Ideapad u330 - New owners :-)

deserfox did you look at the R400 or T400? or were u just looking at ideapad

 

Just the ideapad. I need the LED back light and not the standard CCFL back light, due to a medical issue, I can't tolerate looking at any kind of fluorescent light source, including the CCFL of a standard laptop screen. The U330 was the first decent laptop that wasn't an Apple and was not over $2K.

 

Scrod, I love the keyboard and touchpad, personnally. The keyboard is almost Thinkpad-class, and the touchpad along with it's buttons have a very nice feel to them.

Desertfox, sorry to hear about your problems. My unit's HDD and ACPI temperatures hover (while idling) under 40C while my cpu is much cooler.

 

Thanks again for your time this is all great feedback. Does the 6-cell battery extend down or backward at all, or does it fit flush with the chassis?

Seems like the 6-cell is the only option now, but checking just in case a 4-cell was the standard when it was released and in case the various reviews listed dimensions and weight with it.

 

It's flush with the rest of the body.

There is at the moment no option of purchasing a separate battery - this may change in the future.

 

Great, thanks. I've read through a lot of this thread and others. It's looks like they got all the hardware right. Many complaints I see appear to be related to poor power management issues that can hopefully be fixed with software settings or bios updates or something. Stuff like poor keyboards, displays, battery design, noisy fans and stuff can't be easily remedied...

 

I'm interested in hearing Windows 7 experiences from people who have tried.

So far, it's been pretty solid for me. Only thing that didn't seem to work properly is connecting an external display and expanding the desktop. Anyone have this problem? I haven't used any Vista drivers, only whatever was available on MS Update.

 

The switchable graphics drivers and software is not available from Microsoft Update.

 

i have been using my girl's macbook periodically, and one feature i really like on it is the two-finger scrolling on the touchpad; instead of using one finger on the very edge of the touchpad to scroll windows up/down, put two fingers anywhere on it and move up/down to scroll windows.

is there any way to do this on the u330/vista with our synaptics touchpad? i found this thread where people talk about doing exactly this, and works for some but not others
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=217439
in there they they talk about installing software made for this purpose, for synaptics touchpads, found here:
http://code.google.com/p/two-finger-scroll/

but when i try and do so on my u330, (even after updating touchpad drivers to the latest found on lenovo's website), i get an error that says "Synaptics kernal driver registry keys missing. Reinstall drivers."

anyone know if its possible to do this two-finger scrolling on our u330s?

 

I think I have read somewhere that someone has managed on a U330... can't remember.

Another battery-related discovery. There is a common recommendation to use a custom power plan. This cuts the activity of the Lenovo Energy Management software, which uses a special "Energy Managemment" driver. Now, for me, switching from built-in battery saver to a custom plan, and therefore killing Energy Management, drastically decreased power usage.

 

How do you do that? what was the battery life increase? were your touch panel buttons still operational?

 

Why would the touch buttons be inoperational? It's just the energy management software.

In Vista power options, to the left, you have an option of creating a custom power plan. That's what you want.

Untested as of yet, but for me, the power usage went down over 3000 mWH.

 

Hi,

I am planning to buy a U330 after thinking of getting a XPS1330.

Could any of you tell me the battery life and the performance of u330?

Is it worth going for this notebook?

Thanks

Sue

 

The M1330 is not worth it, especially since a new version is out, and the general opinion about the 1330 is that it's bad from many aspects.

Sue, we don't know what kind of computer use you do. It may be worth posting on the "What Notebook..." forum (with the FAQ filled out) to get your question answered better - and with more alternatives provided.

I really like my U330. It can do what I need it to, has a nice price, nice speakers (if you know what to change in the settings), a good look...

 

hey guys, I just noticed that one the 6 rubber stops surrounding the laptop is missing, they keep the lid from being pressed down to far when it is closed. Do you think lenovo sells them?

 

Very doubtful, considering the fact that they are still considering selling spare batteries.

 

Kicks it down to 11-13W for me. Much more like it =D

 

Yeah, looks great.

Everyone please create a custom power scheme!

 

Can anyone expand on this please?

I want to make sure that OneKey creates a bootable recovery CD or DVD that will allow me to either reinstall vista from scratch or recover the factory installation to a brand new hard drive. Some posts I've read make it sound like it creates an image that may not be compatible with a new hard drive, especially if the new hard drive is smaller than the factory one (even if the actual contents would fit).

