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

Thank you so much for the detailed guide!!! :0

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk 2

 

For those who've been asking about what precisely Enhancd Experience does (especially if you're doing a clean install), these two links seem to be a helpful answer:

http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/ee3
Adding a New Kick to the Secret Sauce: Lenovo

From quotes such as these:

and

it appears that EE was designed for rotational HDDs in mind (much like the Active Protection System), trying to replicate features that bring them closer to SSDs. It also is not a single software package, but a set of improvements across multiple programs:

So in summary, EE3 is not a single piece of software, but a series of improvements dispersed across multiple elements of the system (BIOS, drivers), along with a few legitimately independent Lenovo processes that are active at runtime.

BIOS and driver improvements should (in principle) be present even for those performing a clean install, while the runtime processes perform functions that help speed up HDDs, and thus may be dispensed with for those using an SSD.

 

I'm going to do a clean install of a different version of Windows 7 on my T420s that had an OEM Windows 7. But after the clean install, is it possible to get the ThinkPad-themed welcoming screen (i.e., the black background with a "Think" logo at bottom right, when starting Windows 7 and selecting users to enter) and all those wallpapers that come with the OEM installation? I kind of like the Thinkpad theme.

Thanks.

 

The "black Think" login image and "blue Think" desktop image can be found here.

 

Thanks. I realized I can as well just copy them from my current OEM installation (into a flash disk) and put them back to the right places after the clean install.

 

True, if you still have the OEM installation. Those two images are in:

C:\ProgramData\Lenovo\Themes\Wallpaper_think

 

I bought an I7 2.7 X220 last summer with an Ultrabase3 w/DVD, adding 16GB memory and a 256gb Samsung 830 SSD. This week I installed a Crucial 256gb mSATA SSD and I'd like to do a clean install on the is HD. Hearst, is there somewhere else, other than this thread on this forum, where I could find a copy of your clean install instructions? Might they be available as a PDF somewhere? I landed here only recently (though I've worked with computer hardware for 25 years), and the right side of each instruction screen is not viewable. My monitor's resolution is maxxed out (1920 x 1080) and I cannot increased viewability of the instruction screens by increasing screen resolution.

This is a great thread and I'm learning a lot from the back-and-forth. I have the Win7 Pro Lenovo reinstall disks, so now I would like to be able to follow Hearst's thinking without having to guess about what is written on the right that no one can now see.

Thanks so much.

Doug

X220 I7
T61 T9300, purchased August 2008 (Win7 Pro 32 now, a bit slow but trusted and true)

 

While Google is your friend, I'm being a better friend. Check here (Hearst's reference to PDF), here (PDF download) and here (easier-to-read HTML).

If you were talking about the Lenovo Factory Recovery discs, you can use them to "restore" the factory Windows 7 image onto the new SSD.

 

(duplicate)

 

Wanted to ask people's advice on the following Lenovo software. I know people like the Power Manager, and Hearst said he likes to install the Hotkeys (aka On Screen Display). Let's discuss the merits or lack thereof of other software:

What do people think of the Password Manager, or what other password manager is used instead? Why use a third-party if a Lenovo one can be had?

What about the Fingerprint Software 5.9.x? Seems pretty useful, but I've seen flashier software out there. What do people use and why choose that over the already existing (not to mention free and 100% paid-for) in-house solution?

And finally, I've been taking a look at Lenovo's XP Mode, and what's very interesting about it is that it comes with a built-in license, unlike stock XP Modes, which require a separate license for activation. Am I missing something or is that a huge advantage that is not to be given up?

 

Separate license for activation? Not true.

Lenovo's XP Mode offer (free CTO option) is a great convenience as you don't need to download Microsoft Virtual PC and XP Mode, and install them. (Takes about 15 minutes.) No separate license for activation.

 

Hmm, whenever I installed the stock XP Mode, it always required me to provide a license, as if for a fresh activation. That's why I liked Lenovo's, which didn't.

 

Done it more than once, on ThinkPads and on other brands of notebooks as well as on home-built computers. Never asked for license. License for what? Windows XP itself? Be serious now.

