Resetting Lenovo Yoga to factory (aka Fixing failed reset)

Short story: Got a work laptop for a temporary contract. Contract ended, and on clean up the laptop ate poo-poo all by itself.

Pre-Note: If you found this article before you started the wipe, turn off BitLocker... and find the key for BitLocker while you have access to the system. Perhaps w/o BitLocker restore will actually succeed, and if it doesn't at least you'll save yourself some typing.

Specific laptop: Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 14im9

Specific failure: It doesn't have built in recovery partition, nor the magic Lenovo restore button, and the official direction guide you to using Windows 11 built in "Reset this PC" --> "Remove Everything" option. This option leads to Bit Locker restore-reboot-death-loop.

Pre-reqs:

** You will need a second computer
** A 16GB Memory stick or an SD Memory Card + a card reader, or something similar.

Step 1: Locate your Bit Locker key. It will be in your Microsoft account.

URL: Microsoft account | BitLocker recovery keys (https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey)

Note: Seems that Edge makes logging in easier. In my case, Chrome never sent text message or email to authenticate.

Note 2: You are going to wipe the whole computer any way, so technically you don't need it.

Step 2: Make a Lenovo account to gain access to restore software.

Just go to Lenovo support page (URL below), enter serial number or model number for your laptop. It'll take you to download page, and then force you to create account.

This will allow you to download an app, which will allow you to download the files to burn on a USB

URL direct: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/ec/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/yoga-series/yoga-7-2-in-1-14iml9/downloads/order-recovery-media (just enter your serial in the top left of the screen)

URL 2: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/lenovorecovery

Note: Use simple password, because you'll have to type it E-V-E-R-Y time the software breaks, fails, errors, restarts, complains...

Step 3: Make the Restore USB thingie

Launch the software, login, select your laptop, download, retry, retry, retry, retry, finish.
Create the restore USB.

Note: I successfully used an SD card reader and a 128 GB SD card from my camera. (why? because apparently my Sandisk cruzer failed and got stuck in read-only mode. And no amount of diskpart could save it.

Note 2: I found that on Windows 10 after many failures, I succeeded by running the app in "Windows 8 home edition" compatibility mode.

Note 3: I found that downloading to a different folder from one where downloader is located works. Folder name should have no spaces. Better yet, keep it stupid in a old school format. For example, a brand new folder empty folder in c:\stupid_lenovo\restore

Step 4: Pre-restore diagnostic

Reboot the computer and mash F10? Or F11, or F12, or F2, or F1. One of them will take you to internal diagnostic menu. Run all of the tests to confirm your laptop isn't corrupted or broken at the hardware level. Since you're this deep anyway, run the full comprehensive diagnostic.

Step 5: Restore

Plug in the USB.
Mash F2? or F1.. or F10? Eventually, you'll end up in BIOS.
On the First page, scroll down, and change the boot order to make USB first, and internal disk second.

Reboot. Start the restore, and just wait till it completes.

Note: If at this point you don't see USB, you need to figure that out first.