Having to buy a separate copy of Vista for the discs even though I get a license with the U330 adds over $100 to the cost if I ever want to replace or upgrade the hard drive to a faster (and possibly smaller) one.

 

Though i have not had to use one key recovery on a new HDD, you absolutely can burn a drive image to DVD using the program, and can use the DVD to re-image your drive. The DVD is bootable. This indicates to me that the DVD image would be "self contained." AKA all you need is the DVD to image a drive with vista, etc..

I think it is safe to assume that the DVD can be used to image a new HDD. Otherwise, it has little function. The only time you would need to use a bootable DVD is in the case of HDD crash or total wipe out (from virus, whatever). In either case you are starting new. Also, to suggest that the DVD image would only work on a HDD that is equal in size is absurd.

 

Exactly what I assumed until I read some posts at the Lenovo forums about the OneKey utility. Hopefully, they were just inept. Worst case, I guess I could always grab the Ultimate upgrade deal if I buy a U330 at Amazon and use its backup utility.

 

I also tried this. Your problem is simple. You are not right clicking the file. You must right click and hit "run as administrator." But hold on, don't extend your middle finger just yet. There is a greater systemic problem. Check out the pic below. When I run as admin, I get that error message. For those who can't see the pic, the error says; "register for an account so you can see the pic."

Since I have restarted, I can only logically conclude that the Touchpad in the U330 does not support 2-finger scrolling. (now extend your middle finger). I hope someone proves me wrong.

 

Has anyone upgraded the ATI Graphics drivers on the U330, or over-clocked it? I want to upgrade to the newest version, and I also want to uninstall the ATI Control panel because I have heard it degrades performance. However, I am worried that I will lose switchable graphics functionality, or just cause a crash. My aim is to boost gaming performance. Any suggestions?

 

You have to use the Lenovo supplied drivers to retain proper switchability functionality.

 

I tried to read all the past posts. So, do the new U330 have the battery issues? Is there a fix to the battery issue yet?

 

No-one has pinpointed the entirety of the battery issue yet. There also seem to be... issues with the controller chips in the batteries that cause them not to report the charge correctly.

 

I see... So the incorrect battery prediction exists still. That's ok. However, are the batteries not lasting as long as they should be still?

 

Can someone please tell me what type of expresslot the U330 has? :O(

 

First, it is impressive that you read this whole thread... I actually feel bad for you though, lots of non-sense in there. So let me clean it up.

What Battery Problem? The "Battery Problem" was a function of four things:

1. Screen brightness - Turn it down

2. Running ATI dedicated graphics - Switch to Intel Integrated

3. Bad Default Power Schemes - Just create new ones

4. Slightly inaccurate Battery life prediction - You have more time than it says!

With these simple steps, my U330 gets over 4 hours of battery life on every charge. About 4hr 15min to be exact. (this is not accounting for the inaccurate battery life reporting).

With a 6-Cell Battery, and a Centrino 2 platform, this is Average to Above average battery life. Macbooks, Sony, and Dell (to name a few) with similar platforms all have actual battery life in this range.

The complaints about battery life came from first impressions, and unfortunately, people who complained before they tried to problem solve.

 

^What he said. I get around 5 hrs usually since I'm usually idling and just taking notes during class. Windows 7 helps.

 

The U330 has ExpressCard/34.

 

Alright thanks for all the info! I am pretty set on the U330. One last issue I want to clarify is that I heard something about plugging in the AC caused the fans to spin in max rpm and also something about more heat on AC or something. Dunno if it is nonsense but someone want to clarify? Thanks for all the inputs guys!

 

Hi,

What is the difference between WXGA TFT and LED Backlit display?

When i read the features of U330, it is mentioned that it has LED backlit display,but when i see in the specifications it is given as WXGA TFT.

When i called lenovo helpdesk they told me that LED backlit is an additional feature and i need to pay more for it. Is it correct?

I will be surprised it it is.

Please clarify.

Thanks

Sue

 

Plugging in doesn't screw with the fans... though there is a tickboxable BEEP the speakers emit.
AC power always heats a laptop up as the battery charges.

