ThinkVantage Software Guide

LENOVO THINKVANTAGE SOFTWARE GUIDE


So what is ThinkVantage?
ThinkVantage is a software library preinstalled on a Lenovo ThinkPad computers. Formerly known as Access IBM, ThinkVantage is intended to maximize the business user's experience through the use of easy-to-access utilities that take advantage of the ThinkPad's hardware features.

How do I know which ones I want?
Well, being the objective guide that I am, I can't literally tell you which ones you should download and which ones you shouldn't. That would be really naughty. Hopefully, after reading the below, you'll get an idea of which utilities you want. Otherwise, ask the friendly people in the NBR forums for suggestions.

For more information about ThinkVantage, visit its official webpage.

List of ThinkVantage Software (Click the titles to link to their webpages.)


Productivity Center
This is the mothership; the amalgamation of all the ThinkVantage software on your computer on one menu activated by the light blue ThinkVantage button on the top left of your keyboard. This menu gives you quick access of all ThinkVantage utilities plus allows you to place shortucts to computer maintenance tasks, such as hard disk defragmentation and backups.

Access Connections
Replacing the Windows Wireless Connections utility, Access Connections gives you the ability to manage all wireless connections, including LAN, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and WWAN. You can set different connection profiles and security settings.

Active Protection System
This utility contains settings for the shock protection feature for the hard drive. This must be installed in order for the feature to work.

Base Software Administrator
If you don't like the bloatware that came with the Lenovo preload, you can use Base Software Administrator to customize the preload installation to only install what you want, whether it be Windows, drivers, or other software.

Client Security Solution
To take the most advantage of the fingerprint reader, CSS manages passwords for different websites you visit and can configure them to open password-protected pages with the swipe of your finger. Moreover, CSS activates the Trusted Platform Module hardware chip in your laptop to improve security.

Fingerprint Software
Necessary for the functioning of the fingerprint reader, this utility lets you enroll your different fingerprints and gives the feature of logging into Windows with a fingerprint swipe.

ImageUltra Builder
Much like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image, ImageUltra Builder lets you create an exact copy of your hard drive for cloning purposes. Unlike the other utilities, this software does not come preinstalled on the computer.

Rescue and Recovery
This program is designed to back up your hard drive. You can set R&R to backup your hard drive on a schedule, and restore from those backups at any time. R&R also lets you create the recovery discs for the factory install (one-time only) and said discs can be booted from if your system is unable to on its own. The installation of R&R also enables the hidden recovery partition on your computer, which also can restore your laptop to original factory settings.

Secure Data Disposal
Did you know that deleting something from the Recycle Bin doesn't mean the data is gone forever? Windows only removes those files from your view permanently, but those 1's and 0's still exist on your drive, albeit waiting to be written over. Secure Data Disposal rewrites over your deleted files multiple times to ensure those 1's and 0's are gone for good.

System Migration Assistant
Got all those settings you love and pictures of your family on your old desktop? This utility makes it easy to transfer all those personal settings to your brand new ThinkPad.

System Update
Lenovo's drivers page is a hornet's nest. System Update finds those drivers and even most of the utilities listed above for you and you can choose which ones you want to install. Note that System Update does not always find all the software and drivers you may need.

 

Great Job.

 

had it not been for this post, I would have never known about image ultra and secure data disposal.

 

are the passwords saved by CSS saved in the TPM chip or somewhere on the hard disk ?

 

The ImageUltra Builder software intrigues me. Has anyone here used it before? Does the recovery process take place within the OS or is there a way to boot the software?

Edit: After doing a little more research about the ImageUltra Builder, i have learned that the software is only a 60-day trial version.

 

ThinkPad newbie here. In general, I am quite happy with my new T61, but I am not sure what to make of all the ThinkVantage stuff that came pre-installed on the machine. A lot of it seems to duplicate XP functionality. Task Manager shows 70 processes running and 410 MB of memory in use right after booting, which is more than double what I used to see on my old Win2K machine. Many of these processes are Lenovo utilities.

I was wondering which of these utilities other people have found to add value and also if any of them have created problems. Is it safe to remove all of them? Which ones do you use?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

 

I was a bit shocked by the bloat too, I use access connections and system update regularly. I'm thinking about removing the rest.

 

A clean install would clean everything up and then you decide what you want to install on your system, plus you don't have to worry about uninstallation registry entries and wasted space from a previous program. Many people including me highly recommend you do that. It will really do your computer a world of good.

 

Yep Great job Thanks

 

Yes, that would be the best way of getting rid of all that stuff. I looked at your clean install guide and it appears to be very complete, if just a bit daunting--I rather prefer the kind of install where you click on a button.

