PatchySan's Guide to Clean Installing Windows 7 on the ThinkPad

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PatchySan's Guide to Clean Installing Windows 7 on the ThinkPad - Preparation Phase​

 

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do you think you could create a pdf version of this for printing. thanks so much!

 

thank you for making this comprehensive guide to clean installing windows 7..
could you possibly add guide to install without system update?
because for some reason such as slow connection or internet quota, i tend to download drivers and compile it before clean install...
what i'd like to know is what drivers and applications should be installed first and in what order...
thanks in advance...

 

While I have a PDF guide it still hasn't had the updated Windows 7 info as found on this guide, I try to update the PDF guide within the week for those who want an offline version.

If you're in a hurry however you can create your own PDF guide by using PDF Printing software such as DoPDF, then select the Printable Version of this online guide as a temporary solution.

You can do it without System Update but it depends on what ThinkPad system you have as it varies on what drivers you need. Older ThinkPad systems tend to require less attention than their newer ones as Windows 7 can pick up certain drivers automatically.

If you still have the original factory installation of Windows 7 then just go to the Local Disk C: drive, SWTOOLS folder then copy the whole DRIVERS folder to a USB Flash Drive as mentioned on this guide. Then when you clean install it, go to the Device Manager and just redirect it to the DRIVERS folder again to clear up the missing drivers without the need of System Update.

As for the Thinkvantage applications, again it depends on what you find useful for you to download manually. I only need Power Manager and Hotkeys Integration so I download those two personally, the rest such as Access Connections and Lenovo Toolbox I tend to live without.

 

Do you know if the BIOS 1.34 update fixes the fingerprint issue or do I still need to use LEGACY mode in BIOS?

 

This is very useful. Thank you much

 

I take it you have the W520, though this has been superseded by BIOS version 1.35 at the time of writing. Reading from the change logs there's no mention of any UEFI fixes related to the Lenovo fingerprint software and there's little report of users finding a fix to this unless you go through some third party workarounds so it's probably best to stick with Legacy mode if you plan to use this feature frequently. Besides the tradeoff to UEFI boot is probably only 1-2 seconds which in real world terms is insignificant.

 

Damn! This is very helpful! Thanks!

 

Thank you Hearst for your response to my question. This tutorial is very helpful and visually appealing. Great job!

The 1-2 seconds I loose in Legacy Mode I will get back using some of the tweaks in (The Windows 7 Optimization Guide) on THE SSD REVIEW site.

 

you do got some serious Photoshop skills here and the contents is also great.

 

Silly question. I have a new W520 and an mSATA on the way. I want to install a fresh copy of Windows 7. I have the recovery partition (obviously) and also have the original Lenovo recovery discs. The licensed OS is Windows 7 Home Premium.

Your Win7 image links contain various versions of the OS. Would my COA code on the W520 license Win7x64 Ultimate without hassle despite the fact that the machine shipped with Home Premium?

Thanks!

 

The COA codes for Windows are version-specific - thus, if the code is for Home Premium, it wouldn't work with Ultimate.

I would suggest that you use ABR to backup your original activation, and download a copy of the Win 7 Home Premium ISO (with SP1). Once your installation is done, restore your activation and you should be good to go!

 

Copy the C:\SWTOOLS folder currently on your main drive to a USB flash drive to facilitate driver installs after Windows has been installed on the mSATA SSD. In Device Manager, right-click on an "unknown" device, select Update Driver, browse to that directory on the USB flash drive, and tell Windows to search the subdirectories for the driver.

Of course, Hearst said all that on the second page.

 

W520 here...

I'm at the Windows install screen. I have the 64-bit Intel RST folder on a USB drive. When I click "load drivers" it isn't recognizing the drive and I keep getting the "No signed device drivers were found. Make sure the installation media contains the correct drivers, and then click OK."

How can I get the Windows install screen to load up the USB stick? All I see when I click browse is C:, D: (DVD), and Boot (X: ).

I could go ahead and do the clean install by skipping the Load Drivers (Intel RST) step...is this advised? I did back up my license on the USB drive.

EDIT: nevermind, tried a different port and unchecked "hide drivers" and re-clicked it. It loaded the USB drive and I'm off to the races now.

 

I just bought a W520 and an SSD. I want to do a clean install. Should I copy the drivers from the SWTools folder? Or should I download the latest drivers from Lenovo website?

 

^^^ It's your choice. A copy of SWTOOLS is perhaps more convenient.

 

^...but, that copy may be slightly more dated depending on when you bought the computer. I download mine.

 

Yeah, but if ...

... then the drivers are "very slightly" dated.

 

I'm not sure how often the drivers in the image are adjusted... I was going to edit my last post to include: By downloading the drivers, it gives me the opportunity to name each driver accordingly including its version number and etc. in the name. That way I know which drivers are current... Just my approach... I think it works pretty well...

