Thanks. That sounds like a good idea to bypass the OS.
It's a Windows 8 computer that was upgraded to Win10 so I don't know how to boot in DOS or even if I can, but I think if I hit Enter as the ThinkPad screen pops up I can get somewhere.
This is the very first time a ThinkPad gave me any trouble. And it's an old, former Win8 upgraded to win10 so even if it's not cost/time effective to fix it, it has served me well.
Notes ♫