T400 Hard drive/RAM Upgrade Question

Hi,
I finally made up my mind for ordering T400.I was about to place my order with 320gb7200RPM HDD for 185$ extra and 4gb ddr3 Ram upgrade for 110 Extra..until i saw this youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVPt6RODSW4

Now my question is that..

1-Lenovo offers HDD upgrade for T400 till 320gb not 500GB...so is it safe to install 500gb 7200RPM hdd in it.

2-Which HDD Brand is originaly installed in T400...and what brand and model should I purchase..

3-The notebook comes factory installed with windows vista now if i put new HDD then How can I run that originally installed windows is there any way I can copy the exact image of the original windows and put it on new HDD..

4-I am getting 2gb ddr3 from lenovo website for 53$...what is the original brand of Ram installed on lenovo t400?

5-I can do a lot of savings if I do the hdd and Ram upgrade myself

5-Now if i do these upgrades..does this any way effects my 1 year warranty..?

 

1) Yes. No problems. I never figured out why they didn't offer it - it would be overpriced, but some people would likely choose it. Maybe because they don't have deals with the manufacturers.

2) It depends on which drive you ordered. Toshiba, I think.

3) Yes, you could do this with a number of software options, try searching for the forums for "drive image software".

4) I was actually just going to post something asking about this. As I wondered it myself. If you have the option of 1G (in 1 DIMM) that's probably a better deal, as it should only cost $60 or so to buy 2 2G sticks from newegg. If it comes with 2G by default, then you're better off just buying 1 2G stick. -- I'm not sure which manufacturer they use, or if it's even necessary to match, though it can't hurt (anyone know, here?).

5) No, both of those fall under consumer replacable parts, and do not void your warranty, though if the part fails, then you'll have to go elsewhere for support, instead of Lenovo (usually the manufacturer).

 

1) Yes

2i) Could be any brand.

2ii) If you are looking for 500GB 7200rpm drives, there is only one. I am sure you will find it. ^_^

3) Arconis true image (free trial), use the copy function.

4) Np idea sorry.

5) No it will not affect your warranty.

 

I have read somewhere that the "airbag" function for the HDD (protection on falls) is determined by HDD's firmware and is not equal on those you can buy it in a local shop.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Active_Protection_System

4) It is a Samsung brand ram

 

I installed a HDD and RAM by myself into my T400.

I installed a WD Scorpio Blue 500GB 5400rpm and think it runs great. When configuring my T400 I made sure to pay the $8.50 more for the 1 DIMM of 2GB memory and brought a Crucial 2GB chip for right under $30 and installed it myself. Installation for both is extremely simple and you should be able to find several tutorials or just look in your T400 manual when you receive it. To keep vista and everything the exact same you just have to burn yourself a set of recovery CD's (again extremely simple, just takes some time). You just have to enter the recovery partition of your HDD and follow all the on screen steps.

Hope this helps and good luck with your purchase.

 

1.- Yes.

2.- Depends on which hard drive you order, and even the same hard drive option may be one of several HDDs. My particular drive is the 160GB 7200RPM option, and mine is a Hitachi. I know others have gotten a Seagate 160GB 7200RPM with the same option.

3.- Yes. On first boot, go and burn your recovery disks from the recovery partition. Open up My Computer, double-click on the Lenovo (usually Q) partition. You will be prompted to burn a set of disks. First, put in a CD for the first disk, then, you will be prompted to burn 2 DVDs.

4.- $53? That doesn't sound like it's worth it. You can get a 2GB stick of DDR3 SODIMM from Newegg for ~$25. Two would get you a total of 4GB of RAM.

5.- No. Lenovo allows you to replace the HDD and RAM without voiding the warranty.

There is a special chip on the Thinkpad motherboard that has this functionality. Therefore, any hard drive you install will also have the Active Protection functionality.

 

Thanks alot guys for such detailed answers....

 

scorpio for speed, fujitsu for batt. life
I'd get the smallest hdd and 1gb ram and order from newegg and crucial

don't worry about exact image. burn the recovery disks first, then replace the hdd and attempt a full clean install, you'll have factory condition

also, buy an external 2.5"sata enclosure for the hard disk you just removed and use it to back up your data