Lenovo U300s Owners Thread

Thanks, Dude. I am also pretty convinced that it was a hardware failure. I got a new machine which did not have this problem, both usb ports are working with anything I stick in straight away. So I am happy now. The new unit again has the Synaptics touchpad. Interesting thing I noticed: In this unit, the fan is actually not running constantly! Every once in a while (while browsing the internet) it seems to completely stop so that the notebook is super silent. This was not the case with the old machine (and I have not installed anything except windows updates on both). Also, when it is running I have the impression that it is a tiny little bit more quiet than the one on the old machine.
Anyways, I hope that this was the one and only problem with this computer. Would be curious how quality control works in this industry (pc manufacturing) though. Would they routinely test all ports before shipping a unit?

 

This is too bad. Do you mean you had three machines altogether? I can believe that you do not trust any machine of this anymore after having two or more malfunctions when still brandnew.
Personally, I would not wait for the Ivy Bridge machines. It is again just another new generation of processors which may make some applications a few percent faster but more than a few bucks more expensive. Whereas the other ultrabooks are likely to drop in price. For me, the only alternative to the U300s would be the Macbook Air. So I'd suggest get one of those if you're not completely against Apple. If you do want Windows and don't care so much about the keyboard then the Asus UX 31 might also be worth checking out.

 

It is a real shame. This was one machine, but it had two trackpads replaced, and now it's defunct again. I took it back today and got my refund.

I am going to wait a month or so for the ivy bridge machines to come along, and then I will probably buy a reduced sandy bridge machine (I might buy a cheaper U300s if I can find one). I have not decided. The Lenovo X1 carbon looks amazing, but I think it might break my bank.

It will be very difficult to go for any machine with a less quality keyboard than the U300s. That's my main concern now. But I would like a machine with better screen brightness and a little more stability in the build. Come on Lenovo! Surprise us

 

besides the x1 carbon, there is also the ultrabook T430u, which will start at below $1k.

 

Does anybody have a recommendation for a good sleeve for the u300s? I was thinking about getting the UC200 which seems to be okay and not too expensive. There's an artist called Gao Yu who has also designed very cool sleeves for this particular machine. But I don't know where to buy them, didn't find any info on the internet.

 

I looked at all of those and came across the same issues. I couldn't find the Gao Yu sleeves anywhere - I think that you won't find them anywhere outside Asia. Also the UC200 is really very rare it seems - you just can't really find them anywhere.

What I did do instead is buy an 'EasyAcc' off Amazon for about £20. It is a bit of a tight fit, but it's made of leather so it'll stretch over time. I really think it's the perfect solution - go look it up!

 

Dan - if you bought one of these, do you have to use dual usb ports to power the thing or will it work on only one port for it's power requirements? The listing doesn't really tell me that.

 

I am experiencing a similar issue: my trackpad inexplicably stops working and only a reboot will bring it back, sometimes it takes two reboots. So very strange, I'm glad to hear I am not alone. I have a Synaptics pad but I upgraded to 8MB so I can't send it back for warranty work. I'll survive if it continues to only happen once a week.

As for what to buy next? I am really looking forward to the T430u's release, the U310 looks sweet for the price, as does the T430s which is also now available.

 

Does anyone know if the u300s will ever be updated with ivy bridge processors? I know that the u310 and u410 are available, but they don't have an ssd and they are a bit thicker...

 

I was wondering how the base model U310 compared to my desktop:
Desktop:
Ram DDR2 PC2-6400
intel core 2 2.4ghz q6600
Nvida GTX 285
Windows 7 64bit
Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10000 RPM
(all i know)

U310 Laptop - 437523U

What's the comparison? Better graphics? Faster? What do you guys think?

 

Sorry I missed this post days back... I didn't buy the Lenovo branded DVD burner, but I did buy a Lacie external DVDrw from abt.com a while back. It also has the dual Y usb cables, which are not long enough to plug into the two USB ports on the U300s... I've used it may times and it gets everything it needs from one USB 3.0 port... I've never needed the second plug. I hope that helps!

 

The DB60 works perfectly with just one usb port.
And let me add that the Y cable is long enough to use both usb ports on the U300s but again, it was not necessary in my case.

 

I'm thinking about doing a clean install of windows 7 on my machine. But I'm not sure how to get the hotkeys and onscreen-overlays (like the volume indicator) to work once I do this. I couldn't find any "hotkey" download on Lenovos support site... Any idea where I can find those file?

 

The hotkey support should be within the drivers on the Lenovo site... but why not just use the built in recovery from Lenovo "one key restore" for your clean install?

