Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

When I try to do the BIOS update, it asks me:

"A custom start up image file has been previously applied to this system. Keep the custom start up image file?"

Anyone know what this is all about?

Perhaps this: How to change the BIOS bootsplash screen - ThinkWiki or this: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_change_the_BIOS_bootsplash_screen_(under_Windows)

A google search brings up this:
If you see the following message even though the custom start up image file is not used, select No to remove this message in the future update. "A custom start up file has been previously applied to this system. Keep the custom start up image file?
(from: Lenovo Support - BIOS Update Bootable CD for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit), XP - ThinkPad)

Why are these messages so cryptic?

 

Will post shortly. Couldn't update in Windows Server 2008 so I'm restoring my Windows 7 OS to patch.

 

Bios 1.25 A/C Adapter Test
65W - No go
Power Hub (presumably 90W) - No go
90W - No go
135W - Works
170W - Works

Maybe it was for a specific adapter model?

 

Could be wrong, but I think that is a custom image on the screen when the BIOS loads. Lenovo makes a utility that allows you to customize the BIOS load screen's background.

 

So should I keep it or not? (I have not customized it. Just bought the machine from Lenovo ...)

 

If it was me, I'd just click no. That's the only reason I've seen that message in the past (I customize our laptops with the corporate logo).

 

When I purchased, I decided to pick "2YR Onsite + 2YR ThinkPad Protection". The day I received the laptop, I called for support to fix the wireless card which wasn't working and they had me listed as only having the base 1 year warranty. The person I spoke with could see the 2yr on my invoice but it still was EXCEEDINGLY difficult to get them agree to send someone out.

Before we got to that point, I allowed one of their "troubleshooters" access to my machine (using Lan connection) and she was trying to diagnose my wireless card problem. She kept insisting all we needed to do was reinstall the Access Connections (which i'd already done twice) and that it would work. She began to download a copy of the Access Connections program for XP and I knew I was in trouble. She eventually just dumped the call which really irked me. It went like this "Ok I need you to reboot again and after that the card will be working if not, call us back... *click*". I even called customer service to complain about THAT and of course nobody really gave a crap. I didn't expect to find anyone who would. I at least got them to fix the fact the wrong warranty was showing up for me.

I went through the lenovo purchase options and reviewed the "Warranty Upgrade" section and didn't see anything about a priority support option. Does anybody have any info on this? TIA.

 

I said NO as you suggested and all is fine!

I was hoping that the Lenovo W520 BIOS 1.25 update would fix the 40 second warm-boot startup delay with an SSD installed
(if Diagnostic Boot is on you get the message: "ThinkVantage Active Protection sensor diagnostics start /")
--- but no such luck

 

I used a Vertex 3 and a Crucial M4 and do not have this "40 second warm-boot startup delay" issue. It seems to only affect the Intel 510 SSD.

 

Did you try using UEFI mode only?

 

It seems to do so. The three tests I did the resume was indeed successful. The other issues (POST memory error bleeps, memtest errors, fingerprint power on) are still there though.

 

I tried it with a Vertex 3 240GB and got the same warm-boot startup delay.

(And I also got the "ThinkVantage Active Protection sensor diagnostics start /" message, but of course only when I turned on "Diagnostic Boot" mode in the BIOS)

What are your W520 specs? Maybe it is only with the i7-2820QM?

 

No change from BIOS 1.24 on the UEFI boot with RAID0. Even with BIOS 1.25 RAID0 will only boot in "Legacy" mode

 

My Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB has the new Firmware 2.06.

Did you install Firmware 2.06 ??

My W520 has 2720QM with BIOS 1.22

I will install BIOS 1.25 very soon to fix the 1866MHz RAM issue, then post result.
.

 

Are you testing on Windows 7 with SP1 installed ??

 

I've had my w520 for almost a week now, and it's a great machine. I decided to order a 310 80gb for the mSATA slot so hopefully I'll get that soon. My only complaint about the w520 is that I find scrolling and multitouch gestures to be erratic on the trackpad. I remember at some point in the thread someone mentioned using a different driver to fix this, but I couldn't find the post. Can anyone help?

 

I'm curious too, because I just downloaded the update and suspend/resume still doesn't work.

