Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga

Just wanted to let everyone know I was able to successfully swap out the original drive that came with my ThinkPad Yoga and replace it with my own Samsung 840 Evo 500GB drive. For those who are considering and are courageous enough, here are the exact steps I took:

1. Connect new drive to the ThinkPad Yoga via USB 3.0 Hard Drive enclosure. You can buy these enclosures really cheap and they are very easy to use. A USB 3.0 to Sata drive works exactly the same.

2. Once the drive is connected, use "EaseUS Todo Backup Free" found here: EaseUS Todo Backup Free - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com to clone the original drive to the new drive. (If you want detailed instructions on how to do this, please private message me)

3. Remove bottom plate of TPY. This is really tricky for the first time since the machine is new. You may have to apply a bit of force to remove from the clips and such, but it is nothing to be alarmed about.

4. Disconnect battery (many say this isn't necessary, but I personally do it for extra precautionary measures).

5. Remove original hard drive and replace with new hard drive. **BE SURE not to loosen the cables connecting the hard drive to the motherboard. I did this by accident and was not able to boot up. It gave me a really difficult time

6. Close everything up and start your machine. Everything should work perfectly fine.

TIPS:
-Use these FRU videos found here to see step by step how to remove the plate, battery and hard drive: http://lenovoservicetraining.com/content/CourseWarePublic/21761/player.html
-See the FRU video for the HDD Buttons card to know which cables connect the hard drive to the motherboard. These are the cables that I accidently disconnected which created a lot of problems
-The first time I did this, it wouldn't boot from the new drive and I have no idea why. I recloned the drive and it worked perfectly the second time.
-BEFORE doing this I highly suggest you make a recovery media on a USB stick with the original drive for safety. It gives you a backup option just in case you can't boot from the new drive. At least you'll be able to boot from the USB stick and install everything from scratch.

 

Please update us with a benchmark for SSD with Crystal Disk Mark.

 

I don't think so. The slot dimensions are also a little bit different.

 

There is no "M.2 PCIE SSD" now at the market. All available M.2 SSDs are "M.2 SATA". Different sizes are available in the market for different ultrabooks. The available M2 SATA port for SSD in TPY is 22mm x 42 mm. The size of M.2 PCIE for WLAN in TPY is 30mm x 30mm.

 

No the are PCI-E ssds using m.2 but all are longer then the available space in the yoga

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

Did anyone else notice that the right button on the trackpad is a lot difficult to get right than the left button? I know I can use two fingers as a right click but still would like to have a good mechanical button if its capable to do so

 

After spending weeks researching and hours reading this thread I made a purchase online from Lenovo today. I wanted to post to confirm that the code "12CLOSE0127" still works to get 12% off in US/Canada (make sure to type the code in capital letters.

Looking forward to parting with my surface pro. I switch from an x series tablet to the surface and have regretted it ever since.

 

Those are all still M.2 SATA SSD.
Available sizes in the market are: 30, 42, 60, 80, and 110mm

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

I am assuming you meant they aren't in the market right now as in, you can't buy them just yet?

Because PCIE M.2 SSD's do exist and will be for sale in the coming months.

Samsung Starts Production of PCIe SSDs for Ultrabooks

The Samsung XP941 is 22mm x 80mm

 

You can change the area which activates right click in the synaptics control panel

I find myself right clicking too much by accident sometimes lol

 

Congratulations on your purchase. I too am coming from a Surface Pro 1 that I've had since it was first released. As much as I love the surface, I've come to realize the tablet form factor can never compete with the clamshell form factor when it comes to serious mobile work. My surface pro I'll probably leave with my wife. After using the SP for 1 year, I've come to realize how much I've been missing by giving up traditional laptops. Gladly, I still have some flexibility with the different modes that Yoga has to offer, as well as the digitizer I became accustomed to while using the SP. Hope you receive yours soon! I ordered mine in Canada with a 12 % discount as well. I ordered mine January 9 and it shipped January 20, and was at my house by January 24. Not sure what you will experience but this will give you an idea of how it will go. My TPY went from Shanghai - Alaska - Kentucky - Bufallo - Canada.

