ThinkPad X240

Do you have source for that? I contacted Lenovo sales today and even they couldn't explain the contradiction between tabook (GFRP) and x240 product page (CFRP+Mg). They promised to report this problem internally.

 

I ordered a X240 on 1/16, and just got an email from Lenovo informing me it will probably not be available for shipment until 2/7, and estimated delivery is Valentine's Day.
Apparently my unit just didn't make the cut before their big Chinese New Year holiday break.
I ordered a W540 on 1/17, and it arrived yesterday.

 

Open the X240 and look at the unfinished/ unpainted inside surface. It will be obvious if the structure is magnesium.

 

It could be that they are waiting for updated LG panels with less ghosting (x240 FHD uses the same panel as Yoga).

( source)

 

Well Lenovo sealed their fate with UPS' delayed delivery. My X240 was scheduled for delivery yesterday (1/31). That date slipped to Monday the 3rd.

In the meantime, I snagged a $499 128gig Surface Pro from Best Buy. I really like it. So much that the X240 will be returned before I even open it. Had it been delivered on Friday, I would have not even noticed the Surface Pro fire sale. Oh well.

The more I read, the more I am irritated by the "3rd mouse button" for thumb scrolling. It seems to not be great, and is literally the best thing ever for scrolling web pages.

I'm still a bit on the fence, but will most likely just get my $1350 back. Shame, really Lenovo.

 

Open, use it and see which of the two you like better. You have nothing to lose.

 

Hmm, there is no 15% restocking fee any longer? I seem to recall Lenovo charging restocking fees for returns in the past.

 

There's no restocking fee.

 

The same thing happened to me. It seems Lenovo put in the shipping notice at least 1 day before they actually shipped it.

I was looking into getting a Surface as well (the Pro 2 model) as well as the Thinkpad Yoga, however the majority of my needs more met by the x240.

 

I am interested to see how you like the FHD display on the x240. I am really considering getting one but it seems pretty expensive adding that $330 display option. Besides the barnes and noble discount does anyone else know of anyways to get the cost down any lower?

 

My X240 with FHD touch, i5, 6-cell and the AC wifi card was $1,141.92 (B&N).

That is a pretty darn good price, IMO, even with the FHD option. I did get the 500gig platter drive and bought an SSD online though. Will get to the RAM later (ordered with 4gigs).

 

Hello!

I would be interested in knowing the price and the few other options you have on your machine. As well I'm supposed to fly in Chicago next week...Anyway I can't seem to send you a private message, send me one if you can!

 

Hi, I think you need at least 5 or 10 posts in the forum to be able to message. I sent an email with my number to the @graffiti.net email address you have registered with the forum. In case you didn't receive it, here's an alternate email you can contact me at, vinu.neuro[at]gmail[dot]com.

Apologies to the mods for doing this here.

 

X240 FHD just arrived. Its DOA. Ugh.

 

Tell me about it. Mine arrived exhibiting continuous blue screen and freezing problems. It's unusable and this was supposed to be a replacement for a defective x220.

Currently the x240 is back on it's way to ezserv for it's 2nd repair in 10 days.

Thinkpad quality has really gone downhill as I haven't had a fully functional computer in 3 years. (X220 and now x240)

Love the brand to death but seriously considering a Mac now.

 

I saw your message just as I got my laptop. It booted normally and I'm currently going over the setup options. I still have to create recovery media so I can install an SSD.

One thing I noticed, the top portion of the shell that holds the screen is a matte plastic, while the bottom is the soft rubbery texture that I'm used to from prior Thinkpads that I've had. I wish the entirety of it was the matte plasticy material as the rubbery material tends to rub off after time (putting it in and taking it out of a laptop bag).

The screen has a matte finish screen protector that is not at all glossy. Much less glossy than the Thinkpad Yoga I checked out at Fry's. I'll post more once I've had more time with this.

 

Correction, it's not DOA. Apparently it wouldn't boot up in my car (plugged into a verified working inverter). And the batteries had plenty of charge, but oh well. Mystery.