In any event, my original question remains: which of the Lenovo utilities are worthwhile and which are not? Without having done much research yet, I think I would want to keep the hard disk protection utility, as I don't know of an XP equivalent. System update seems like a convenient thing to have as well.

On the other hand, the other day I briefly lost wireless net access and I wasn't sure whether to use the Lenovo stuff or the XP stuff to sort it out--turned out to be the router's fault. I am also unclear whether the Lenovo system restore utility does the same thing as the XP system restore...my T61 came with a hidden partition on the C: drive that I think Lenovo uses for restore purposes, but I don't really know.

Regards,
Richard

 

Trust me, the clean install guide is not complicated at all, it may seem it from a glance but I was very articulate when providing the details so very few, if any questions, are left unanswered. That's when a post would provide me the opportunity to help.

The Active System Protection is very useful to many people who like to carry their laptops around as it stops your hard drive during a shake or a drop in order to save your hard work/files. I am very careful with my notebook, so it's kind of unnecessary for me, but that extra airbag is very helpful to many.

I highly recommend the Power Manager because I love the options to set charge tresholds to give my battery the best life it can have. I've had my battery for over three months now and I believe it has only suffered about a 2% lost in the total charge it can hold. Of course that depends on the user as well. It has like 60 cycles on it.

As for the System Update, I own an XP Disc, so I prefer to take a couple hours every several months to perform a clean install. I follow my own guide even lol, so I make sure I have the latest drivers/software. I've also heard the System Update can cause some trouble and not provide the most up to date solutions.

The way XP handles wireless connections is sufficient enough for me, so I don't use Access Connections. Many people find the ability to manage multiple profiles very helpful though.

The Recovery partition is for the user. You can boot into it and recover your system to factory settings as well as custom install, which is kind of like a clean install, but not as clean. I hope that makes sense. A lot of people just use the Rescue and Recovery utility and burn a copy of that partition. Then they would delete that partition and gain that extra 6GB of space, that way they have their own bootable DVD or CD collection of the partition still available.

 

"The ImageUltra Builder software intrigues me. Has anyone here used it before? Does the recovery process take place within the OS or is there a way to boot the software?

Edit: After doing a little more research about the ImageUltra Builder, i have learned that the software is only a 60-day trial version."

Hi hypertrophy,

Vista has this builtin. It's called Complete PC backup.

I have used it as late as this weekend. My desktop had a memory failure and it corrupted my disk. I replaced the memory and then booted the Vista Installation disk and ran Complete PC recovery against my backups. My system is fine now and I totally trust Complete PC Recovery.

A couple of months ago, my lenovo 3000 received two MS Updates and when my system rebooted, Vista had been inactivated. Instead of waiting three days to talk to the MS Electronic Keys department, I used my backups and the system was fine. Complete PC Backup has saved me at least twice now.

 

What ThinkVantage programs are essential for the TP R61? Or can all (entire ThinkVantage suite) be removed?

 

One mans garbage is another mans treasure.

 

Wouldn't one want to get the Active Protection System for shock protection for hard drives? So you would only want to not have that if you believe there isn't a risk of your laptop experiencing a shock?

 

Most of those description pages do not have download links for the individual softwares - where can I find the install packages?

New owner of an X200 .

 

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/think/thinkvantagetech/downloads_support.html

 

I haven't looked at this particular software, but in general the way TPM works is that it contains encryption keys, and the system can ask it to encrypt/decrypt data. The system cannot access the keys themselves, only ask the TPM to encrypt/decrypt with those keys.

The software probably works by using the TPM to encrypt your passwords, which are then stored on the hard drive. You will only be able to decrypt the passwords if you have access to the TPM. If someone steals your hard drive or something, they won't be able to decrypt your passwords.

 

ImageUltra is a software deployment tool. I use it at work and like it very much. If you want to do backups and recovery use ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery

 

Are 'Presentation Director' and 'Mobile Broadband Connect' required for the respective function to work?

And, what is the Presentation Director for? Can it show a selected window on the projector and allow the user to navigate to other windows on the laptop without them being reflected on the projector?

Also, when images are backup by Rescue & Recovery, where are the backup images stored? Can I access them and delete previous backup images I've created?

 

I read recently that Base Software Administrator no longer works, as it is module-based (allowing the user to select the modules to be included), and Lenovo has switched to a system restore method that does not utilize modules. Could you confirm this?

Also, it would be helpful if you could denote any of the ThinkVantage applications that are only trial versions, such as ImageUltra Builder.

Thanks for the guide!