T450s Owners Thread

I have used Macrium Reflect many times. I used it to clone a 128 GB ssd to a 256 GB ssd on an Asus UX303LA. As you found, there was about 128 GB unallocated on the clone. And there was a system partition following the OS partition. I simply used Paragon Hard Disk Manager to move the system partition to the end of the un-allocated space, and then expanded the OS partition to use all available space. Everything still works perfectly.

Best regards, Jim

 

I am very interested in the T450s, but I am confused about the disk storage options. It seems that if I get the HDD option with all M.2 slots, I would have a 16 GB M.2 ssd as cache for the HDD and two M.2 slots for adding SSDs.

My lack of understanding: What size is the HDD? I think 2.5 inch, but what is the thickness?

What is the length of the M.2 slots, 42 mm or 80 mm? I believe they SATA?

I was thinking about installing a 256 GB ssd for the OS and programs and using the HDD for data, music, video, etc.

Any insight will be very much appreciated.

Best regards, Jim

 

So what is the difference on the options between "No smart card reader -$10" and "3rd m.2 slot"? Neither of those give you a smart card reader.
I'm leaning towards going with the 500GB & 16GB cache, so i can delay buying an SSD for a bit unless it feels slow out of the box.

 

I think you get the smart card reader by default unless you click "no smart card reader".

Jim

 

I decided to cancel my order and wait for the next round of laptops. m.2 pciex4 and nvme seem to be non trivial improvements and worth waiting for (the work I do is very IO intensive). Will have to make do with my current laptop until then.

 

It happens when I play music no matter the source. I've heard crackling and choppy audio in WinAMP and in Chrome when listening to music on Soundcloud. I don't think my headphones are the problem as I don't have this problem with my other laptop. The choppiness only lasts a few seconds, but it's quite irritating. At first I thought it was the power profile, but I still experience this when running on AC with the high performance profile. I just turned off Dolby so we'll see if this is the culprit soon enough.

 

So I have a question for the T450s owners out there that have tried to upgrade their laptop - is removing the base cover difficult/tricky? I am always wary when watching disassembly videos and seeing those pesky clips...

One video showed a guy using just his nails with ease (a T440), the others I have seen people use spudgers/flat screwdrivers. I bought an i7/1080p base model and already have an SSD + RAM to put in, am just a bit afraid of messing up/breaking something while trying to remove the cover. My outgoing XPS 13 was fairly easy to upgrade - the bottom cover had T5 screws and some fairly loose clips. So my question is... are the clips on the T450s difficult to work with/ can break?

 

It was the scariest just as the crackliest half an hour of my life. In technological terms, the tech behind it is pretty much medieval. Still, somehow I pulled it off with scratches left on my psyche only while none on the cover itself. Good luck.

 

Hello Everyone!

I am a new owner of the T450s, and I have a few questions..

First off, I noticed my machine is missing the windows 8 sticker on the bottom where it usually is located. I know the COA is not included with windows 8 devices now..I am talking about the little authentic windows 8 sticker. I purchased the machine right from Lenovo's webpage.

Secondly, I created a recovery drive on a USB and noticed the option of deleting the partition. I clicked on the link out of curiosity and then hit cancel..did I do anything to my recovery partition?
The reason I'm asking is because this is what I see in disk management...it shows the paritions as 100% free and that makes no sense to me. Could anyone help explain.

Thank you very much!!

 

Not even sure how to post a picture!

Or delete a post I've made lol

Sorry everyone! Anyways, any help would be appreciated!!

 

That's because the key is coded into the BIOS. If you were to re-install with a Windows disc, it would find the key in the BIOS.

I seem to recall seeing empty partitions on my X220, but it's been a while. I haven't actually used a recovery partition since the T4x days, preferring to wipe and re-install when I get a new machine. I say worry about it when it becomes a problem.

 

After turning off Dolby in sound properties, the clicks and audio drop outs have disappeared. So, for anyone experiencing any audio issues, I suggest turning Dolby off.

 

I posted on the lenovo forums, but figured i may as well ask here too: Is anyone else having trouble w/ the intel 7265 wifi on the t450s? It works fine for a while, then just completely stops working for me. Pings to the router barely work, if at all. After a while, it may or may not start working again. So far i've made sure u-apsd is off, power mgmt is off.
My router isn't 802.11ac, and even if buying a new one would help, i'd be worried that anywhere else i go i'd potentially have connectivity problems. Hoping i can find a solution soon, or this thing's going to have to go back.