So far so good. The FHD screen in a 12.5" form factor is really great. Looks stunning. Will install SSD and a fresh copy of 8.1 Pro, since there doesn't appear to be a DVD recovery program for Win8. Strange.

 

I was able to create a recovery USB and am getting ready to install an SSD but I have no clue how the bottom cover comes off. I've loosened all (8) screws but it seems to not want to come off. I don't want to try that hard to remove the cover for fear that I might break something.

 

I can't get the back off either...

Edit: finally got it off. Used a "spudger" which looks like a guitar pick. Started at the ethernet corner, lifted up, went around the sides. The back you have to lift up on the front and kind of slide it back. Pops right off. Hope I can get it back on :/

 

I did find this on the Lenovo site: Removal steps of the base cover assembly - ThinkPad X240

Like the T440s as referenced in this thread here I think a pry tool is required if the bottom cover is to be removed without scratching it. I'm going to head over to Fry's after work and see if I can pick one up.

 

That's not an entirely fair comparison though. Those TP Yogas at Fry's are special "budget" versions without the digitizer, which is why they are glossy. Full versions that you can order on the Lenovo website are not.

Thanks for confirming that x240 FHD touch version is not glossy though. I'm still wondering whether to get that or whether to order a basic non-touch version and swap the panel for a matte FHD on my own. I would do the latter, but nobody has those panels for sale (yet?).

 

Finally got the cover off. It's clear this may deter some from replacing RAM/Hard Drive as it's in no way as easy as it was with previous Lenovo models.

It's easiest to lift up where the ethernet is located. After it gets started, use a spudger/butterknife to snap open the edges. Lift up on the cover to release from the back prongs (where the battery is located).

Went pretty well. The HDD is secured by four little prongs - just lift them out and remove the drive. No more screws (thankfully).

Installing Win 8 Pro now!

imgur: the simple image sharer

 

The fan...the fan has an almost unbearable high pitched whine.

Am I alone here? It's pretty annoying.

Also, even though I bought and it shipped with Win8 Home, my Pro DVD activated automatically.

Guess both keys are embedded into the BIOS.

But seriously though, this fan has got to go. Granted it's cranked since I'm installing a bunch of updates, but I'm getting a headache.

 

I just got my x240 FHD and ran this test for 10 minutes. The ghosting is very slight and barely recognizable. Photos couldn't show the difference.

The screen has one blue bright pixel, guess it's just my bad luck. There is some backlight bleeding ( imgur) but not serious.

Same issue here. The high pitched noice can be heard far from the laptop. And I can't reduce it by any kind of pressing. It's like a jet engine.

 

Received mine this afternoon too.

It feels like a very well built quality machine.

Using the touchpad to click when using the trackpad is definitely noisy! And yes the fan has a sound that is not very agreeable compared to my previous X200s but I think I can get used to it. Is a little bit high pitched but not very loud.

The FHD screen has tolerable light bleed. It s not glossy but has a LITTLE more reflections than the old matte Thinkpad screens (which probably was their only quality). But although it is supposed to appear after a week or 2, I have already seen a little bit of image retention with the task bar icons. I will see how big a problem it is with time. I love the FHD resolution and viewing angles

I m trying to create a recovery bootable hard drive with an external hard drive to install an SSD, but I have problem booting from it. Is it possible to use drive cloning software instead? Why can t we burn DVDs or Blue Rays like before? I don t want to buy a USB to SATA adapter.

Overall I m very happy with the machine after a few hours but if the image retention gets worse I ll try to have it replaced.

Oh and it took me some time to understand how the END key works lol

 

Oh no, not what I was wanting to hear. HOW did this fan make out of testing? It will give you a splitting headache. My dogs even fled the room.

They will replace it (have to call sales tomorrow morning) but I fear a dead pixel or another high pitched fan, so I'm wondering if it's even worth it. They will have droves of pissed off people because of this fan issue. It's really bad.

I still may just get it replaced since the tiny black guide tab where the battery contacts are was broken the instant I unboxed it (it was crooked...when I touched it, it fell off). I don't think it's essential, but between the fan and that, I'm probably just going to get a replacement.