Make sure you're running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate.

 

That's probably where my experience went different. I used the Home edition when testing out the XP mode, and at the end of a long process, this virtualized XP installation required a license key after a 30-day period, as if it were a clean installation onto a blank hard drive.

 

Well, that's totally fair. It's your problem and not the general situation. Microsoft clearly states: Make sure you're running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate.

When you do CTO, Lenovo never shows the XP Mode option when Windows 7 Home Premium is being selected. The customer must bump up to Professional. Please note this carefully.

 

Hearst, I ran into a problem installing the driver on t430s: when I copy the f6 floppy files onto the USB and then point a clean installation of Windows to that folder, it can't find anything there thats compatible with my system. I have to uncheck the 'hide things incompatible with your hardware' option, manually pick the Intel series 7 chipset (I have i7). Any idea why automatic detection won't work?

Also, I am wondering why we are installing the RAID alternative, and not the AHCI one?

 

The RST drivers worked fine when I tried it on my T420 and they are AHCI drivers. But if you're having trouble then alternatively you can use the RST drivers available on the Lenovo Support site.

 

The Intel website is really badly designed for software distribution. Could someone explain the difference between these two versions of the Intel RST driver?

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...g&OSVersion=Windows 7 (64-bit)*&DownloadType=

and

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...rapid+Storage+Technology+(Intel+RST)&lang=eng

Both are the latest driver (11.6.0.1030). The second of the two drivers is the one recommended by everyone, but most Thinkpads are configured as AHCI rather than RAID, and the second driver has this in its description:

"Purpose: Installs the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (RAID) driver version 11.6.0.1030."

 

Will you be doing a windows 8 version? There doesnt seems to be any recovery app in the control panel. . Or on the computer.

 

Hi Hearst,

It looks like the link to the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver in the beginning of your guide is lost. Is "f6flpy-x64.zip" on http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?ProductID=2101&DwnldID=21852&lang=eng&iid=dc_rss the file needed to install a 64-bit Windows 7? Thanks very much.

 

I'm trying to install Windows 7 over windows 8 and this is what I get when I press f12 and enter at optical drive boot. .



And when I try to manually boot into windows 7 CD it just skips and boot into windows 8 ...

Unable to install thru windows too. .

Sent from my One V using Tapatalk 2

 

Yes that file should work fine in place, I just tried those drivers a few days ago and it was all good.

Secure Boot is a new feature added by Lenovo specifically for the Windows 8 OS but it can add some unnecessary headaches along the way. I'm pretty sure you can disable this feature so you can boot to other OS', there's a guide here on showing how to disable it from the BIOS.

 

Okay. So my plan is configure bios for boot from CD.

Wipe everything. Install windows 7. Install think vantage 4.0 from lenovo website. Let think vantage do its job.

I'm on windows 8 currently. . Is it adviceable?

Sent from my One V using Tapatalk 2

 

Create the factory recovery discs so that you can restore back to Lenovo Windows 8 if necessary.

You plan to replace the stock HDD by a SSD anyway. So, instead of "wiping out everything," do the fresh Windows 7 install on the new SSD.

(Wondering why you ordered your T430 with Windows 8. You could have opted for Windows 7.)

 

No such software on windows 8 to create recovery disk.. have been searching since I got it.

The original plan was to get the windows 8 key as I already have a windows 7 key.... I am now regretting that decision..

Source for no recovery disc software http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-Edge-S-series/Windows-8-How-can-I-Rescue-and-Recover/td-p/544687

Sent from my One V using Tapatalk 2

 

"Create Recovery Media" is a Lenovo application. It would be a huge omission if Lenovo did not supply that application in the Lenovo Windows 8 image for your T430.

Why don't you read the T430 User Guide, page 63.

 

I skimmed through there is no recovery guide for windows 8. The PDF is not well updated. At most partially update for windows 8...

On page 66 it says to run think vantage. The thing Is there I not a trace of think vantage. There is another software but there is no option for recovery medium creation or even recovery and rescue.

Also I couldn't even find swtools...