 

Couldn't find the proper driver on the u300s support page. What should I look for anyway? There is no entry referring to hotkeys or on-screen-displays to be found.

I'm trying to get as much free space as possible on the rather small 120GB SSD. The "one key restore" function doesn't work anymore when you change the partition structure from anything that resembles the default layout.

 

Just a quick update: The on-screen-overlays for things like volume control, turning of the touchpad and stuff like that is actually part of Lenovo's energy management tool and not a separate download. In case anyone is looking for that...

Also, consolidating the separate partitions of the ssd proved to be more difficult than expected because of the hidden partition for the Rapid Start function. I managed to get this done by using a support document provided by Dell:

( PDF

 

Does anyone experience a slower boot time after suing the laptop for more than 4/5 months?

I started off with 10 seconds, now it takes me 42 seconds to fully boot up. I don't have much programs installed, and even those that are are fairly basic (like firefox, flash, java etc).

Thanks!

 

Owned mine since April. Still boots as quickly as it did before. The only negative I've noticed is shorter battery life since the beginning. I usually run in super energy saver mode. Otherwise, it's been a great machine. Actually won it in an Intel promotion on Facebook/Twitter, ended up getting the upgraded model with 256GB SSD, too! Still excited over the win.

Until tax time, that is. =\

 

Hi guys,

I just got a u300s, and I like it very much, except for one small thing: I want get rid of the button areas on the trackpad (so that right click can only be done by two-finger clicking the trackpad)

Is this possible? I couldn't find an option for that in the synaptics drivers

Also, could I make two-finger clicking work just by touching the trackpad (like on Macs) instead of having to click fully on the trackpad?

 

Hey 328is, could you share how you went about getting replacement rubber feet? I've been very happy with my u300s, but lenovo service has been difficult at best. Thanks for your help.

 

well i have a u400 with the cypress trackpad. there is an option to disable right click and enable two finger tap right click in the trackpad settings. i've never seen that with the synaptics trackpads

 

I just keept calling support. First time, never received anything, then wrong parts, third time was the charm.
It took forever

 

touchpad freeze: are you guys sure you're not experiencing an accidental tap of the freeze my touchpad function? I too had this problem and used to resart the laptop to get the touchpad to work again, but now I realize that all it is is that if you tap the top-left corner with a certain strength it will freeze the touchpad, it's a function that exists for people who need to freeze their touchpad by tapping on it. To get it to work again keep tapping on the top-left corner until it springs back to life.

 

someone higher up this thread was asking about how to flash the BIOS, when you get an error message about versions. I've had some success with the NODATE option.

You can get some details here:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/974455/

 

Wonder why Lenovo discontinued the u300s? I love mine and the reviews were generally good other than most criticizing the lack of an ISP screen. If I was forced to give mine up I would replace it with the X1 carbon or a Samsung 9.

Still want to up the memory on mine to 8 gb, now where the heck is the post with the Crucial part that some people had good luck with?

 

Some say it's because of the U310 and U410, but I really think it's because of the Yoga. The Yoga's 13.3" IPS 1600x900, 10 point multitouch screen, with Ivy Bridge; still very thin and beautiful, and convertible. I Love my U300s, but the Yoga is its evolution.

 

Do you mean this?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...00x4b-guide-intel-rapid-start-technology.html

 

I love my u300s but now with windows 8 out I want a touchscreen. Do you think in the near future some company will make a good capactive screen upgrade available or maybe we will be able to swap our screen for a lenovo 13.3 touchscreen.

 

Really great question... I had been wondering the same thing, but I just broke down and bought the Yoga. It is about 3mm thicker, noticeably thicker, but the keyboard so far is just as good, everything else appears to be better so far! The screen on this Yoga is absolutely amazing. IPS 1600x900, the 10 point touch is amazing.

The U300s though, was the best laptop and/or computer I've ever had... a truly amazing machine that changed the way I use computers... here's hoping the Yoga will be the same.

 

I just upgraded to Windows 8 and now my battery life has dropped to under 4 hours. I have the energy management for windows 8 and it's not helping. Is anyone else having this problem?

 

Hmm, that's pretty concerning. I was thinking of doing the same as you, but I'm beginning to think that's maybe a bad idea. I can only assume that one or more of the drivers are somehow not optimised for Win8, and are therefore not allowing the machine to sit in it's low power state

 

Just read back a few pages and you'll find it.

While I'm here, I might as well give a quick update on the state of my machine after the 8GB RAM upgrade, as a few people have messaged me to ask about it. One word: perfect!

