Lenovo W520 Owner's Thread

I use VGA everyday to a LCD panel with a native res of 1920x1200. No issues there.

 

Ok, I tried that and received:
"Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date"

Still, I receive the message:
Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)

Can you think of anything else to try? In my old XP days I simply deleted the device in the device manager and rebooted and it fixed it (which I tried) but perhaps there is something else? This is my first Windows 7 machine, so I am pretty 'green' here....

 

Did you follow this procedure to update the driver?

1) Goto Device Manager
2) Right click the device with issues and select "Update Driver Software"
3) Select "Browser my computer for driver software"
4) Select "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer"
5) Click the "Have Disk..." button
6) Point to C:\SWTOOLS and hit OK

Does yield different results?

You can delete the device in the device manager by right clicking the item and selecting Uninstall. After you reboot and it comes up with unknown device use the above technique to locate the driver.


Maybe also download the latest Intel Chipset drivers.

 

I am really new here.... I found a AMT driver engine or something at the Lenovo support page at this link:
Lenovo Support - Intel AMT 7.1 Management Engine Firmware for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), XP (32-bit, 64-bit) - ThinkPad

Is this what you mean by a 'chipet driver' from Intel?

 

Under the unknown device general tab it says it is located at:
Port_#0006.Hub_#0003 Does that help narrow it down?

 

Ok, I figured out my W520 lost it's bluetooth... That must be the unknown device.... When I tried to install the updated bluetooth driver it said something like this device does not exist or something.... so how do you lose your bluetooth and perhaps better, how do you find it?

 

I read somewhere that the fhd display on the W520 is identical to the fhd display on the Dell XPS 15, except that the former is matte while the latter is glossy. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks.

 

Oh, wow, I don't know if it's the new BIOS + EC firmware that did it, but, my W520 boots in 45 seconds with the factory image + some more stuff I installed. Yes, this is with the 320GB 7200 RPM HDD.

 

Another review:

Lenovo ThinkPad W520 (428426M) - reviews - Notebooks - Performance - PC World Australia

 

looks like the bluetooth update is gone!

 

Did you turn off your bluetooth? If you have your hotkeys enabled, hit FN+F5 and make sure your bluetooth is on. Once it's on, your comp should detect it.

 

sorry i meant on lenovo's update. i loaded it last week and it crashed my drive so i had to rebuild everything. a few minutes ago when i ran update drivers it didn't show up. hopefully lenovo pulled it and will fix the problem. i'm running the old drivers with no problem. the upside is i did upgrade the firmware on my vertex 3 before i reinstalled the os on my drive.

 

I have decided on the Intel 510 series SSD. Somewhere I read that SSD's should not get too "loaded-up".

 

Thanks Drunkenmonkey! I did somehow have my bluetooth turned off. Using the Function + F5 turned it back on.... I tried to install the driver from SWTools folder but it did not work. When I went out to the Lenovo site last night the link was there, but the file was apparently missing? I will check later today! Thanks again!

 

I just read in this review that you can turn on the computer with the fingerprint reader. Is there some way to disable this to keep the battery from slowly being drained? A few years ago I had to dump a new HP because it was always slightly "on".

 

In the Lenovo fingerprint software you can choose whether it's enabled or disabled for power on. It does use a little power when enabled. I disabled mine however allowed it to do power on authentication. So it's disabled until you hit the power button basically. This works without any power drain.

 

Thankfully you can turn off the FP power-on feature in the BIOS as I notice it is responsible for making a high pitched noise when the laptop is turned off.

 

I am thinking of ordering this computer with a 500Gb HD. Exactly what is shipped?

I am also going to order memory, SSD, etc from Newegg. I am wondering if I should also order a Sata 6.0 disk to use for backup storage if the stock drive is only Sata 3.0.

 

I believe that all current HDDs shipped by Lenovo are 3.0Gbps, and are a mix of brands.

 

Not sure what I did right! But, after restoring the computer - turning on the bluetooth (Function + F5 - thank for this advice!) deleting the old Bluetooth software in the add/delete, dowloading the newer driver (it is available now) and installing and then having having the toolbox update my drivers again (which included a AMT update), and rebooting the error is gone! Not sure what it was, but wanted to thank EVERYONE for helping this newbie.

I have learned so much from all of you! For example, after receiving my machine you taught me how to look inside for the existing RAM and I ordered 3 more sticks of Samsung from Amazon to match. I think I will even be able to install it now! Ha, how's that!

I am still tempted to purchase a SSD, but think I'll wait until a) I have more courage, b) I have more money, and c) you all figure out the 510 warm boot issue! I will keep reading! Thanks again!

