I have some lenovo v14 g2 itl laptops that seem to be restricted in some way as I cannot use the mouse or see the disk when I bott onto a Windows RE to wipe the disks and I cannot find anything in teh BIOS to undo this

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This is a known "feature" of modern Intel-based laptops (specifically the 11th Gen "ITL" or Tiger Lake series). You aren't crazy-the hardware is effectively hiding itself from the standard Windows environment due to a specific controller setting.

The "restriction" you are sensing is the Intel VMD (Volume Management Device) controller. It intercepts the storage connection to manage power and data (technically a form of RAID), but because the standard Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) lacks the specific driver to talk to this controller, the disk appears to not exist.

Here is the fix for both issues.

1. Fix the "Invisible Disk" (The BIOS Fix)

You need to tell the laptop to stop using the complex VMD controller and just present the disk as a simple storage device (AHCI).

1. Enter BIOS: Shutdown the laptop. Press the power button and immediately tap F2 (or Fn + F2) repeatedly until the BIOS Setup screen appears.


2. Go to Configuration: Use the arrow keys to move to the Configuration tab.


3. Disable VMD:

• Look for an option labeled Intel VMD Controller (it is likely set to Enabled).


• Press Enter and change it to Disabled.


• Note: You might see a pop-up warning about SATA Controller modes; this is normal. Accept it.


• Once disabled, you should see a "SATA Controller Mode" option appear, likely set to AHCI. This is what you want.

4. Save and Exit: Press F10 to Save Changes and Exit.

When you boot back into your Windows RE/USB installer, the disk should now be visible because it is speaking a "language" (AHCI) that the basic Windows drivers understand.

2. Fix the "Frozen Mouse"

The trackpad on the V14 G2 ITL uses a "Serial IO" (I2C) interface rather than the old-school PS/2 standard. The Windows RE environment is a stripped-down OS and does not include these specific drivers.

• The Solution: You must use a wired USB mouse.


• There is no BIOS setting to fix this for the recovery environment. The trackpad requires a driver that only loads once the full Windows OS is installed and running.

Summary of what is happening

• The Disk: Is hidden behind a VMD "mask" that the recovery tools can't see through. Disabling VMD removes the mask.


• The Mouse: Is too "new" for the recovery tools to understand without a driver.

Important Note for Wiping:
Once you disable VMD and boot with a USB mouse, you can use diskpart to wipe the drive. However, if you plan to reinstall Windows on these machines later, the installer will work fine in AHCI mode, but if you ever re-enable VMD in the BIOS later, that Windows installation will likely crash (Blue Screen) because it was installed expecting AHCI. Leave VMD disabled if you want these laptops to be easily serviceable in the future.

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Relevant Video Resource
LENOVO V14 G2 ITL HARD DISK SSD not found & touchpad not working...
This video demonstrates the exact BIOS location of the VMD controller on your specific model and confirms the mouse workaround.

Would you like the specific diskpart commands to securely "clean" the partition tables once you can see the drive?

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OK even if I disable that I cannot wipe the disk - it is still restricted under AHCI and appears that the OS partition is read only and shows no partition type or format.

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The "Restricted" and "No partition type" status strongly suggests the drive is BitLocker encrypted. When you view an encrypted drive from outside its original Windows (like in the Recovery Environment), it looks like "RAW" data or "Unknown" partition types because the recovery tools cannot read the partition table without the key.

Since you want to wipe it (and don't care about the data), you can force-clear these restrictions using the command line. You do not need the encryption key to wipe the drive, but you do need to clear the "Read-Only" attributes first.

The Fix: Diskpart Override

You must use the Command Prompt. If you are in the Windows Installer GUI, press Shift + F10 (or Shift + Fn + F10) to open the black Command Prompt window.

Type the following commands in order. Press Enter after each line:

1. diskpart
   (Wait for the DISKPART> prompt)


2. list disk
   (Identify your main disk. It is usually Disk 0 or Disk 1. Look at the Size to confirm.)


3. select disk 0
   (Replace 0 with the correct number from the previous step)


4. attributes disk clear readonly
   (Crucial Step: This forces off the software "Read Only" switch that VMD/BitLocker often leaves stuck on.)


5. clean
   (This is the command that wipes the partition table. It deletes the "Restricted" OS partition, the Hidden partition, and the BitLocker lock in one go.)


6. convert gpt
   (Optional but recommended: Prepares the drive for a modern Windows 10/11 install.)


7. exit

Troubleshooting "Access Denied" on Clean:
If Step 5 gives you an "Access Denied" error even after clearing attributes, restart the laptop and go back into the BIOS.

• Look for a "Hard Disk Password" or "Security Freeze Lock" in the Security tab. If a password was set by a previous IT admin, the hardware itself will reject the wipe command until that password is removed.


• Note on Lenovo "V" Series: Unlike the "ThinkPad" series, the V14 often lacks the "Secure Wipe" tool in the BIOS, so the diskpart method above is your primary solution.

Next Step:
Once clean says "succeeded," close the command prompt and click "Refresh" in the Windows Installer window. You should see "Drive 0 Unallocated Space" with no restrictions, ready for install.

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