Sent from my One V using Tapatalk 2

 

I wrote: page 63.



In any event, if you don't really care about Windows 8 and are able to install Windows 7, you can skip creating recovery discs.

----------------------------

On Windows 8, please try this: Open the Charms section > Search > type "Create a Recovery Drive" (under "Settings") which starts up the Recovery Media Creator. Click the "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive" option and copy onto a 16GB USB flash drive. Keep it just in case you ever want to restore to Lenovo factory image.

 

You are godsend. I will try asaic. Would a 8gb thumb drive work??

Actually I did trying that searching recovery in charms. But no results. I will try the whole create a recovery media later... thanks again.

Windows 8 is not booting up and windows 7 is stuck at windows is starting. Haha. Though I found out that there is a new function whereby you can reset windows 8 and you will get a clean windows. Which is what I welcome too. Haha will update when it is done

Sent from my One V using Tapatalk 2

 

I've just done a clean install on my x220 with a new SSD, and I've run into some... oddities... with Lenovo System Update:

- I read somewhere that Lenovo System Update will keep a list of updates you've made, but on my machine it doesn't track driver installs. It lists the 4 Win7 updates that it's done, but nothing else. Is that normal?

- And on the topic of those Win7 updates, a quick look at the driver download page on the Lenovo website shows 16 updates under the Windows Update section, not just 4 as Lenovo System Update reports. Do I need to manually download and install them one by one?

- System Update also skipped the monitor file for my screen. Sure I can install that myself, but I'm wondering what else it missed.

- System Update offered to update my BIOS to 1.33, which went OK. But seems the latest version is 1.36. Huh?

So, anyone else had experiences like this, or is something wonky with my setup?

Since I haven't installed much anything on my x220 yet, let alone started using it, I'm thinking of just reinstalling everything and manually downloading and installing the drivers. Can I remove the folder that the drivers will extract themselves to on my hard drive when they've finished installing?

 

Is anyone using Win8? How do you like it vs. Win7? Is there going to be any Win8 installation guide, Hearst?

 

You'll have opinions of those who will either love it or hate it so the best way to gauge Windows 8 is to try it out and see for yourself. I tend to be quite terrible adapting on new products so unsurprisingly I struggled badly with Windows 8 and stuck with Windows 7 in the end.

The installation process is not that much different from Windows 7 to be honest, only some of the drivers are slightly different. It's also worth noting that some Lenovo apps such as the Power Manager don't work properly as it should under Windows 8 for the time being.

Yes you can safely remove the drivers folder once you have already installed the drivers, though I would normally store these drivers on an USB flash drive rather than just deleting them just in case.

 

Which stock drivers did you install and which custom drivers do you use? I think my current Win7 install has the custom Dolby and touchpad drivers from NBR but can't remember exactly where I got the touchpad ones. I downloaded the newest stock drivers from Intel (RST, chipset, iGPU, LAN, WLAN) and nVidia (dGPU and will have eGPU when I set it up). Have the Lenovo BT, webcam, card reader, and power manager. I don't use the fingerprint reader, WiDi, etc. So didn't bother installing them. What other software/drivers do you use?

 

The Non-Stock/Generic Drivers I use are:

- Dolby Home Theatre v4 Sound Drivers.
- Intel Wireless Drivers (via Device Manager).
- Intel Rapid Storage Technology AHCI Drivers (no additional software when preloaded during Windows installation).
- Touchpad - I'm a Trackpoint user so I didn't bother with the Synaptics driver.

For the rest I just use Lenovo drivers and the system has been relatively stable and trouble free. My ThinkPad system was deliberately configured to be quite basic (no webcam, fingerprint etc.) as I don't really use such features personally and saves me time from installing the extra drivers in which I won't use. I do know that some Touchpad users use the " Two Finger Scroll" for improved scrolling gesture responses so it could be worth having.

 

Ahh yes, that's the driver I used for my touchpad! Hey Hearst, what do you use WiDi for? Also, do you use Optimus? Do you have to use the Lenovo drivers to get that to work or have you tried the latest nVidia drivers?