 

page 2: "... the W520 (428426M) weighs over 2.8kg; that's without its huge power brick, which adds to the weight considerably and makes it a chore to lug around. Luckily a slim, 170W power adapter is offered."

I want one! Where do I get it?

 

Lenovo & Intel, are you listening?

 

I seriously doubt we'll hear anything from Lenovo or Intel on this issue until there is a repro and fix.

 

Glad you have everything up and running to your liking.

If you don't feel a strong need for an SSD right now, I'd wait as the SATA 3 SSDs are still technically not certified by Lenovo (if you purchase an SSD from them, they are still shipping older gen SSD).

Also, I can't remember where I saw it but there should be newer SATA 3 SSDs coming out later this year (fall I believe) too which presumably will have better performance than the first generation SATA 3s.

The main reason I got an SSD when I got my laptop is because I didn't want to deal with migrating my OS and data once I've been using my comp for a while.

 

I was thinking about the warm reboot issue and from what I've read, it's caused by the Lenovo Active protection. Is there a way to turn this off anywhere? I'm assuming it would be in the BIOS but I don't recall seeing it anywhere.

 

the lpm registry fix works. i'm running a vertex 3 240gb drive without issues. i made the registry change and that fixed it. you'll find the info in one of my prior posts that will link you to the proper fix. good luck.

 

Thanks! The reason I want a SSD is for the speed! I would love to have a fast boot and just forget about hibernating!

 

To fix IE9 64-bit not opening issue. APPCRASH.

Go To HKCU\Software\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\Main

- Add a Dword called TabProcGrowth and set its value to 0.

This fixed mine issue on W520.

 

worked for me too!

 

Unfortunately, I also had the win7 os blue screen on the startup after the bluetooth update. This was with the version from today 24th May.
I would suggest to update just in case you really need it, or at least have a recent backup at hand.

I have the operating system on the mSata 80gb from Intel, luckily the applications and rest of data was on the other disk vertex3.

 

Nope. I am not convinced this is the issue either. It might be a symptom but until Lenovo and Intel explain the root cause and fix, I really don't know.

Sure would be nice if Active Protection appeared in a new BIOS and turning it off fixed the issue. But don't hold your breath unless you look good in blue.

 

You can turn Active Protection off in Lenovo ThinkVantage Tools --> Airbag Protection, but since the ThinkVantage Active Protection Diagnostics is in the BIOS, it would need to be turned off there. I could not find any way to do this.

 

As far as I understand, the LPM (Link Power Management) registry fix is designed to resolve Disk Freeze-ups in Windows 7 for SSDs that do not support Link Power Management (Crucial C300, Vertex 3). Solution: C300 Disk Freeze-ups in Windows 7 solved... - Crucial Community
Was it a freezing issue the registry hack fixed for you?

 

it was. before i tried it i backed everything up and the changed the registry. i haven't had a freeze up since. i was suprised that the ocz drive was freezing and the registry fix seemed too easy but it worked. i fixed it before i made the post and have had no problems since. before it happened so often i was going to return the drive and try another one.

 

Just in case if anyone looking for a right size ultra bay caddy for W520 - I think this should be a good fit from newmodeus. I have used them before for my HP laptop and going to get one for my W520 as well. Its a 12.7''mm and also seems the fit it complete with no gaps I can see in the picture.

I already got one from ebay which states 12.7" but still there is a slight gap on the bottom of the right corner. I hope this one fits good!

Link:
2nd HDD or SSD Caddy - Lenovo ThinkPad W510, W520 and T510 [TP-W510-T510] - $46.75 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

 

The eject mechanism on that particular caddy would come in handy, it can be a bit of a pain sometimes trying to eject some unofficial Ultrabay Caddies by simulataneously holding the unlock switch and feeding the caddy out.

 

Hey,

I've been thinking about getting a W520.
What do you think about the following configuration?

The total cost would be $1832.74. A little bit pricy, don't you think?
Is there a way to get it cheaper?

And would you recommend the W520 based on your experiences? I tried to skim through this thread to find information about the 1000m/2000m but I must have missed a postings somewhere. Can you guys give me some information please?

Thank you very much! I appreciate it!

Greetings,
Speedies

 

I guess that's a mistake ......as far as I have seen on the web there is only an 90W Slim adapter.