Pyaranoid, the Help Desk was incorrect.
WXGA = resolution
TFT = display technology
LED = display backlight

All U330s have the same type of screen.

 

Hey thank you for the clarification. Can we customize the options for U330?

What would you suggest the best configuration available for U330?

Thanks again

Sue

 

The U330 isn't really customizable. I do believe the US has two versions available, one has a lil' more RAM and a larger hard drive. RAM is upgradeable anyway, and so is the hard drive, if you decide that you have too little.

 

Knight-Thanks for the clarifications. I got one more final clarification to be made before buying this...

When i read the lenovo forums(forums.lenovo.com), many U330 owners complained alot on the heating,best chassis and screen wash outs..So i am really thinking about it before buying....

Please share your views...

Sue

 

The default settings for the display looks washed out. I followed m1kek's post and tweaked it a little more afterwards, it looks pretty good now.

EnterKnight is right about the customization. I upgraded the RAM and HDD on mine myself because it couldn't be upgraded on the Lenovo site. Adding RAM was really easy and I didn't break any sticker/seals. Change the HDD required me to break a little Lenovo sticker/seal that was stick on the HDD and the HDD tray. That might have void my warranty. I guess if you're careful and patient, you could peel the sticker

 

Thank you wx6. So i am all set to buy U330..What could be the best price to get it(22672AU Model)?

Thanks

Sue

 

The bent chassis problem was an issue of "early adopters".

The vast, vast majority of screen presets are awful. If my knowledge stretches, most NVidia cards just give you 50% Gamma on everything by default.

I remember Amazon having a nice price of a straight thousand - though I don't know if there are better deals.

 

Hey Enterknight, how is the flex on the laptop overall? Any screen flex since it is so thin? Keyboard flex? If you tap on the cover lid of the laptop, does the screen ripple? Also are the hinges good lasting? My dell hinges collapsed on me in half a year. Last questions I promise. Thanks =]

 

The main body itself is fantastically firm - the palm rests just do not give.

The screen does bend a little bit - but it doesn't hurt it. Pressing on the middle makes it give an insy wee lil' bit.

The hinges aren't huge, but they're pretty robust.

To get the keyboard to flex, you've got to try really hard. And when it does, the keys around the key you are pressing budge only ever so slightly.

Ask away!

 

Thank you knight...shall i get all the warranty from lenovo if i take it from amazon? I could find the only diff is 250 GB Harddisk that is provided by amazon whereas in lenovo website it is 320 GB for the higher end model..

Thanks again

Sue

 

I've been considering the Amazon.com U330 also. I wouldn't buy any extended warranty from Amazon, unless they say it is a genuine Lenovo service contract. With companies going out of business left and right, you could get stuck with nothing. Granted, Lenovo could go out of business too, I suppose... Lenovo will be happy to sell you one directly. You have until the end of the included 1-year warranty to buy an extension.

 

i thought lenovo ideapad was 2 years no? i just got mine back from lenovo for warranty stuff and they told me 2 years.

 

Yes Scrod, You are correct!! Do you think that the quality of the notebooks bought form amazon is same as the ones from lenovo website?

Thanks

Sue

 

Of course it is. Does a can of Coke from Target taste different than one from Wal-Mart?

 

Other than the differences in specs, I'd assume they are the same in terms of quality. Of course, you never know for sure if something has been decontented. Sometimes, retailers do get their own versions of a product with a unique model number to prevent price matching and these sometimes have varying features. In this case, it looks like a standard part number that other online stores also carry.

 

Very rarely does that happen with notebooks, scrod. Best Buy has Blue Label, but not many computers go under that tag.

The only big difference between specs is between the US and EU (at least part of it) version - 2 GHz on the US and 2.26 on the EU.

 

Does anyone already figured out why the hdd light is blinking all the time? I've disabled the indexing service and it is still blinking all the time...what is more weird is that if you go to performance monitor and check the I/O reads and I/O writes they are static.... same count all the time...so it seems that the hdd is not being accessed...so what gives? what the heck this light is always blinking????? And, oh yeah, we need to ask Lenovo for a 9 cell battery...we need at least 5 hours of runtime.

So far the computer has been great...got mine on October and is working without a hicup... none of the terrible stories happening here...other than the sob of my hdd light.... hope someone has figured out the problem yet...

Cheers
speed