NOTE: Mine passed memtest86+ for several hours at 1866, and also still works fine when I add a stick of 2GB 1333.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...-using-dual-finger-scrolling.html#post7509638

might be it

 

Quick question, I have an extra Lenovo dock, a Lenovo Mini Dock Series 3 Type 4338 P/N 45N5888
Comes with a 135W 20V adapter. I tried my W520 on the dock and it seemed to work ok. Is there any known downside to doing this as opposed to using my primary 170W adapter and no dock?

 

I tested the Vertex 3 (regular non Max IOPS) with the firmware that came on the drive.

 

The drive comes with 2.02 You should install 2.06

It fixes many issues according to Ocz.

 

The W520 is supposed to work with the 135 w brick. Now you may have more load in the dock depending on peripherals. (I have 4 drives and a couple of monitors hanging off mine.). That could cause problems.

 

According to Lenovo and their unboxing video, the 170W is only needed for the Quad Extreme processor and RAID. Seems like they should have shipped the 135W adapter by default.

 

Please welcome a new happy W520 ownder, I upgraded my out of the box machine with ssd and bluray burner. I have two questions, i created a resore discts and installed the system on SSD - it took 40+ GB? that can not be normal right? may be there is somethign i don't need inthere soemwhere by default?

2 - I use intel 320 SSD 120GB, anythign i should update right away before usign the machine with the workload?
thanks

 

What is the brand and model number of blu-ray burner did you end up going with?

To answer your questions:

1. Regarding the size of the factory install... it's fairly big but you can get rid of the restore partition which should free up some space. I did a clean install on mine and only installed what I needed/wanted.

2. Updates? I'd make sure your drivers and Microsoft updates are installed. Beyond that the system should work just fine.

 

That 40GB includes WIN7 and Office PRO along with Lenovo Utils and a small recovery partition.

 

BDKC1 I didi not install Norton or Office at all durign the windows first start and install process but i didin't notice the recovery partition first, it is now looks better

 

Hmmm, mine had Office Pro preloaded just waiting for the product key and total space taken for all was around 40GB

 

Storage space is governed by several factors. Keep in mind if you have 16GB of memory, you have a hidden 16GB hiberfil.sys. You also will have a pretty large pagefile.sys.

Restore points can take a significant amount of space, even on a new install.

And we haven't even gotten to the OS, apps, data, driver and cache areas.

 

Hibernation is pretty much pointless with an SSD. Open command prompt as an admin, type powercfg -h off, and "voila" 16GB (or however much RAM you have) is saved.

Pagefile is pretty much pointless with 8GB or more RAM, IMO. Turn it off in advanced system settings in the system control panel.

System restore doesn't work very well, and is pretty much useless to me. Turn it off as well in the system control panel.

Believe it or not, a Win7 x64 system with such tweaks needs only about 9GB for system and driver files. Add your programs from there.

 

I appreciate the info....
I'm not going to attach too much to the dock, I should be ok.

 

I've been using the 135W dock for weeks with my W520. I haven't noticed anything odd other than having to open and close the lid on logoffs (due to DPI% changes).

I don't think it's the dock causing this odd issue. I'm pretty sure it's the Optimus video drivers. They seem a little immature right now.

 

I finally have my W520 all setup. Here's a WEI score:



I7-2720QM
16GB Kingston 1866Mhz RAM
nVidia Quadro 2000M (overclocked to 675/1350)
Intel 310 80GB mSATA drive

I'm sure I could push the video card faster but I brought it back down to stock speeds. Here are the WEI with everything at stock:



Once I disabled Optimus and picked either integrated or discrete the W520 is fine. With Optimus running it can do some strange things.

 

Thinking of ordering W520 tomorrow through the rep. This is what I want to get, and info on what the final price should be will be a lot of help. I configured it on the website, it came out to be about $1200 including taxes.

Thinkpad W520
Intel Core i7-2620M Processor (2.70GHz, 4MB L3)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
HD+ (1600 x 900)
Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3
Trackpoint with Fingerprint
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD multiburner
9 Cell Battery
Bluetooth 3.0
Camera 720p
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205

Like I said, it comes out to be $1200 including taxes. Seems pretty good, though I've been able to get a better deal through a rep before than the online offer. What do you guys think? Any feedback will be much appreciated.

 

Except for the screen it looks good, but thats a personal prefference.

 

Did you install BIOS 1.25 ?

How did you overclocked the GPU ?
.

 

Thanks...yes I have the same memory specs. on all the four slots. So it shud be good then.

thanks
anand

 

New review regarding W520...