 

I've done a clean install of Windows 7 Pro on my ThinkPad T420s. I deleted all the partitions from the factory installation. I also just finished running the Lenovo system update, followed by Windows update. It appears all device drivers have been properly installed.

But it looks like Lenovo site does not provide the download for the so called Lenovo Enhanced Experience, which came with my initial factory installation though. I'm not sure whether the Lenovo Enhanced Experience (including RapidBoot and some other things) will actually speed up my system a lot, but I was wondering if it is possible to get it from somewhere after I removed all the original disk partitions and did a clean install. Thanks.

 

I wouldn't get too worked up about Lenovo Enhanced Experience, from my research it didn't seem to provide any performance advantages compared to a Clean Installation on the same SSD drive. In fact it performed a lot worse on average overall, you can read up more about it here.

Wi-Di is a feature when you can connect your notebook to your external TV wirelessly, no need for Displayport to HDMI cables and such. However you will need a special adapter for this feature to work as it's a non-standard feature for most TV's on the market, I yet to try out this implementation myself.

I can't comment much on Optimus as I just have the Intel HD Graphics on mine, but you could consider on the latest "Verde" drivers from NVIDIA which may offer better graphics performance to certain applications and games too if you into that stuff. Otherwise if stability is key then you may want to stick with the Lenovo optimised drivers for your system.

 

Lenovo Enhanced Experience fine-tunings (caching/pre-loading tricks, etc.) become irrelevant when stock HDD is replaced by SSD.

 

I totally misread your previous post to be Intel WiDi instead of what you wrote (Intel wireless drivers) lol. Going to try Windows 8 today after I back up my computer.

 

First of all I'd like to thank you Hearst for writing such a great step-by-step guide. I noticed that some download links on the guide were written a few months ago, so as part of my clean install I'm trying to get the latest drivers. However, I'm a bit confused which one should I download for the Intel RST driver.

I found two identical version of drivers:
RAID: Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Driver for Intel Desktop Boards
AHCI: Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Driver for Intel Desktop Boards

For your information, I use X230 and plan to install Windows 7 64-bit on my Crucial mSATA SSD. I'm guessing that I should download the AHCI driver, not because I have an understanding of those two, but because on the description of the RAID driver is written "The driver should be installed after the operating system has been installed". In your guide it is recommended to install the driver prior to the OS installation. Am I on the right path?

 

This guide's been terribly helpful! Quick tip: Win7 appears to need an external DVD drive to be plugged in to a USB2.0 port. Somewhere in the thread someone mentioned plugging a USB drive into a 2.0 port, but worth noting that it also applies to DVDs (perhaps duh).

 

Guys, I'd appreciate some help with the following:

- clean installation, both from DVD and USB stick media breaks just past the 'install' button, with a message 'drivers not found'

I have tried unplug/plug back the drive as someone suggested to no avail, the installer just looses sight of the usb-connected dvd/usb

Is there a tweak in bios that I may be missing?

thanks,
-igor

 

If you're using a USB 3.0 connector, try switching to 2.0. Curious that it's also not working via DVD. Where did you get your copy of Windows? Does the computer currently have an OS and can you get a Linux LiveCD to boot?

 

I am able to install linux distro with no issues, i tried out of curiousity both usb and dvd installs.
its just windows7 that craps out, and I did try both usb ports with no success.

I tried with multiple images of windows 7, one from an official disk with SP1, and one downloaded from digital river with the same result.

I really suspect there is something in the bios blocking... Last resort would be pulling the hd out and plugging it in another pc just to get the image installed

 

Do you have another HD you could try?

 

What model ThinkPad is this? Did it ship with Windows 8? Did you disable Safe Boot?

 

Did you figure this out? I'm about to embark on this project and I'm not sure what to do either. Thanks.

 

See if these two posts help:

1. http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...talling-windows-7-thinkpad-5.html#post8705625
2. http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...alling-windows-7-thinkpad-12.html#post8820807

 

Hearst,
Sounds do-able. Thanks for the clearly enunciated plan. I'll let you know how it turns out.
AstroMonkey