 

Could one of you folks with the FHD touch screen please post some pictures of the screen? I am curious to see the quality of the screen on the X240 (as compard to the crappy LG IPS screen on the T440s). A video would be even better. Thanks!

 

imgur: the simple image sharer

You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. Finally, a FHD on an X2xx machine.

 

Thanks for posting those. The screen looks really nice and sharp in the pictures. I like the matte finish too. Cant wait to get mine (supposed to ship on 11th Feb). If you have more free time in your hands later on, please feel free to post more pictures of the screen from different angles so we could judge the viewing angles. Enjoy!

 

So what's your verdict about the cover? Metal or plastic?

It looks like the wrist rest (under the HDD) may be metal?

 

For your needs of viewing angles: Thinkpad x240 viewing angles - Imgur

 

Is there any way to decrease the track point sensitivity? I checked the mouse settings and don't see it. I always crank it down to very sensitive to keep my finger from getting sore.

Only see a speed option in the TrackPoint settings...

 

You need to adjust both pointer speed (Pointer Options) and the Trackpoint speed. I had noticed that I turned up both all the way but it's still not as sensitive as I like it.

 

So I was finally able to get the cover off after I bought a plastic prying tool (it still scratched it though) and put the SSD in (Samsung EVO 500 GB just like everyone else).

Previously I had created a recovery usb drive. But with the USB drive attached and attempting to recover, it comes up with an error either saying the drive is locked, can't fine the file specified or can't find the partition. Does the SSD have to be partitioned before I can do a recovery with a new drive?

 

I had the same problem and found the solution on Lenovo forums here:

Lenovo Support Express - Windows 8 - Downgrade Instructions

Restart your X240, press F12 at bootup, go into the startup options and disable the Os Optimized Defaults option. Your usb drive recovery should work after that.

I'm typing this from my X240 with the Samsung EVO installed

Edit: ok so now that I use the laptop a little more I hear the fan's high pitch and it's really annoying. My X200s was so quiet

 

How many mSata ports does it have? One or two?

 

Can some of you please make a comparison for your desktop PC fan and the X240 fan noise?

I wonder if you can replace them or print your own fan with a 3D printer.

We already have to trade off many aspects of the ThinkPad brand ... but high pitched fan noise? Where are we? Acer? Even my cheap- Clevo does not have a high pitched fan noise. Uggh!

I think I will have to look up what causes the noise to have a high frequency? I know that as the blades surface gets larger, you can spin the fan with a lower rpm. Does the electro engine cause the noise or the sharp edges from the blades?

 

This model can have up to 3 M.2 NGFF ports. mSata does not fit.

 

When you're in the desktop environment, what's the scaling in those pictures? All the newer laptops laptops with high dpi screens I've seen so far (including Lenovo's) have come from the factory with scaling set to 125 or 150%.

 

As all 8.1 machines, the % scaling is hidden unless you check "Let me choose one scaling level for all my displays." You can check that, then select 100, 125 or 150% depending on how much you want it scaled. 100% is tiny, 125% is manageable, 150% has issues (Windows is horrible at scaling, period).

Out of the box, it's on the default "8.1" setting, which isn't a percentage. It's a slider, and it's right in the middle between "small" and "large."

Of course, Chrome is blurry as hell on the default setting. Your only option is to use IE or click the "let me choose" and setting it to a percentage, which makes the entire desktop very small, but makes Chrome sharp (and other non-optimized apps will be sharp but small too).

 

I kinda hate these new high res screens with their scaling issues.

I have a 13 inch laptop with 1920x1080 and its awful. I would much rather have 1600x900.

Everything is either too big or too small, or screwed up. Every page i read i have to Ctrl+ the text. Its just so annoying. I cannot even imagine how the users with some of the new 2500x + resolution screens manage.

I returned my Vaio Pro 11 with the 1920x1080 that was just INSANE how bad the scaling and app compatibility was. It was almost un-usable as much as i love the actual laptop.

 

I am able to boot to the USB Drive for recovery but I'm still not able to install the Windows.

