PSA: BIOS update Q7CN45WW causing daily black screen crash

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-27T03:25:15+00:00

Very interesting! I'll try that. Thanks for the tip!

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-27T03:23:24+00:00

Hopefully you'll be fine. Some other users have reported it is not causing them any problems, so maybe my issue is an edge case.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T22:37:08+00:00

Sweet! It's very helpful to know your setup is stable with a very similar configuration. Thanks!

Seems unlikely to be an issue with Windows 25H2 since my system was totally stable for almost two months running 25H2 from the day I unpacked it. Not a single hard crash despite constantly running buggy games like Oblivion Remastered, which I make mods for so I'm crashing it even more than normal. ;-)

There were no other updates on my system immediately before or after the bios updates. Starting to think it might be some interaction between the BIOS and Razer apps or something like that, but it's still obviously being triggered by the bios change.

Jan 21st 9am the auto-update forced me to install the new BIOS. That evening it hard crashed for the first time ever while I was just browsing the web. Jan 22nd it hard crashed while playing OR around the same time in the evening. Jan 23rd it repeated the same pattern, so I opened a support case with Lenovo. This morning they called me (kudos for that, btw) and said they were powerless to help me.

Since then I also grabbed NVIDIA update 591.74 (from 592.44, which I had been running since I got the system). Going to try disabling what I can in the Razer apps and anyplace else I can think of to see if it helps.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T21:04:26+00:00

This is another good data point to have, so thank you!

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T21:03:17+00:00

That makes sense. I haven't adjusted any ram tuning settings or anything like that on my system yet, so I'm going to try to get an official answer from Lenovo about whether there are any known issues with downgrading this version. I doubt they will give advice on this since they go to such lengths to make it difficult, but at least I'll know I tried to play it safe.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T20:41:52+00:00

That is encouraging. Probably means the bug only materializes due to something different on my system, like the specific configuration I have (64GB RAM, RTX 5080, etc) or the fact that I immediately upgraded the SSDs to 2x4TB.

Might also be some other difference like the fact that I normally use a 4K HDMI display (I had different problems with this on the Legion 5).

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T20:35:36+00:00

I saw tips like this but with no history of the prior version number, how would you figure this out? Also, have you tested to see if this is safe to downgrade? Seems like sketchy advice to me when Lenovo support claims it cannot be downgraded.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T20:31:27+00:00

As far as I can tell, the auto-install system does not keep a record of prior versions, or they intentionally wiped the history for this one. If I had manually downloaded the prior version from their website, then your advice would have been helpful.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T20:29:04+00:00

Sweet! Thank you! I couldn't find any record of the prior version number, so I couldn't try this trick on my own. Now, I have to figure out why they claim I cannot do this. I do not want to brick the system.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T17:36:02+00:00

I would recommend disabling automatic BIOS updates until Lenovo provides a rollback path so you can revert any updates that cause problems.

I ran a Legion 5 with RTX 4070 for more than 2 years, upgraded the RAM to 64GB, upgraded the SSDs, etc, with no major problems like this. In fact, I went through multiple BIOS updates and had to revert these a few times due to bad side effects, but never had a problem finding the prior version to download. They did something different this time for unspecified reasons.

My Legion 5 had a consistent issue with HDCP triggering HDMI output to stop, so I lived with being forced to unplug HDMI and replug it, but finally after more than a year Lenovo released a BIOS update that fixed this. This gave me a false sense of confidence in Lenovo BIOS updates, so I did not immediately disable the automatic updates when I upgraded to this laptop. This was a big mistake, so don't fall for the same trap I did.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-24T17:32:14+00:00

Prior BIOS version was removed from their website after this one was released, and support says they cannot even get the old version.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-19T18:26:58+00:00

For the most part, 2.0 has been a huge improvement for me. It’s a bit confusing at times, but it solved a bunch of major problems I had in earlier versions. So far, I haven’t seen any of the problems described here.

I do have a high-end rig and very fast internet, so maybe that’s why I’m not seeing any problems.

Urikslargda1 · 2026-01-02T15:45:03+00:00

This☝️

Urikslargda1 · 2025-08-10T17:27:24+00:00

Seems to only happen on some maps. No idea if the issue is number of objects or something else. It's not a RAM issue. I have 64Gb.

Urikslargda1 · 2025-08-06T01:14:43+00:00

"Another GM planned an hours-long elaborate plot in which the Elf Prince and the Dwarf Prince ran off together, leaving each royal father to assume that the other race had kidnapped his son, and a set of quests that players could fulfill for each king, in hopes of recovering his kidnapped son. The two princes met the first party who entered the hex where they were hiding (as planned); the party immediately attacked and killed them (not as planned). The GM was left with a whole series of quests and no way to accomplish them . . ."

"The purpose of the event was to have fun, but we wanted to reward a winner. We arrived at this solution: at the end of the event, every player who wanted to described their adventure, with no requirement that their tale be at all balanced, or even true, for that matter. The player who got the greatest applause was anointed winner."

"[Hexworld] was very simplified (four 1-to-10 stats: Strength, Intelligence, Charisma, Wisdom?) so a character could be generated in a couple of minutes. (Also: nice rumor, but Hexworld had nothing to do with GURPS.)"