 

Thanks I purchased the Manvex case for the surface pro and it made it a lot more usable with many more angles and really stable on my lap and has a pen holder, but even with those vast improvements the keyboard sucks so much, and don't get me started on the poor quality trackpad, and the 10.6" screen is bit too small for my eyes to do side by side document editing. I think the surface probably makes a good tablet for somebody that wants that type of thing, but I definitely prefer a clamshell machine with a good quality keyboard. I have a phablet phone so in hindsight I don't really see the need for a tablet PC. Live and learn

 

Thanks, thats really helpful. But do you notice that in terms of pusing down the trackpad to perform click, the left click can be done even just on top of the left lower angle of the corner while the right click doesnt seem to extend to cover the same area?

 

I can't say that I share your experience, my trackpad is very even all the way around in terms of clicking action and response.

 

mmm thats interesting, ill see what lenovo say about this

 

For current ThinkPad Yoga owners, you may have noticed that some power plans or when on battery the screen is abnormally dark. Even when on max brightness it doesn't seem bright enough. If you notice this, its because by default they set the dimming to 50% for certain power plans or while on battery which means they will lower the maximum brightness for that plan. Personally I think they should allow maximum brightness for all plans and just let the user control how bright they want it to be. Check the picture to know which settings to change here:

 

I just installed a Samsung EVO 500GB like many others here have been doing. I was planning on just doing a clean install of Windows 8.1 Pro, however my computer seems to be actively refusing to boot from a USB.

When the computer boots, the Boot Menu shows up and displays:

Code:

Windows Boot Manager
ATA HDD0: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB
USB HDD: Patriot Memory

as expected. I select the USB, then there is a quick flash and it returns me back to the boot menu.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what is going on? I tried a Windows 8 and Windows 7 ISO using the Win 7 USB tool, as well as a clonezilla live image onto a USB. All do the exact same thing. I checked the BIOS settings and UEFI USB boot is enabled.

 

You might have to reformat your USB to NTFS or something to let it boot.

 

The tool reformats it to NTFS.

I took the drive back out and cloned it with EASEUS, when I put it back in the blue windows recovery screen came up but didn't actually allow me to do anything. I just put the original drive back in for now.

This is pretty ridiculous if you ask me, and if I ever am able to boot from USB what are the chances that my key will actually work properly? I have never had so many problems with such a simple task.

 

That sounds very strange. I could imagine your frustration of having to open up your TPYoga Last Friday, I was able to boot from a hard drive connected via external HDD enclosure. Not sure why it isn't working with you. If you finally do get to boot via USB, I'm sure your key will work properly IF it is the original key that is assigned to that system and not a separate one that you have.

Do both your usb ports work normally when signed in windows?
Did you update your BIOS?

 

The easiest way is to use lenovo update, this updates your laptop specific things.
Windows update is set to automatic, so your OS soft will be up to date withour worries.
And then you need to update your apps in apps store, if its not set to automatically update all apps.
And thats the easiest way.

But if you want to be the first tester about updates, then u should manually check lenovo drivers from web, Intel stuff from Intel webpage. Synaptics, wacom and all other stuff from original websites. Lenovo update mostly get them few days or a week later.

 

I don't have Crystal Disk Mark but I did the test using the Samsung Software with RAPID mode on and here are my results:



The dark blue results are the speeds with RAPID on. The light blue results are when RAPID is off. Even when rapid is off its interesting to note how high the scores are.

RAPID OFF: Sequential Read - 549 / Write - 514
RAPID ON: Sequential Read - 891 / Write - 1002

When RAPID is on, the results go through the roof, with the write speeds reaching 1002. Take note though that RAPID will use some of your RAM and that is how it is able to achieve those speeds. Notice though that the random read and write speeds don't change much with RAPID on.

 

Hello,

I think the Win 7 USB tool does not create a UEFI bootable USB key. Either you need to disable UEFI and enable legacy mode, or recreate UEFI bootable USB with another tool such as RUFUS. I did the latter and it worked perfectly

Hope it helps.

 

Excellent. Samsung 840 EVO Series SSD is the best upgrade for TPY.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

There is one more setting affecting screen brightness in the intel graphics settings. (I'm pretty sure, disabling this also resolves the screen flickers some users report).

