My saga: I wanted to update my BIOS in the (faint) hope that it would resolve a "System Fan Failure" on startup.
I found and downloaded the latest BIOS for my system (IdeaCentre B500 (0887-3AU) thats listed on the page,"BIOS Update for Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) - IdeaCentre B500, B505" It links to the file, 5YJY22USA.exe. This contains an executable that flashes the BIOS "in operating system" Not included is the iso file (as far as I can tell.), that flashes the bios at boot time.
I ran it, and it updated the BIOS. That's the good news. The bad news is that it also wiped out the BIOS System model number, and the like . So now I receive a message at boot time: "System model is Invalid", etc. and booting takes forever. (But yes, it does boot, and the system appears to run fine.)
Only afterwards did I notice (foolish me) that the readme file advises against using this "in-system" method. Instead, burn and run an ISO file, it says. Good advice, in light of what happened.
OK, so where is the ISO file? It's not bundled in the download. I can't find it anywhere on the Lenovo site. Its certainly possible that it's hiding in plain sight, and I'm just being blind, Regardless, if anyone can point me to it, I'd be most grateful.
In the meantime, I'll ponder the mystery of why Lenovo posts the file they advise against using, in the first place ... .