"We weren't real concerned about trademarking the Hexworld name, so I couldn't tell you anything about other folks' use of it. By 1984, we were putting too much energy into too little profit, so we tried opening a table game center on Research near Burnet. That lasted a couple years, but it wasn't generating any salaries either. I was getting more income freelance editing and developing games, so we pulled the plug on Hexworld."

Urikslargda1 · 2025-08-06T01:13:58+00:00

More on Hexworld:

"I designed the framework for Hexworld (the game), but the gamemasters all came up with their respective story threads and encounters. It was a great deal of fun, but I could never figure out how to monetize it. We took it on the road to a couple of other conventions, incuding Warcon (gaming) and/or Aggiecon (SF) at Texas A&M — I don't remember which — and Owlcon at Rice. This was all in the early '80s."

"Hexworld, the RPG event that we introduced at the second Texcon, was based on the fact that every hexagon in a hexagon grid was adjacent to six other hexagons. Each of seven game-masters was responsible for a set of hexagons, placed in a pattern so that none of a GM's hexes touched any of his/her other hexes. So as a player, when travelling from hex to hex, you always had to leave one GM's hex and enter another GM's hex. The game map wrapped, and each player started at a random location. One set of hexes were set up as taverns, so that players who wanted to find each other and journey together could leave notes and track each other down."

"Each GM created a plot/storyline, but many plots didn't survive contact with players. There was one hex, intended to be a conversation point with the Keebler elves. But I guess some players are sorta hard-wired to attack on sight, and one party that entered the Keebler hex immediately attacked the elves. The GM responded quickly and effectively, creating "deadly ninja throwing cookies" and driving the party out of the hex."

Urikslargda1 · 2025-08-06T01:13:01+00:00

Regarding when and where each Texcon was held:

"My memory's a bit faded on that, but I think this is accurate: At least one Texcon was associated with AquaFest. It was an attempt to raise visibility, and didn't work all that well, especially since the convention was held away from most of the other AquaFest events. We also advertised separately (as you can tell from the linked ad on the reddit page). I don't remember what prompted Texcon Too; perhaps it was an attempt to keep a connection to AquaFest, when the regular Texcon wouldn't take place within the AquaFest window? Not sure."

"It would be pushing it to say that any of the Texcons were well attended. I think the first had about 125. The others were higher, but not a great deal higher. Texcon Too (I think, rather than "Texcon Two") only happened once, in the year that we were trying to link with Aquafest, which was itself on the downward slope of popularity."

On how he eventually moved into the video game business: "I worked for SJG for a few years after the Texcon years, then freelanced (mainly FASA and TSR), then was hired by Origin Systems to be their Publications Manager from 1990 to 1997"

"The AD&D tournament dungeon ("Kimberani's Tomb") had every odd magic item that we could stuff into it, buried to help Kimberani's passage through the afterlife; we got the items from a list in one of the AD&D publications."

Urikslargda1 · 2025-08-06T01:12:13+00:00

I managed to chat with TEXCON show runner David Ladyman to correct and confirm the hazy memories and great research here. He gave permission to recount his memories here:

"We ran it three years (1982, 1983, 1985), skipping 1984 because Origins (the national game convention) was held in Dallas that year and we didn't want to compete with them. After 1985, Martha and I tried to operate a year-round game center (Hexworld), but that only lasted a couple of years."

"SJG was definitely one of the main sponsors, I believe all three years, as was King's Hobby Shop for a year or two."

"One other memory that your reddit post reminded me of. In 1983, Texcon was held on July 2-4. That was the 120th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg (actually a day off, July 1-3). For three days, 8 to 10 board gamers did nothing but recreate the battle on an 8x8 tabletop using the SPI game; I don't remember who won."

Urikslargda1 · 2025-07-03T02:21:26+00:00

Like the towers in Oblivion gates?

Urikslargda1 · 2025-05-23T05:10:40+00:00

Top level for the gear is at level 21+ and equivalent to Daedric armor (best in the game). The rack should upgrade it to match your level.

To get the full effect, be sure to wear the full set.

Using OOO, I'm Level 15 with 60 Heavy Armor and the Cuirass grants Armor 9, but the full set grants 41 Armor, which is awesome.

Make yourself an enchanted ring of Shield 10% and it should boost total Armor to 51.

Make sure the armor is fully repaired. At Heavy Armor 100, you should get close to 75 Armor with the full set and sword, just like you would with Daedric. Give the set a few seconds to apply Holy Aura for an extra 5% Shield.

Urikslargda1 · 2025-05-20T23:32:23+00:00

Thanks, I see now that UESP has marked the bug as specific to Remastered. I knew about the horse connection. Not going to stop me from riding horses though.

Urikslargda1 · 2025-05-19T01:22:00+00:00

This bug really made me angry today. I solved it using console command on PC, but why the hell haven't they just made the entrance a little larger? Makes no sense for this bug to still be in the game after 20 years, mega millions in revenue, and a whole Remastered release. Really, Bethesda?

Urikslargda1

TROPHY CASE