My nephew came to me asking for help with his laptop. Turns out the #Bios got corrupted during an update.
A surprisingly common issue for his particular model.
Looks like I found a use for that #CH341A programmer after all.
Also, found this guide detailing my exact situation,
https://gwalkerux.com/posts/1/repairing-a-lenovo-flex-5-laptop-with-a-corrupted-bios



