obvious the usual tactics are not going to work in this case.

Since the partition is formatted with Ext3 or Ext4, I would expect a Linux based formatter which can find Ext4 formatted partitions could be a solution. GParted did not work, but possibly another App would.

If this thing is actually an eMMC -- it can only be recognised by explorer when formatted in NTFS.

I should have used Zorin in Try mode from the git-go
to reformat the partition, but I never imagined this sort of problem being created.

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Well I find Windows Diskpart better than GParted in a lot of ways, that is why my Ventoy does have some Windows ISOs on it. Then again I have never tried GParted on the command line so it's possible I'm missing out on some features that did not get into the GUI as is often the case.

But I would get in on that Windows ISO and when you get to the part where it doesn't see the drive, jump into diskpart and see what list disk does.

However. If it is an eMMC probably an SD formatting tool would be better for seeing it. This is why I recommend Ventoy. You can use 1 USB for several bootable tools. You can even put a Ventoy Live ISO on your Ventoy USB to see if that detects the drive either as default sd card or by going into options and selecting Show All Devices.

Hoping you find out something that works, I really hate these type of issues.

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I will try Ventoy next.
I'm well out of options at moment.
If all else fails.. I will contact Odys and see what they can do.
The laptop is still under a 2 year guarantee.

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Oh fantastic! Don't mention the L word, remember this actually started with the Windows 11 upgrade that it came with the option to do, did not work properly and botched everything.

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Of course.

But first I will try to install Windows 10 to a 64GB USB stick
which is already formatted with NTFS.
If it can be detected during installation then it will be possible.

Using Brave A.I. Search engine to look for how to detect storage device it came back with:

Odys MyBook 14 Storage Detection

Um ein Speichergerät auf dem Odys MyBook Pro 14 SE zu erkennen, können Sie folgende Schritte ausführen:

  • Überprüfen der Hardware : Stellen Sie sicher, dass das Speichergerät ordnungsgemäß angeschlossen ist. Der Odys MyBook Pro 14 SE verfügt über einen Micro-SD-Slot, zwei USB-Ports (1x USB 3.0 und 1x USB 2.0) sowie einen Mini-HDMI-Anschluss.
  • Betriebssystem-Einstellungen : Öffnen Sie die Geräte-Manager oder die Disk-Management-Konsole, um zu überprüfen, ob das Speichergerät erkannt wird. Unter Windows können Sie dies über die Geräte-Manager-Konsole tun, indem Sie mit der rechten Maustaste auf "Computer" oder "Dieser PC" klicken und "Geräte-Manager" auswählen.
  • Treiber-Updates : Stellen Sie sicher, dass die Treiber für das Speichergerät auf dem neuesten Stand sind. Sie können die offizielle Website des Herstellers besuchen, um nach Updates zu suchen.
  • Disk-Management : Öffnen Sie die Disk-Management-Konsole, um zu überprüfen, ob das Speichergerät als Laufwerk erkannt wird. Unter Windows können Sie dies tun, indem Sie die Tastenkombination "Windows + R" drücken und "diskmgmt.msc" eingeben.
  • Geräte-Manager : Überprüfen Sie den Geräte-Manager, um zu sehen, ob das Speichergerät unter "Disk-Laufwerke" oder "USB-Geräte" aufgeführt ist.

Wenn das Speichergerät nicht erkannt wird, können Sie versuchen, es an einem anderen USB-Port anzuschließen oder die Treiber neu zu installieren. Es ist auch möglich, dass das Speichergerät defekt ist oder nicht mit dem Odys MyBook Pro 14 SE kompatibel ist.

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Ta Mate!

So, I succeeded in flashing a Windows 10 2Go boot usb in rufus.
Win10 booted on startup (after a long wait) and then setup went as usual. The original factory Win10 iso (auf Deustch) were used in the 2Go boot creation, which means only I can read it -- My wife speaks 3 languages (Swedish, Finnish, and English), and German is not one of them; but I cannot load a new language pack without an internet connection -- and there is no working Wifi adapter without loading the drivers.

Odys sent me the Win10 iso + drivers (treiber.zip)
including the Net drivers:

Realtek 8723DU Wireless LAN 892.11n
netwlanu.cat
oem2.inf
restore.ini
RTUWPSrvcLib.dll
RTUWPSrvcMain.exe
RTUWPUsbSwExt.dll
RTUWPWlanExt.dll
rtwlanu.sys

But no instructions on which directories to install the drivers.
So the Odys is up and running on Windows 10 -- without internet,
and in a language our lass cannot speak. Flipping Brilliant!

2 Likes

You can use the cmd prompt on Windows in similar ways as you do the terminal on GnuLinux.
I assume your included drivers and .dll's are in a folder named Realtek_8723DU but if not, create a folder on your users desktop and name it Realtek_8723DU and put all your included components in that folder
In your cmd prompt change directory to that folder, changing $USER with your actual account username:
cd C:\Users\$USER\Desktop\Realtek_8723DU

The way we use modprobe, you can use regsvr

regsvr32 RTUWPSrvcLib.dll

regsvr32 RTUWPUsbSwExt.dll

regsvr32 RTUWPWlanExt.dll

RTUWPSrvcMain.exe as an executable, so double clicking that should work.

Use Device Manager, navigate to the C:\Users\$USER\Desktop\Realtek_8723DU location to locate the drivers to install or enable.

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Thank You Aravisian!

Edited the post above in order to noparse instead of quote the command...

Discourse and its parsing. It really could use some fixing. It eliminated a \ due to the use / proximity of $. facepalm.

Yes, when I copy paste from Brave A.I. search engine it loses formatting and almost makes everything markdown!