***Lenovo Ideapad Flex 14 Owner's Thread***

Hi,

Seems there's no owner's thread on this device available yet so I started one.

Bought one yesterday with the following specs:

i5-4200 processor
4GB DDR3L/1600MHz
500GB HDD
nVidia Geforce 740M 2GB DDR3
14" WXGA LED 10 point touch
Windows 8 SL

Got it from Thailand for 750USD with two years international warranty

The same was available for 960USD in Singapore but with a i7-4500U processor instead.

I'm planning to switch the HDD for a SSD 250GB to improve performance. Opened the unit and it's very compact and has only one memory slot.

Anyone has any tips how to extract windows form the HDD in order to put it on the future SSD since no cd or product key were supplied?

 

Use Belarc advisor to extract the serial from the UEFI and then go to the bay of pirates, grab an ISO and activate it using your own serial, this is not illegal.

Or just clone the drive, that's the better option.

 

Thanks!

Already got the product key. I was thinking of using the recovery mode in windows 8 and making a flash drive with the os partition so that I can install the appropriate version with all the drivers in one try on the ssd. I'll probably get the samsung 840 evo ssd. Would prefer a Kingston but I need a 7mm drive otherwise it won't fit.

 

Is there a msata slot?

And how did you get the back cover off? I spent a long time trying pry it open, but I didn't want to force anything. Any tips?

 

Pretty sure Lenovo doesn't offer any laptops with Msata's anymore. If there is a SSD slot, it's an M.2 (NGFF) 42mm.

 

pretty good sale on these right now.
I'm pointing my brother toward this: he's a DC-based road warrior of sorts - presentations, lots of fat email files via outlook, etc etc. machine will take some abuse. a lowly HP mini has hung in there with him.

what do you guys think of the expected durability of this model?
what is the real-world batt life you are seeing?

 

Unfortunately no msata, only PCI express that is used by the WIfi card.

To open it use a guitar pick or one of those plastic phone screen replacement tools. Enter it near the USB port and work your way around it. Don't forget to remove all the screws first, also the ones beneath the rubber feet.

There is a service manual on the Lenovo website, use that to guide yourself through the process.

 

Avoid this model if you're looking for durability. Get something in the think pad series. Have a look at the new thinkpad yoga, or even the twist which is very durable and compact too.

 

Are you happy with yours? Had 2 but sent back for screen problems likely caused by lack of padding in shipping from online vendor, not direct from Lenovo. Going for a third with reservations now, but really liked the specs and found the design good for the price. Would rather have the heat venting up and away in tent mode.

 

u430 is not that much more expensive, you lose the special flip mode but you gain better battery life and a superior display.

 

thanks for that. I had been steering that way but the price was daunting. I use a thinkpad and have tried to suggest buying a refurb x220 or such to shave a few dollars. we shall see. I'd like to see the flood of haswell-based models to come before he pulls trigger, as battery life is really important to him. [don't throw a rock at me, but I have suggested repeatedly that he get an ipad mini for most of his purposes, save the laptop for heavy finger work]
we'll let this one slide on by.....

 

Quick question. Does the board only support one drive at a time, or can I have a 500gb HDD and 256gb SSD installed at the same time?

Also if I wanted to just replace the 256gb SSD with a larger one, what drive would I need specifically? A link to a good 500gb replacement would be awesome.

I will be getting a Lenovo flex 14 soon, and have storage concerns with the SSD, if I go with the high end model.

 

I would like to buy the Flex 14 with i3-4010U CPU.
The specs tell that the ethernet adapter is only 10/100mbps, is it correct or not? Seems strange that a end-2013 laptop is not gigabit compatible.

 

I believe a lower end Intel chipset is used to save costs.

 

can you take a higher resolution but straight down picture of the ports in this picture?
http://www.notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/_processed_/csm__MG_4014_1ede095a7d.jpg

I feel like it has a M.2 port next to that big black ribbon.

 

Yup, that's an M.2. Source: Y410p has M.2:



Time for you to put cash in MyDigitalSSD's pockets.

 

I confirm Jobine's reply. It's indeed a M.2 port. I haven't found any models here in Thailand supplying models with M.2 ssd so I don't know if the BIOS supports it. I don't have this laptop anymore, gave it to my father. Replaced it for a Y510P which unfortunately doesn't have the M.2 port soldered on the board.

 

fantastic. I guess I'll keep this laptop when it arrives. Going to be a great media machine, especially for the super cheap price.

 

I'm getting a Flex 14 too, with i5, 8 GB RAM, and 500GB HDD, thinking to swap the HDD with a 256GB SSD. But my question is how to obtain the product key from the current installed Win8? Thank you!

 

You should use a tool like Belarc Advisor.

 

Thanks!!

If I don't have a Win8 setup disc myself, other than using the recovery method to copy the OS onto the SSD, what are my options?? As I read that using the recovery method, the SSD will not be properly aligned, which some space will be wasted?

 

Did the swap yesterday, everything went smooth in less than an hour!

1. Clone 500GB HDD with Windows 8 to 256GB SSD with the NTI Echo 3 software that comes with the Toshiba SSD. Cloning took less than 30 mins. Probably because there isn't anything in the laptop, I just got it for less than 2 hours.

2. Swap the drive. Follow maintenance instruction from Lenovo on the web to remove the back cover and took the HDD out. I know Lenovo wants to save money in order to keep price low, but this makes upgrading the computer a really troublesome job to do... there are total 24 screws to remove and re-install in order to take out a HDD!!!

3. Plug SSD in, re-install 24 screws and computer starts up like nothing happened!!

I can't really compare the speed as I didn't really play around the computer when it is with HDD. SSD is properly aligned with the NTI Echo software as per MiniTool Partition Wizard. NTI also automatically resize partition to the new smaller drive. So everything went well!! Happy with the new laptop so far. Will be doing more test tonight (e.g. OneKey Recovery, etc.) to ensure everything is in working condition.

 

Dear Agastya,

i have a question, how do you get off the backplane. -.- Do you have any Tip for me?


Best regards
Rick

 

If anyone is still in the market for one of these, we just got some of the Flex 2 14 256GB SSD models in and as always, we give the best deal to notebookreview forum users.