Review Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

Whew!!! That Kingston 1866Mhz RAM rocks! (memory score of 7.9 vs 7.6 with regular RAM)
Do you recommend installing it now or to wait until all the issues are fixed?

 

The current version of the "Intel 3, 4, 5, 6, 800, 900, 3400 Series Chipsets software" on Lenovo's site is (16 May 2011): 9.2.0.1021
Lenovo Support - Drivers and software - ThinkPad T420, T420i, T420s, T420si, T520, T520i and W520

Intel has 2 newer versions: (3/3/2011) 9.​2.​0.​1025 and: (4/21/2011) 9.​2.​0.​1030
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...s+Chipset&ProdId=3321&LineId=1088&FamilyId=40

Does anyone have experience installing updates directly from the Intel site?
Is it risky to install the Intel update or is it advisable to wait for Lenovo?

 

I've been running into an extremely strange issue with PCMark 7 after my clean install and I can't figure it out. Basically, when I run PCMark 7 on my laptop in optimus mode (plugged in and battery) and discrete mode (battery), it runs fine. But every time I run it in discrete mode while it's plugged in, it fails on the second texture test which I think utilized OpenGL.

The crazy thing is I've run 3DMark 11 under all the above scenarios and it runs fine so there is something that's causing my laptop to do a memory dump for that specific test only. Does anyone have any suggestions on any settings I should try? I also have this error with the Lenovo optimus drivers as well as the latest Verde drivers from Nvidia.

My paging file is set to let windows manage and is running off a separate SSD from my OS.

Here is my windows error:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.4
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 116
BCP1: FFFFFA800DD9D010
BCP2: FFFFF88010557DD0
BCP3: FFFFFFFFC000009A
BCP4: 0000000000000004
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\051911-12682-01.dmp
C:\Users\ml Studios LLC\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-46004-0.sysdata.xml

 

Yea, apparently those tools go too low level. I have seen similar issues so you aren't alone. I guess the folks that develop the tools need to look into their application issue. Or it's a bug in the NVIDIA code. Or both.

 

I have a question, I've got 4,6 index in Windows, ith CPU that scored 4,6, what am i doing wrong? YouTube - ‪alpine timescapes - 4K resolution‬‏ in 4k shows very slow like 5 fps... this is not normal for i7 right?

 

Check that the battery AND AC adapter are plugged in. And that the power mode is set to Max Performance in the Lenovo Power Manager.

 

2 bogatyr - thanks, i read somewhere that i need to start he system with my cord plugged in or it wouldnt go to full speed, so I did, I have a 6,9 index now, CPU scored 7,5 ; RAM 7,6 ; GPU is 6,9 and SSD is 7,7 = i am happy.

i wrote about bluray - i use sony optiarc, I bought it before this laptop to record some animation test we did in the stdio so I just installed it here love my lenovo w520. will install my adobe products in few days and will use it as my main machine

 

Do you game on the laptop? Has in-game performance improved by any significant amount?

 

Yes I did. I overclocked the GPU using EVGA's Precision utility. It was only temporary but the system was stable.

I noticed a strange problem with Windows Live Messenger last night. It kept crashing. Disabling Optimus and switching to Discrete-only in the BIOS eased the problem but Video Calls would lead to a phenomenal crash. I'll try integrated today. This could also be a bug in the nVidia code. I ended up switching to an older Dell Studio XPS 13 laptop with the older kind of Optimus and everything worked. I have to say this newer Optimus has been a major headache.

No, I don't game. I was mainly interested in seeing if the Quadro 2000M could run at Geforce 460M speeds. It can. I also suspect that if I benchmarked it that I would have gotten similar results. The one thing to worry about is that the Quadro 2000M is soldered onto the motherboard so if you fry it then I expect a costly repair.

 

Yeah, this is quite annoying...who knew operating off of battery power would work better than AC. I'm wondering if this has something to do with the Intel HD drivers as I've installed the ones through Windows Update instead of the ones provided by Lenovo.

 

yeah, I've noticed this as well. When I run hwinfo, all cores are clocked down when on better and they stay down when I plug in AC. The only way I can get all my cores operating at full speed is through a reboot. kind of annoying but it doesn't come into play that often for me.

 

That's a very interesting review, especially for me, the part about video conversion using the capabilities of the Sandy Bridge CPU vs. the Nvidia GPU CUDA processing, speed and overall CPU utilization rates.