 

Where can you find the Lenovo wallpapers and shut down screen? Or did you just back those up? Wanted less bloat but still have the same look...

 

Have a look at this post for the Lenovo logon wallpapers. You can use the Tweaks.com Logon Changer app to easily switch the logon wallpapers if you don't want to go through the registry.

 

Thanks, Hearst.

 

Does the log on/off screen using the same wallpaper? How do you change the background for those?

 

^^^ That OEM background image is for logging on/off and for showing Ctrl-Alt-Del options. (The desktop background is something else.)

 

Ugh thanks, I clearly wasn't reading properly. I backed up my Lenovo wallpapers from the recovery disk I made. I'll probably do a clean install next week when I have some time off. Thanks, Kaso.

 

Sorry maybe I am being dense but I can't seem to find the windows 7 clean instal pdf version as detailed in this thread. Could someone please link me?

 

Here you go.

 

This is a great guide. I am just wondering if this removes Lenovo enhanced experience, since it seems like an awesome feature.

 

It would be nice if someone could answer this question

 

What's the value in the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver? Is it necessary? Are there appreciable performance gains by using it?

Thanks

 

As well as providing additional SATA features such Power Saving Management, TRIM and NCQ (Native Command Queuing) some people report an increase in performance from their SSD's using the Intel Rapid Storage Technology AHCI drivers using benchmark software such as CrystalDiskMark for example. You can opt out of this driver if you want since Microsoft provides an AHCI driver of their own but since there are potential benefits that you can gain from the RST drivers for no extra cost it's something worth having in my opinion.

The main reason why I prefer loading the Intel RST drivers before you install the Windows 7 OS is so that you can bypass the mandatory installation of additional Intel software - ideal for those who want a lean running operating system.

Most likely it will but when I use the stock images it tends to run far more processes than I would've liked (it usually idles around with 75 processes compared to my clean installed image with a couple of things running using 48 processes instead). I'm not sure what Lenovo Enhanced Experience is supposed to do as I found it slower to load applications and do things compared to a clean installed installation because its trying to do too many things at the same time.

I tried uninstalling some apps but could only get it down to around 52 processes, this is before I add my own stuff to the system. Plus i'm not sure whether traces of the old programs such as Corel Disc Burner and others are fully cleaned out from the registry which is why I tend to go for the clean install route.

 

Super-helpful answer. Thanks.

 

Since I have 2x Samsung 830 128GB SSD's (one supposed to go to my desktop for my Steam games but I put that on hold) I decided to try out whether there are benefits using the Lenovo Recovery Discs with application clean up against a Fresh Windows Installation on a SSD. To do this I used an application called BootRacer and ran the boot tests 4 times to get an average, all tests were done with the system plugged in to the AC for maximum performance.

These are the results I had with my T420:

Lenovo Enhanced Experience 2.0 (Stock Configuration):

Nothing tweaked, used right out of the box. Norton Antivirus not installed, MSE took its place instead.

Spoiler

Boot Trace Average Time To Desktop: 45.25 seconds
Number of Processes on Startup: 62 Processes

Lenovo Enhanced Experience 2.0 (Applications Uninstalled, MSConfig Tweaked):

For this test I decided to remove the following applications:

- Adobe Reader 9.4.0
- Bing Bar
- Corel Burn.Now Lenovo Edition
- Corel DVD MovieFactory
- Corel WinDVD
- Intel Identity Protection Technology 1.0.71.0
- Lenovo Auto Scroll Utility
- Lenovo Welcome
- Lenovo Warranty Information
- Lenovo User Guide
- Lenovo Thinkvantage Toolbox
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]
- Message Center Plus
- ThinkPad Full Screen Magnifier
- Thinkvantage Active Protection System
- Thinkvantage Communications Utility
- Windows Live Essentials 2011
- Windows Live Mesh ActiveX Control for Remote Connections

On MSConfig I disabled all the services except:

- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Lenovo Power Manager

Spoiler

To prove i'm not pulling a fast one, this is a brand new 128GB Samsung 830 SSD I'm using for the Lenovo images.

Boot Trace Average Time To Desktop: 46.25 seconds
Number of Processes on Startup: 58 Processes

~ Strangely I found little to no difference on the startup times. It's actually worse on average than before for some reason.

Hearst's Customised Clean Installation:

This is the current installation that i'm using. I didn't need to uninstall things as I had the choice to install applications I wanted from the beginning. On MSConfig I disabled all the services except:

- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Lenovo Power Manager
- Microsoft Gadgets (CPU Meter & Network Meter)
- Dolby Profile Selector

Spoiler

Same but used Samsung 830GB 128GB SSD.