This adaptive brightness mechanism changes the screen dependent on what is displayed. Did you have is enabled when calibrating? (It is only active on battery I think).

 

For anyone in UK that was interested, I had a chat with a Lenovo sales rep (@ Digital River) earlier after they had spent a few days chasing up higher ups on the 4600/vPro processors

In short they are not coming to the EU at this time. Potentially they may reevaluate this in 3 months or so but for now there won't be those processors.

After months of waiting for it this feels rather gutting but the rep at least gave me some discount off the 2 TPYs I ended up ordering.

Allegedly the reason for lack of a 4600 in EU is a lack of interest and/or a lack of confidence in whether it would sell. Just seems silly when the laptops are built to order and they offer 4600's on other lines!

Sent from my Lenovo B6000-F using Tapatalk

 

That is quite silly considering they ship from China. I would understand if they had pre-shipped a batch to UK, but aren't all of our ThinkPads made and shipped from the same place, regardless of where you are ordering from? When I got my TPY it was the first time ever ordering from Lenovo, and I never knew all their laptops come from China. Do other companies do this as well?

 

Hey guys for those interested in calibrating their digitizer, I followed the instructions on this link: [HOW TO] PROPERLY calibrate your PEN and fix those stupid corners (273 test points) - xda-developers

When I first used my pen out of the box I noticed how grossly inaccurate it was. After doing this 273 point calibration, it is far better even to the edges!

Here are the steps:

1. Reset to default any calibration data you may have saved in the past or the next steps won't work.
2. In run insert this code:

tabcal devicekind=pen lincal novalidate XGridPts=10,60,110,160,260,360,460,560,660,810,960,1110,1260,1360,1460,1560,1660,1760,1810,1860,1910 YGridPts=10,60,110,160,250,400,540,680,830,920,970,1020,1070

3. Go through all 273 points. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. MAKE SURE you hold your tablet and pen exactly as you would in a real situation and hit the points as closely as possible with the tip, regardless of whether the point registers somewhere else.

Note that if you want to reset your data to default, there are further instructions on the link how to do this should you want to revert back.

 

Is this the correct thread for the Yoga Pro 2? I don't see any other threads so I figure it must be.

I purchased the i7 256gb 8gb from Best Buy because I needed it immediately for a trip to South America. I like most things about it, but the resolution is a bit tricky. I leave it on 1600x900 which is a shame, but the higher settings cause too many complications.

The scrolling seems a bit tricky as well. Still trying to figure out if I'm doing something I can tweak of do I just accept it.

 

Hi together!

I got my ThinkPad yoga on 16th of jan, was built on 8th. of jan.
already built in 1tb 840 evo ssd cloned original 1tb hdd disk to Image and Image to disk with clonezilla.
started new Installation over System recovery...rebuilt System.
removed all partitions from m.2 ssd with diskpart
i'm thinking about to use 16GB ssd for Linux os, in Windows i set this disk at the Moment to offline
everything is fantastic, till now also no ghosting issue..hopefully i don't get some.
Performance amazing...

i was thinking over sony fit Multi flip 13 and ThinkPad yoga, it was a really difficult decission, but for me i think it was right, i can use 1tb ssd and have no fan issues

Good luck to your machines!!

maxxmobile

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/735166-yoga-2-pro-owners-thread-225.html

 

maybe someone has a good recommendations for sleeve.

I think this one Comes near perfect, maybe some has found a better one, something thinner...
Second Skin Elements for MacBook Pro 13" - Tucano

Greetings
maxxmobile

 

Thanks Ishrimak. I think you are correct. I checked the BIOS and it is UEFI only, and this is the first UEFI only laptop I have owned. I don't see an option in the bios to switch it to legacy mode though.

I'll make a UEFI boot USB with Rufus when I get home and hopefully it will work.

Thanks again.

 

Thanks. I guess it's not very popular thread, since I couldn't find it.

 

I performed the calibration while the AC Adapter was plugged in so this feature would have been disabled.