 

I was looking at the customize your computer page and found it listed in Accessories>Power Accessories, part number 0A36227

 

Lenovo - Laptop and desktop - Batteries & Power 0A36227 (US)

I think that is the large size adapter:
Depth Metric 170 mm Height Metric 35 mm
Height US 1.38 in
Weight Metric[2] 0.77 Kg Weight US[2] 1.70 lbs
Width Metric 80 mm Width US 3.15 in

 

Quick follow-up... I got a call from a Kingston engineer about the Windows 7 SP1 sleep issues when filling all 4 slots with HyperX 1866 Mhz RAM. He apparently said they weren't able to resolve the issue and offered me a refund or an exchange. I informed him that Lenovo has released BIOS version 1.25 (or 1.24, whatever) that claims to fix a memory problem but it would be nice if Kingston could test it. In my informal testing, the BIOS update resolved the issue for me on a clean install.

The current recommendation from Kingston is that if all 4 slots must be filled then 1600Mhz is the fastest configuration supported by Kingston in the W520. If filling 3 slots or less then 1866Mhz RAM and sleep worked fine. Another option is to fill the system with 3 1866Mhz DIMMs and keep the factory DIMM so the system will clock down to a slower speed but this only makes sense for people that already purchased the more expensive 1866Mhz parts.

Hopefully, 1866Mhz RAM will be officially supported once the BIOS updated is tested. Otherwise, 1866Mhz RAM owners have the option to call Kingston and ask for either a refund or an exchange.

* EDIT *

One more follow-up... I called Lenovo Support a few days ago about a rising Reallocated Event Count on my RAID'd Seagate Momentus 320GB drives. They sent 2 new Hitachi drives as replacements. I'm very happy because 1) they're completely new and 2) the Hitachi drives are far more reliable.

 

Be sure to check out the coupon links, even within the Lenovo website. They have an upgrade coupon (USPTHINK520, good through 26 May) which will bump the HD up to 500GB, all for $1,642.55 before tax.

I don't know whether you have access to the shareholder purchasing program or any other discount links, but if so, you should be able to improve on even this quote. Also can try to get something better by speaking to a sales rep after saving your cart, but personally, I haven't had any luck there...
Good luck!

(Also, you might consider switching the memory option to single DIMM, so that when you upgrade, you can still use the one that came with it.)

 

Thank you for your answer!
Unfortunately, I don't have acces to the shareholder program but what other programs are out there? Maybe I qualify for another one.

Do you know how great the difference between the 1000m and the 2000m is?

 

if you use visa you can go to their website then go to discounts, computers, lenovo and you get a discount that way.

 

Theoretically, the 2000M is twice as capable as the 1000M. However, even with the 1000M I can play SCII on 1600x900 ultra without lag. As well, my 3DMark06 mark is like 9200-ish.

 

I don't see "discounts" on their website. Where is it at?
How much discount do you get using visa?

Do you guys use this laptop for gaming or more for business and engineering stuff?

 

I'm not a huge gamer, I just tried out a couple of games because people asked me to test out the performance of the 1000M. I will be using this laptop for engineering stuff primarily, but it is nice to know that it can handle games when I want to game.

 

I'm wondering if it might be wrong to use this laptop as a multimedia laptop.
My primarily use of that laptop would be gaming, multimedia, adobe, converting/editing HD videos.

 

Not wrong per se, but there may be cheaper alternatives if you don't absolutely need the build quality and durability of a ThinkPad. I got my W520 because it was on sale and I wanted a laptop with a traditional keyboard or a Lenovo style chiclet, a matte screen with something higher than 1366x768, and no glossy surfaces period. I also liked the fact that ThinkPads are semi-rugged and have a good reputation, so it'll likely last me 4 ~ 5 years. The battery life is great too.

 

Has anyone noticed a pulsating brightness level on their LCD screen? Mine changes very slowly (about a couple minutes between peaks and valleys) but it is enough that it really bothers me. Also, at one point it looked like the gamma settings on the LCD changed. It was quite strange.

I also noticed that the brightness rams up on white-background windows but ramps down on dark background windows. I had someone else verify that I'm not nuts. Is this some feature I missed that can be disabled?

I'm currently in Windows 7 SP1, integrated graphics only in the BIOS, running the latest Intel video drivers, running default Lenovo color profile, on battery, power manager is exactly in the "middle" of the slider, battery stretch is off.

Any thoughts before I call Lenovo support?

EDIT:

LOL I think I figured it out. In the Intel graphics properties page there is an option to enable/disable "Automatic Display Brightness" under "Power Conservation Features" in the "Power" tab. I disabled it. Silly me.

EDIT #2:

Apparently disabling "Automatic Display Brightness" doesn't disable the behavior but it's very reproducible. A white background Word document causes the display brightness to ramp up. A black background Photoshop image causes the display brightness to ramp down. I'm open to any ideas people have.