How do I completely wipe a Lenovo ThinkCentre before installing Linux?

Resetting the BIOS settings is separate from wiping the drive. You can load BIOS defaults if needed, but the important step is selecting the full-disk erase option in the Linux installer. Also check that no drive-protection or reserved-area setting is preventing the installer from accessing the whole disk.

If you’re installing Linux and select the option to use the entire drive, the installer will delete the existing partitions and create new ones. That’s usually enough for a normal reinstall, and the old data won’t be accessible through the new system.

If you need stronger data removal than a normal installation, use the drive manufacturer’s secure-erase function. SSDs and NVMe drives should generally use a proper secure erase or sanitize operation rather than repeatedly overwriting them with a command such as dd. For a typical personal reinstall, however, erasing the disk during installation is generally sufficient.

Boot from a Linux installation USB and choose the option to erase the disk and install Linux. Double-check that the selected drive is the ThinkCentre’s internal drive, since erasing the wrong disk is irreversible.