 

Hey guys,

I am new here. I too bought a T450s which is currently in being assembled. My specs are: i7 5600U, 16gb M2 SSD with 3rd M2 Slot, 1080p IPS display, 500gb HDD, Intel 7265 AC Wifi, 4GB Ram Base + 0 DIMM.

After reading all the posts I have a couple of questions:

1. The 16gb M2 SSD is under the internal battery right? So the 3rd M2 SSD slot is next to the Wifi Card...which takes a 42mm card.

2. I ordered a Samsung 850 Pro SSD to swap out the 500GB Hard drive. I will put the hard drive aside and do a fresh install of Windows 8.1 on the Samsung SSD. I will run this in AHCI mode. No need to switch to legacy mode as the M2 SSD is not a boot drive...am I right?

3. I want to keep the 16GB M2 SSD (as a back-up for drivers, pagefile etc). Its plenty for that. Can I use this drive just for storage if I don't install the cache software?

4. I ordered this ram for my empty DIMM slot:

Kingston Technology 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L (PC3-12800) 1.35V Non-ECC CL11 SODIMM Intel Laptop Memory KVR16LS11/8
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CQ35HBQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for all your help.

 

I am a happy owner of a new T450s for the last week! I absolutely love the keyboard! I got the IPS non-touch screen and it is gorgeous, especially compared to my old ThinkPad.

I retired my ThinkPad T61p after several years of using it just as a desktop as I had problems with it turning on after a shutdown. Had to do the hairdryer trick.

 

Another T450s owner here. I essentially bought the i7 base model and had the RAM + SSD upgrades ready to do myself... until I realized to upgrade requires removing screws as well as dealing with the clips.

One trip to Fry's later, I was up and running. While I grumble a bit about being too scared and having Fry's/Geek Squad/someone else do the upgrades for me, the laptop so far has worked admirably. I did a clean wipe/install, put 8.1 + drivers as a recovery on the 16GB SSD that will go untouched.

The one question I have for you other owners though - mine came with a 45W adapter... I thought they came with 65W? Would getting a 65W adapter charge it faster or would it be harmful? Should I just stick with the stock one?

I have the larger 6 cell battery coming in a few days... but so far 6ish hours of battery life seems to be the norm. The keyboard is great, I love Trackpoint (I missed it so much after selling my T60! But seriously! I wish they included other Trackpoint caps like my T60 did... have to get some off Amazon or something. Soft rim cap is nice.). Screen is great... it isn't quite Apple Retina but I still love it. AND MAN Those SPEAKERS !!! Loud stuff. Stays pretty cool, the fan is a little quieter than the tiny one in my XPS...

 

Hi, so you are using the 16gb SSD as storage only? 65W adapter charges faster...I have it on order too.

 

Yeah, I deleted the partition (it was empty anyway), and loaded the Windows 8.1 image onto it. Added drivers for the Intel WiFi/Gigabit/Lenovo System Update, and that's pretty much it. The rest can be downloaded from System Update.

Good to know. Not sure if going for the 65W will make a big difference...

 

Charging time with 65W is much faster....45W won't fast charge system under load.
http://tips.navas.us/2015/03/thinkpad-t450s-review.html

Back to the 16GB SSD. What do you mean by loaded 8.1 image onto it... You mean you just dumped an ISO image there as backup or is that your bootable OS (that can't be right...16gb is not enough?).

 

Using Microsoft's Image Creator ( http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media), you download the ISO version of the Windows 8.1. From there, you can extract the ISO directly onto the 16GB SSD once you have removed/created the partition. The SSD seems to already be bootable - I have tested booting off the 16GB and it goes into the Windows setup without any issues.

 

I have a couple of questions...I have the i-7 with 8gb...I will be doing financial advising off this machine so office work/outlook but also running Thompson One client (trading platform) and probably into a vpn for my broker dealer...will i see a benefit from 8gb to 12gb? If it were as simple as unscrewing from the bottom to replace i wouldnt be posting but I'm not sure if I see the value to experimenting of opening the machine (for now) for an extra 4gb of ram.

when you go to 12gb does it still run dual channel? how is the overall performance increase?