I get the following options with the following errors:

Troubleshoot>>
Refresh your PC: The drive where Windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again.
Reset your PC: Unable to rest your PC. A required drive partition is missing.

Advanced >>
System Restore: To sue System Rstore, you must specify which Windows installation to restore. Restart this computer, select an operating system, and then select System Restore.
System Image Recovery: An internal error occurred...... The system cannot find the file specified.
Automatic Repair: This will attempt to repair but will eventually not be able to repair...though I am trying to do this on a bare drive so it shouldn't work anyway.


I still have my original HDD but I reset it back to factory default.

 

I used Reset your PC. I got the same error as you until I disabled the OS Optimised Defaults option.

In the bootup menu, can you see your SSD?

 

I don't think the recovery DVD/USB process is what we think it is on Win8. On Win7, you could create media for a clean install of the factory image (to install on a bare SSD for example).

Win 8.1 and the Lenovo software doesn't appear to have this ability. It will create a backup image but it appears its useless for a fresh install on a bare drive.

I recommend finding a Win8 Pro DVD/image (legit of course) and doing a completely clean install. The BIOS has license keys embedded. Just install the OS and it will activate automatically.

You will need to to download the WiFi drivers on a USB thumb drive first if you are doing a clean install. On the first boot WiFi will not work.


Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

 

It worked for my X240 on a just out of the box Samsung EVO SSD. It's a shame that I had to search the web and tweak a BIOS option though. And it looks like it's not working for some.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath.

There were complaints about the fan in x220, though back then, only some units were apparently affected. Is there anybody here with an x240 who does not have that problem?

For what it's worth, the notebookcheck review found the fan noise to be OK, so perhaps it is only some units that exhibit it:

Review Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Ultrabook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

Is the high pitch constantly there or only under load?

 

One of the first things that I did when I started up the machine on the orginal HDD was to update the BIOS. After that I then went and replaced the hard drive to the SSD. My machine definitely sees the SSD when I go into BIOS so I don't know what the issue is there.

The OS Optimized default option that was supposed to be in the Startup Options in BIOS is now in the Restart options, this is most likely due to the updated BIOS. I've set it to disabled but unfortunately it's still not allowing me to Reset PC.

I'm going to pull the drive out, attach it to another computer with a SATA to USB cable and see if there is anything on the drive. I should have done this before I installed it in the first place. BTW, I left it on Windows 8.0. I didn't want to bother upgrading to 8.1 until I got the new SSD in.

The problem with purchasing a legit copy of Win8 Pro is that I would expect that it should be provided anyway. I paid Lenovo to be able to run Win 8 Pro. In the case of a complete hard drive failure, we *should* be allowed to make a full recovery dvd.

 

I sympathize with the actual problem you're describing, but could we please lay the blame where it belongs: with crappy apps and websites, and not with the high res screens?

HTML was designed from the ground up to be scalable, at least the text portion of it. It's the rubbish "web designers" with their "everybody has a 96dpi screen at least 1280 pixels wide" tunnel-vision mindset, with fixed font faces and sizes, that are responsible for the current mess.

Painful as this transition is, it is basically reality catching up with design based on taking shortcuts, which was always shoddy but until now only affected a minority that was easy to ignore (who cares about folks with poor eyesight, right?). Hopefully it will result in the pruning of the worst offenders out of the web design. It couldn't happen soon enough, as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry, I had to vent.

 

I agree with you. The blame lies on apps that dont respect OS scaling (Photoshop?) and the web designers. Apple Macbooks were one of the first high volume, consumer oriented machines to come with the high-rez screens (Retina display) and people fork out so much extra cash for that feature. Why are we blaming Lenovo (or other PC makers) for churning out high-rez, good quality screens in their products?

 

Update on my issues with trying to install on a new SSD. I called Lenovo tech support and they are going to ship me recovery media (DVD's). Even though I got the Onsite repair, they are telling me that it can take up to 5 business days before I receive it....I think for now I'm going to use the regular hard drive and when the recovery discs come in, create a backup and restore it to the SSD after I get it installed...