Whilst installing the extra RAM, I also fitted an upgraded wireless card (one which supports 5GHz 802.11n, but also still supports WiDi). Next, I reconfigured the partitions on the SSD to make sure there was an additional primary partition of just over 8GB and set that to ID=0x84 (hibernate partition). Lastly, I switched off RAM paging so it doesn't make use of the SSD on large tasks (though this isn't advisable if you use programs which take a lot of RAM). So far, everything works perfectly, no issues at all.

It runs fast, never swaps to the hard drive, sleeps and wakes fast and also goes into hibernate automatically (iRST) - meaning the battery lasts forever too. I honestly can't fault it (apart from the lacklustre TN screen and small SSD of course).

 

Phumanchu - the answer is a few posts above you - the Yoga. I played with one at Best Buy, pretty nice. I'd love to be able to swap my u300s screen for that one, but I will be keeping my u300s for now. Don't want the extra weight and thickness and a touchscreen doesn't mean anything to me. I'm also keeping Win7. , but again I sure would like one of those ISP screens.

 

As someone who has both the U300s and the Yoga... you're right. The U300s is so much lighter and thinner, noticeably. But the screen on this Yoga is so amazing. Not only is the IPS HD screen more clear and with such a better viewing angle, but it is SO much brighter. Don't discount touch though, it's really growing on me too, and I'm really wanting to use touch more and more.

 

U300s owners,
quick question regarding the audio software (SRS): When I select "Internal speakers" I cannot open the options to adjust the sound (3D effects, extra bass, etc.) at the bottom of the audio software window. I only have these options when using external speakers or headphones. Anybody know why that is or is this just a driver problem? Thanks

 

Question for anyone who has swapped out their 4gb memory for 8gb:
I'm comfortable poking around in computers and usually build my own desktops. I know a couple of you have swapped out the memory and I've written a private email to the ones who have posted about it.
The video link that was posted awhile back is dead, I guess Lenovo yanked it so I'm having to use the printed hardware guide. I'm down to the step where Chrisbeame said remove the motherboard screws and tilt it up as in the video.
My question is: what do you consider the motherboard? The circuit board that lies in between the two fans or the whole black frame (Lenovo manual calls it the system board) that fills the upper 1/3 of the space including the fans and abutting the u300s frame? I've tried unscrewing both separately and lifting the laptop up and tried to get both items to lean forward so I can swap the memory out. Both seem very firmly held in place and I don't want to over pry them for fear of really screwing up and having to send the laptop in for repairs.
Really could use some help with this if anyone is knowledgeable about it.
Thanks,
David

 

How can I tell the U310 laptop (3.7lbs) and U310 ultrabook (3.5lbs) apart when buying from a Lenovo reseller?

 

Windows 8, go or no-go?

Looking for opinions or experience with Windows 8 upgrades to the U300s? I've heard mostly negative, but haven't seen too much here, which is straight from us owners/users.

Let me know what you think and any advice. Thanks in advance.

 

Why have Lenovo discontinued the U300S? Here are some thoughts:

I got the U300S in approx November of 2011, by February of 2012 the hard drives had died and had to be replaced. In approx September of 2012, the t-key started to act as a function key, then the problem spread to other keys, and eventually to the touchpad. I took the laptop in for repair. Lenovo replaced the entire keyboard and touchpad, plus said they also replaced the internal battery charger and the USB3. A few weeks ago, February 2013, I noticed the loudspeakers weren't working, then I lost the touchpad again, then the delete key. I'm taking it back for repair for a third time tomorrow.

 

Have you been dropping it regularly? ...seriously, it sounds like you have a bad lemon unit. I'm sorry to hear about all your trouble. The U300s I bought is about 15 months old and no problems at all. Maybe you can convince them to give you a complete replacement?

Also, see if they will upgrade you to the Pro on site warranty (at their expense due to so many problems), then they will come to you for repair.

 

New video link
RCW09 IdeaPad U300s Service Training

Hope it helps

 

THANKS - MUCH appreciated. I was beginning to think they had pulled the video because people like me were hacking around in their u300s'. How did you find this page? I looked, searched and googled for half an hour and wasn't able to find this and emails to guys that had tore down their machines hadn't responded.
Again, thanks!

 

I went to one of the forum
Where can I get information about where the SSD is... - Lenovo Community

and click on the link.

 

You would think I had, to be honest. I'm ever so careful with my laptop. The first time I returned it for repair the Lenovo bloke at the reception inspected it like a stamp collector would and was quite distraught when he couldn't find a flaw, then he pointed to a small dot on the screen and wrote down on the form that there was an issue, I wiped the screen clean and, furiously, asked him to delete that from the form.