Has anyone played around with the battery settings? I want the batteries to last as long as possible so I went into power management and since i mostly use it at home or at the office I changed it to let it manage the internal battery (it is going to keep it at %50) and i set a charge when reach 40% and stop charging at %80 is that the highest yield results for battery longevity?

 

From what you are describing I would for sure go with the 12GB. One important thing to note here is that for the T450s the bottom plate not only has screws but also clips. I was too scared to, so I just took it to Best Buy to have them upgrade it. As for battery life, I am getting about 5 hours just doing regular web browsing. If you want the maximum I would suggest upgrading to the 6 cell external battery, which in theory should get you a lot longer battery life.

 

As for the battery not needing maximum time I want the life of the battery to last the longest possible. Id like to see 8gb vs 12gb results. If it loses dual channel mode and if a high end 8gb chip makes a big difference

 

I installed 8GB of RAM in my t450s this weekend. Wow, what a horribly difficult design to work with when opening the case. Once inside, everything is laid out nicely, but opening it was awfully tough. I'll probably get an m.2 or regular SSD in the future, and i'm not looking forward to getting that thing open again. On the bright side, it came out mostly unscathed.


If there's any tests/benchmarks people want on 12GB of RAM, let me know.

 

Good grief...I have had this problem with laptop displays for years (my current HP Folio 13 and even going way back to my Dell XPS M1330) and never knew it was an Intel graphics power management "feature"...I just always thought I had crappy displays, haha.

Thanks so much!! Really looking forward to my new T450s arriving!

 

I recently had my little Acer 11.6" laptop stolen and a friend was kind enough to send me an unused Lenovo T450s as a replacement. It's obviously an enormous upgrade, but a bit dull looking compared to consumer oriented laptops, so I might do a few aesthetic mods to it just to spice it up a bit. Any suggestions from users here on being a new ThinkPad owner?

Specs:

i7 5600U (2.6GHz)
8GB RAM
FHD Non-Touch Display
512GB SSD
Win 8.1 DG to Win 7 Pro

 

Do you remember what your partitons looked like? I have 4 empty partitions for recovery, plus the regular c drive.

I'm assuming the empty partition drives are still necessary for factory resets and such??

Also, I'm very new with this so I apologize in advance. But what do you guys mean by wiping and loading an image? Is this recommended? What happens to these recovery partitions in that case?

Thank you!!

 

I am considering the ultra dock for this unit...did you all go with the 90w ultra or the 170w? and why? I plan on running two monitors

 

You could blacken up the Lenovo logo Otherwise it's perfect as it is.

 

They make skins for notebooks. I'm not sure if they still are.

 

Can you tell me how to buy thinkpad compatible ram? I heard they whitelist the compatible hardware parts.

 

Go to Crucial.com and use the memory configurator. It will tell you which type of memory to get. I usually find the best deals going with used memory on eBay. ThinkPads used to be picky about memory back in the day, but that's no longer the case.

 

any one notice throttling on their i5-52ooU processor.

Reviews like here show throttling for this process on L450. Does the i5-5200U sustain the turbo boost full time or throttles down? i5-5600U does not seem to have this issue as shown here in T450s

 

Regarding warranty, how do I get International warranty service, I dont see this even though its mentioned in product specification

Limited warranty12 One of the following, confi gurable by model:
• 1-year depot repair service
• 3-year/1-yr battery depot repair service
• 3-year/1-yr battery limited onsite service
• 3-year/1-yr battery limited onsite service, IWS (International Warranty Service)

 

Paint an apple on the cover and add some slick gel to it. Play Britney Spears.

 

I have been watching the T450s on the Lenovo site for a while. I have been disappointed with the current Yoga models build quality and battery life. The T450s looked like a great option, except for the $1,439.10 price tag for the configuration I want (i5-5200, 8 GB ram, 256 GB ssd, 1920 x 1080 touch screen). Lenovo hasn't been inclined to offer any discounts from that high price.

