T410 - Is there a Clean Install Guide?

I went to Lenovo's website and my head hurts lol. It still has that IBM feel to it. I'm tempted to just install SP1, chipset then install Thinkvantage Tookbox followed by System Update 4.1 and let it download everything.

Oh sorry Windows 7 Pro 64.

 

I have a guide for the T420 (see sig), the method should be similar to that of the T410. And it has lots of big eyes, just the way you like it Rodster!

On a serious note I would also download the graphics, wireless/ethernet and SATA driver on to a USB stick as a precaution just in case Windows doesn't know what they're to begin with. If you still have the original factory image then you can gather all the drivers from one folder. Go to the local drive (C), then SWTOOLS then copy the DRIVERS folder on to a USB drive and that should contain all the basic drivers you need for your system.

 

Thanks Hearst

 

Hearst nice writeup. does it matter the order of which drivers you install first? Your guide basically said install the ACHI drivers during the installation, then install everything else from ThinkVantage System Update 4.01

 

Apart from the AHCI driver during install the order of the other drivers shouldn't really matter. Though things such as the graphics and wireless/ethernet drivers are something to address on early should Windows 7 doesn't manage to find it in the first place.

 

Why not use the stock image and modify it to your liking? I prefer the stock Lenovo image, and I just disable the stuff I don't want. For my Z61t's a modified stock image was just as fast as a clean install (XP Professional).

 

What I don't like about the Lenovo image is that it comes along with all the bloatware. I prefer to start from scratch with a clean install. There are some features I probably won't install like Bluetooth. I got all the major drivers and the peripheral stuff i'll let System Update find the rest.

I'm also going to load Linux, haven't decided which distro.

 

What bloatware did you have on your T410? I only had Corel which I promptly removed, and that was it really. Most of it is Lenovo's ThinkVantage software and drivers. They give you an old version of Flash and Adobe Reader X (uninstalled and put on Foxit). Dell business line usually has less pre-installed stuff but they also don't have ThinkVantage toolbox or anything like it.

 

simply run Ubuntu from usb stick, format hdd in gparted during install and here you go. 100% linux support for thinkpad hardware out of the box.

no bloatware, no windows -- you should try

 

Preaching to the choir. I'm the resident Linux Mint fanbois on NBR.

I'm waiting for Kubuntu 11.12, i've read there are nice changes in the upcoming release. Also IMO the best looking distro openSUSE.

 

I just did a clean Win7 install on an X201 (via USB) and the only drivers you will need from Lenovo are those for the wifi card and ethernet card (otherwise you will have no internet connectivity). Once those are installed I just ran System Update 4.01 and picked what I wanted.

 

I used to have suse in 1998 After all didn't like the rpm package system, apt-get suits me the most so I use ubuntu at the moment.

Linux Mint is great as well, KDE for me is too complicated (strangly)