Yes, I got a lemon. But I'm not the only one. Linux users have all experienced some very strange interaction between the battery/ sleep mode/ keyboard. I suspect some serious hardware problem inside that, for some reason, affects only Linux users, perhaps because we have blown something important in one of the partitions.

I got one of the very first U300S that came out, straight out of the Thai factories, during the floods -- delivery was about one month late because of the floods. The components were probably rescued from the river or something.

 

Where to turn now?

I've owned about a dozen laptops from all the major brands. This Lenovo U300S is by far my most pleasant laptop experience, notwithstanding the fact that it has been to repair three times and major components were replaced each time (the ssd, the touchpad, the usb, the battery, and more).

The only flaw I find (apart from breaking down every six months that is) is that the screen has a horizontal mark caused by rubbing against the lower part of the keyboard when shut (just below the space key). It's a design flaw, it's unfortunate, but it's minor in my opinion. I've had far, far worse laptop experiences. I bought a square of felt and place it on the keyboard before I shut it, thus preventing the horizontal scar mark from worsening.

The pros: very fast, no overheating, very light, very long battery life. That's all I ask for.

The cons: I got a lemon. The screen-keyboard issue mentioned above.

So, all in all, a great laptop. Unfortunately, discontinued. So what next? Any suggestions for a U300S fan? I'm looking for: fast (I run simulations all day long), light, couldn't care less about screen quality (I read code only, it's never going to be pretty). I definitely don't want an ipad-laptop hybreed. No overheating is my biggest concern. I love the SSD.

What is the most worthy successor of the U300S?

Thanks for suggestions!

 

Hi guys. I've had the U300s for close to a year now (turns one on March 31st). However, in the past few months, the computer has been slowing down.

I spend close to 90% of my time on the Firefox browser, and now scrolling through webpages, typing, loading pages and loading videos is all just horrible. While typing so far twice has the typing just lagged. Pretty bad imo. YouTube is a horror show and also browsing PDF files is a pain.

I am on Windows 8. Never had problems when I first switched last year. It started slowing down in December I guess. I run the Windows Defender AV scan and no threats to my PC.

Considering this is running on an SSD (and I have the i7 version), I didn't think it would deteriorate so fast over a year.

Is there anything you can suggest me to do? I am sure there is something wrong with my system, just don't know what. Or is it normal?

Thanks!

 

Look forward to hearing form other u300s owners!

 

It sounded like you are having some applications which are hogging the system.
You can check it using Window Task Manager to see whiich process uses the most ram by clicking the process, you can also click on application to see what application is running. Then you can decide if you want to stop the process or the application which slows down you computer.
Do you boot up very fast as usual, or the bootup is slow too? In that case, you can go to msconfig to stop some startup programs that you do not need.

Hope it helps.
I have a u300s i7 with 256 GB ssd, windows 7 64 bits ultimate, and my bootup time is about 11 sec. The computer is very fast.

 

I was looking for a ultrabook to replace my 3 kilo 2:30 hour battery life gaming laptop for something more portable. And after looking through many different newer and older models i found that a new/refurbished U300s was by far the best option in the mix of price/perfomance/battery life/weight/build quality i was looking for, not to mention i think its gorgeous.
I can get one for about 650 dollars and my sister is in the states so she can take it with her to Europe and make quite good use of the euro/dollar ratio. Basically it would be a 1000Euro+ laptop for 500. However this is not without risks so i have some questions for id like to know more about

1. How is Lenovo with support in the EU with US bought products?
2. How risky is buying a refurbished laptop for such a price? anyone who has experience with that?
3. Should i just save up and wait for Haswell instead of buying an older model for a lower price?
4. Should i just save up and buy a Yoga instead?

I hope you guys don't mind me coming here to ask this and hope you can help

Thanks in advance for any reply

 

Hey there,

I am in the US and recently bought a refurbished U300s from a big ebay seller. The laptop is fantastic. Quiet and cool, fast, and so far seems to be just as good as a brand new machine. I have had no issues with a refurb u300s. It is an i5, 4GB Ram and 128GB SSD. $525 US is what I paid, total.

I decided not to go with a Yoga because it would have been $250 more, and it is a bit thicker and heavier than the u300s. I used to have an i7 HP Envy 14 Beats. The thing was like 6 pounds and sucked down battery life in about 2 hours. Ill be travelling and doing photo editing and writing on this machine, so I was emphasizing travelability with the laptop. I think that for $525, it was the best computer I could have gotten.

Now for one question I have. I am on Windows 7, and want to make sure the Cypress trackpad drivers are the latest. I noticed there is a later version for Windows 8 then there is for Windows 7, is the Win8 driver compatible with Win7??