Well, I have quit checking the T450s price because I have found an alternative that, for me. is a better option than the T450s. It is the HP Spectre x360. It has the same specs as the T450s except it is a 13.3 inch screen, has a 56 Wh battery, has a Yoga style 360 degree screen and gets 10 hours of battery life in real world use. The build quality is excellent, much better than the current Yoga models and probably as good or better than the T450s. And, the price is $999.99 with a small discount possible with telephone orders and a little negotiation. (I got $50.00 off.)

Regards, Jim

 

Love x360 styling but I just need a lot more storage. Right now it is between t450s an w550s. Congrats on your laptop Jim.

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, the x360 tops out at 512 GB ssd, no large HDD option.

Regards, Jim

 

Hi,

I'm starting business school in September and I'm thinking of picking up the T450s as my b-school laptop. I would like to pick up the configuration shown below and then swap out the HDD for a 250GB SSD for additional storage. Any suggestions on the best way to go about it? I'm a newbie and will be taking the laptop to a neighborhood store for the modifications.

Is this config okay?

• Intel Core i5-5200U Processor (3MB Cache, up to 2.70GHz)
• Windows 8.1 Pro 64
• Windows 8.1 Pro 64 - English
• 14.0" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS with WWAN
• 720p HD Camera
• Intel HD Graphics 5500
• Security Chip Enabled
• 8G 4G Base + 4G (1 SoDIMM)
• Keyboard Backlit - US English
• 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm, 2.5"
• 16GB M.2 Solid State Drive Single
• 3rd M.2 SSD slot
• ThinkPad Battery 3 cell Li-Ion (23.2Whr) Front
• ThinkPad Battery 3 cell Li-Ion (23.2Whr) Rear
• Country Pack 45W AC adapter United States (2pin)
• Intel 7265 AC/B/G/N Dual Band Wireless + Bluetooth Version 4.0
• Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
• Publication - US English
• 1 Year Depot or Carry-in

Thanks

 

Buy a small, like 128GB, M.2 SSD to put the OS on so it'll be speedy, then keep the platter drive in the main bay for storage, where speed is no as critical. Good luck and welcome to NBR.

 

Thanks.

I'll remove the extra 4GB SoDIMM from the config and then put in a 8GB later on. And swap the 16GB M.2 SSD for a 128GB M.2 SSD, which still leaves me a 3rd M.2 slot vacant, right?

Appreciate the help.

 

The adaptive display brightness problem is back, and now it's occurring even when plugged in. Does anyone know how to disable it? For those who don't know, the screen changes brightness depending on the color of the application on the screen. The transition can be seen easiest when transitioning between applications with black and white backgrounds.

 

So I decided to return my T550 for a T450s. I had initially had a T440s and sold it to get the larger model but wasn't happy with issues in replacement IPS panels for it. I found a refurbished unit of the T450s on the Lenovo outlet for $544 with tax. It was the i5-5200u, FHD IPS, 4GB RAM and 500 GB Hard Drive, pretty much all stock, however without the FPR. Is this good enough to jump on or do you think it's worth waiting?

 

You can turn off adaptive brightness by clicking the battery icon on the bottom right, more power options, change plan settings for the power plan you are in, change advanced power settings, go to display and disable adaptive brightness.

 

You would have a third as long as you have the adapter for the module. Certain builds may or may not have it depending on the initial configuration that you got. It is under the internal battery pack.

 

This is already turned off.

 

I've only seen units for $700-850 for FHD... when was it $544? I can't find any. I would have jumped on that.

 

It must have been one of their random prices. I was really surprised to find it that low as well. I did receive it, and am happy with it overall, just bummed it didn't have a fingerprint reader. But for the price I'm sure that I can live without it.

 

So I am having a problem I hope that someone can help me with - the Bluetooth is... non-existant.

I ordered my T450S with the 7265 wireless card, and it specifically says "with Bluetooth 4.0". However, on my system there is no Bluetooth in the Device Manager, Control Panel, anywhere. I decided to try to start over and did a total clean install, installing the PROSET WiFi and Bluetooth software/drivers from Intel's site, but again to no avail. If it helps any, I also tried running Ubuntu off a flash drive, and it did not find any Bluetooth either.

Does anyone know what could be the issue here? Is there something I forgot to install? The BIOS has no option to disable/enable the Bluetooth, so I don't think it could be a hardware issue... right?

 

Is it turned off?