I have had a play with turning this power saving thing on and off around 5 or 6 times and honestly didn't notice ANY difference so I think this really only comes into play when watching a video or playing a game if that makes sense.

As such I don't think my calibration file provided will look any different whether this setting is on and off.

Enjoy

 

How accurate is the ThinkPad Yoga's digitizer after proper calibration? It's not like this:
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/3dwmookid70nftj/wVMkJUCDtv

right?

 

I reckon there's more to it then this. I honestly feel that there must be some kind of allocation for the regions at their factory and I reckon they simply ordered a bunch of 4600U and 4300U but only allocated them to the US/Canadian markets with the idea to see how well they sell before allocating any stock to the EU market.

They probably didn't reach their quota and so didn't feel that allocating any resources to the EU markets was important right now. Seems stupid but they distribution centres do seem quite strict with things such as no ability to alter products that have been ordered even if they haven't actually been built yet..

 

NOTHING like that! I did my calibration on my Bamboo Feel stylus hence using that in the video I just made BUT I did try properly calibrating the digitiser with the standard stylus and got the same result.

ThinkPad Yoga Digitiser Test - YouTube

Hope that helps

 

Calibrated mine today. As accurate as can be now!

 

Hey everyone I have an issue I was wondering anyone might be able to solve. I cloned the original TPY drive to a SSD that I purchased and installed. Everything is working perfectly. I did however notice that when I try to "reset" my pc through windows 8, it says that "Could not find recovery environment" meaning it can't seem to access the recovery partition. I checked my disk via Disk Management and indeed all the original recovery partitions are there and are healthy and active. Anyone know what's the problem?

 

Another review of the ThinkPad Yoga

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga review: a good (if slightly heavy) Ultrabook for business users

Bit of an Apple biased site but they are usually relatively okay with laptop reviews

 

You can change it to legacy.
In the bios go to another tab and disable secure boot.
Then go back to UEFI only and you can now change it to legacy.
I hope this works for you.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

It's weird to me too how the UK site has HDD and an NFC option. When I asked about HDD options in the US, they "do not have plans to release this item with a full hard drive option based on the true ultra book requirements."

ordered mine on 1/14. last time the order status page was working, i had an estimated build of 2/13...

 

The hard drive options right now for U.S/Canada is pretty weak. Even the Yoga 2 Pro has a 512GB SSD option. I'm also sure there is a market for those who want HDD's in their Yoga

 

Just a heads up there has been an $89 price hike for all models on the Canadian website. Not sure if the U.S. site might follow.

 

Has anyone noticed that when you use the Wacom Digitizer on your TPY display while connected to a external monitor, that the pen only appears on the external monitor and can't be used on the original TPYoga monitor? Anyone know how to fix this?

 

CAN$ is slidding, they'll use any excuse to increase prices!

How is your OneLinkPro dock working? Any issues with disconnects?

I've not tried the pen when connected through my Dock to external monitors, but I will tonight.

 

On the most part my onelink pro dock is running like a champ. I've connected:

-One 1920x1080 monitor
-Fan power for laptop cooling pad
-2 USB 3.0 external hard drives
-USB for charging devices
-USB Flash drives
-External DVD writer
-Head phones

On the most part I haven't had any issues even when using more than half the ports at the same time. There was an instance or two where you could here the USB connecting/disconnecting and it would interrupt some file transfers with my hard drive. Everything else has remained uninterrupted. I've written maybe almost a terabyte of data using external hard drives and the dock and could transfer 100's of gigabytes of data at a time without interruption. Tonight I will try to use the Ethernet port to see how things go.

 

Excelllent thanks.

 

I'm goint to buy TY but I only have two choices:

-i5-4200u
-8 GB RAM
-500GB SATA 5.4K + 16 GB SSD (SSHD)

1280 euros

-i7-4500u
-8 GB RAM
-256 GB SSD

1525 euros

The only reason I'm thinking about the more expensive model is the SSD. As I have read in this post I can buy a 256 GB SSD for the TY but I was wondering if doing that I can lose money. I mean, for almost 250 euros more I not only have the SSD but also the i7. On the other hand, there is not big gap between the two processors and the battery life with the i5 should be better, so I don't know what to do.