Boot Trace Average Time To Desktop: 14.25 seconds
Number of Processes on Startup: 49 Processes

Results:

According to BootRacer, having a customised fresh install allowed the system to boot to the desktop and loaded all necessary processes nearly 32 seconds faster than the Lenovo Stock Images with "Enhanced Experience" on the same SSD drive. Based on these findings it seems performing a clean installation on a SSD can provide a significant boot performance benefit compared to the standard factory image.

 

Another excellent post (worthy of its own thread). I was always planning on clean installing, but this makes me feel even more justified in going through the admittedly more complicated process.

 

some people have reported longer battery life (and other benefits I cannot recall) with the Lenovo factory image (with EE).

looking at the figures above, clean install should be worth it to me for boot time and # of processes alone.

@lenovo - what are the devilish details hiding in EE? =)

 

First off, huge thanks to Heart for providing this guide. I had absolutely no intentions of doing a fresh install with my new Samsung SSD. I was content to just use the recovery discs. Unfortunately, the recovery media "didn't take", and kept telling me "please insert 3rd disc", even though that's what I was installing... So, I ended up using this guide to do a clean install on my new X230.

It was a little bumpier than expected. It seemed that I was installing/updating random drivers for about a week, but eventually it all worked out. The only thing I'm missing is the "energy saver" profile from Lenovo's power manager? So, I just made my own.

I have quite a few more Lenovo processes installed (power manager, Lenovo update), but I just ran Boot Racer 3 times, and my average was 18 seconds to desktop. I'll take it!

I'm not using the Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers, and my disc performance on crystaldiskmark still seems really good. I did copy the drivers to a thumb drive, so maybe I'll give it a try at some point.

Lastly, I used a regular HD for about a week, and the SSD for about a week. Battery life seems to be about the same, or maybe slightly better with the SSD, even with an additional 1.5V 4GB ram installed--about 5 hours for my usage on the 6 cell (mixed usage, screen on 14). So, I can definitely say that in my case I didn't take a hit on battery life after doing the clean install, and this was definitely a concern for me since I went down to the 6 cell on my X230.

Thanks again!

 

Thank you very much for this excellent guide.

Has the Fingerprint reader problem with UEFI solved? Any workaround found?

from GT-N7000 via Tapatalk 2

 

So, you literally stopped and disabled all the Windows services ? really, what's the point of running a machine with disabled core functionality.. to me it seems absolutely useless unless the goal was to improve the boot time.

 

When I said services I meant the applications that automatically start up every time you log into the desktop such as Messenger, Adobe Reader and others which can prolong boot time. I didn't literally turn off all the critical core services that you get from Services.msc as that would cripple the system.

 

Makes sense then.. thanks for the clarification.

 

Doing a clean install with a W530. Which Intel SATA driver should I use:

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...yword=intel+rapid+storage+technology&lang=eng

or

Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver Windows 7 (64-bit), Vista (64-bit) and XP (64-bit) - ThinkPad

or

Intel Rapid Storage Technology Console with Device Driver for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit) and XP (32-bit, 64-bit) - ThinkPad W510, W520, W530, W701 and W701ds

?

 

Is it necessary to do the "load drivers" step using the Intel RST files if I'm using a brand new Seagate Hybrid 750gig drive?

This is a clean Win7 install on a T520.

Edit: hopefully someone can chime in as I'm sitting at the Win7 install screen, not sure how to proceed. Should I just install without the drivers on my USB stick or use the drivers (it's a Hybrid SSD/platter drive - SATA 6mbps). I don't want to hamper the speed/functionality of this drive...

I went ahead and installed the Intel .inf from the link in the OP and set my BIOS to UEFI Only. Hopefully this was the right choice for this drive.

 

You can use the second link from Lenovo as the AHCI drivers are newer. Just extract contents and copy it on to the USB stick so the Windows installer can pick up the files.

It should be fine, my father's notebook have the Seagate Momentus XT drive with Intel RST drivers loaded and there were no detrimental effect on the drive's performance and functionality.

 

Thanks. Now your comment about the newer drivers on Lenovo's site has me wondering...is there a way to update the drivers once the OS is installed?

 

Ha... it took me about three hours before I realized I had to unscrew the caddy off the original Hard Drive to get the system to recognize my Samsung 830. Seems to be running smoothly now. Thanks so much for this thread, Hearst!

 

Extract the contents of the new RST drivers on the hard drive. On the Device Manager go to "IDE/ATAPI Controllers", right-click on "Intel(R) Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller" and choose "Update Driver Software". Then choose "Browse My Computer For Driver Software" and highlight the RST directory you extracted. Windows should install the new RST drivers in place, you may need to reboot the system for the changes to take effect.

 

I'm really having a hard time trying to decide if I should do a clean install or factory image on my new T430. I have a Samsung 830 256gb SSD and it is sounding like I could get some better performance overall with a clean install. I also don't want to sacrifice battery life though. Any Opinions on clean install vs. Factory image?