Thinkpad Edge E420 owners.

I just bought an e420 on eBay for $439 Lenovo Refurbished . i5 2410m Bluetooth,Webcam. I can't wait to get it.
You can't beat that price considering Lenovo's build quality, and the features the e420 has.......

 

I can now only get my e420 to work in safe mode.
I accidentally put it on "projector only" but my tv doesn't connect with it properly. Now i can only get a black screen with only the mouse cursor showing.
Anyway around this? or do i need to reinstall windows.

 

OK. I've got the sequence of buttons for you to push to fix this:

#1 Hit the "projector" button twice (2x) and hit enter.
(The projector button is the on the top row, 7th button from the left, starting with the "esc" key.)

If that doesn't work, keep hitting the "projector" button 1 additional time then enter until you get the desired result. (ex: 3x then enter, 4x then enter, etc)

Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

 

Almost time for a new laptop. I assume many people are going to be upgrading to an Ivy Bridge or Trinity laptop soon. So what are you going to get, Intel or AMD. Stick with Lenovo or try someone else. I am going to get a good 15.6 premium/gaming laptop when the new cpu's com out.

 

I know I have asked this before but how many people can actually hear(/or know that its there but can't really hear it unless they put there ear to the laptop etc) that high frequency sound/whining noise coming from the laptop. The "CPU whine" as it is known?

It's been quite annoying for me and I don't know if its whether mine is louder than the others or just that my hearing is pretty good? I know that this doesn't actually affect the running of the laptop and is a normal problem experienced by many Intel chips on many laptops but still it is quite damn annoying.

I have searched about this issue and it seems the only 100% way to fix it is to disable the C4/C3 and/or disable CPU power management or something along those lines which reduces battery life as well as having other negative effects. But I have heard a couple of cases where motherboards have been replaced and then the noise has gone (tho I also heard that sometimes the replacement didn't help at all). So I might call up Lenovo tomorrow and see what they say.

 

I can hear the whine, but only if nothing else is on, right now my tv is on and I can just hear the fan. Also CPU whine on my laptop only happens sometimes, never mind it happens all the time I just put my ear to the laptop, but it is very low. If I have the laptop on max battery with no fan I and no TV on, I can hear it. I wonder if upgrading the thermal paste would stop the noise, like artic silver because the cpu is so cool it wont make noise.

 

IS our mSATA slot on the E420 capable of running the 6 gb/s speed to take advantage of the new mSATA drives on the way.
Micron just released one today:
Micron RealSSD C400 mSATA SSD Review | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

 

Doubt it, but who knows.

 

I doubt it as I am pretty sure the noise is caused by the switching of power states, like the CPU switching to idle.

Well of all the people I have asked, who have this laptop or a e320/e520, they don't seem to have this problem or they can't hear it or that they can only hear it barely when it is totally quiet. So it may just be my hearing, I'll just try and get used to it and then later on if it's still bugging me I might then contact Lenovo.

 

I have an E420 for two years. So far it has worked great for me. There is some slight noise coming from the fan inside but it does not bother me or my wife who is super-sensitive.

 

My AMD E425 sounds just as you describe. Its not annoying but definitely audible when I put my ear up to the laptop.

 

S430 looks cool, but I am off to something more extreme, like a Sager.

 

Is anyone thinking about upgrading to ivy bridge? Given lenovo updates the bios.

 

Ivy bridge, or Trinity, more likely Trinity

 

Would it be economically worth it to upgrade to an i5 or i7 IB from an i3-2350? I don't buy a computer often and am trying to think long term.

 

Has anyone tried to install the 1600x900 matte T420 screen into this laptop? Will it work?

 

I am also interested to know if the HD+ 1600x900 matte display from a T420 would work in my E425 (same difference as E420).


I found that my current display's model number on ebay also listed the T420 as a compatible model. From the pictures I seen, the mounts appear to be in the same location. Also, they're both LED displays so only one cable to connect (40-pin).

Here's the T420i HD+ display I'm talking about:

14"LCD SCREEN FOR Lenovo ThinkPad T420i T420S Laptop WSXGA LED display panel NEW | eBay

And here's the same HD display currently in my E425:

NEW IBM E420 T420 HD Lcd screen 93P5697 N140BGE-L31 C1 | eBay

 

Does anyone know if you are able to record sound internally?

I tried but in the recording properties the microphone is the only thing available to record.

edit: nevermind, this program somehow does it http://www.abyssmedia.com/isound7/

 

Hey so I would Love to try the screen replace on my E425, but i don't want to spend 70ish bucks on the new screen if it doesn't end up working. I just replaced the processor on it with an a6 APU. Would love to upgrade the screen.

Btw this website has them for pretty cheap

IBM-Lenovo THINKPAD T420 replacement Laptop LCD Screen from $55.99 Brand-new screens (never used).

 

Wow, that's the lowest price I've seen so far. Good find!

Tempting, very tempting...

 

Saw some stuff on a thread for the E520, saying that the cable that is in the edge's does not support the resolution, something about needing a dual link cable. Where as the cable in it is single link or something

Edit:
here is that thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thi...e-sl-l/618070-e520-swap-hd-screen-fullhd.html

But basically we either need to make our current cables HD+ capable, or find one off of another laptop that will fit. Even if we lose the camera, and microphone.

I would much rather have a awesome screen, and no internal camera/mic vs sucky screen sucky mic and sucky camera.

 

I am going to sell my E420 soon, I have the core I5 2410M,
8GB ram, A momentus XT HDD, the 500GB one, with the 4GB ssd.
Bluetooth, finger print reader, etc. Basically I upgraded the ram and hdd, how much do you guys think I should sell this laptop for.

 

With all due respect to the forum, can someone please answer my question above in red?
I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.

 

The Lenovo Chat below is why I will NEVER approve Lenovo purchases again:


Please wait while we connect with you with a Lenovo Chat Representative.
You have been connected to _Brian B.
Thank you for choosing Lenovo sales chat. I’m Brian, your sales chat representative. My rep id is 2900710109. What can I help you order today?
Hi Brian- Does the Lenovo E420 accept a mSATA ssd ?
there is a slot however there is nothing in that slot
can I add a msata ssd to that slot?
yes
what is the maximum msata Gb/s speed that port supports?
unfortunately i do not have that information
what make and model msata card is the lenovo e420 compatible with?
you will have to contact our tech support for that information
Our technical support team is available 24/7 and can be reached at 1-800-426-7378.
please transfer me to your supervisor
one moment
we do not have a manager available now if you give me your number i can have them give you a call
no. give me a supervisor now
_Anthony B has entered the session.
Hello , This is Anthony the current supervisor on duty, what can I do to make your lenovo experience a pleasant one?
please answer me questions in this chat above
Does the Lenovo E420 accept a mSATA ssd ?
what is the maximum msata Gb/s speed that port supports?
rob I do not have this information for you off the top of my head
what make and model msata card is the lenovo e420 compatible with?
however it does not support an mSata ssd
that is not true. please get me the correct information.
we do not have any SSD drive on the web for the e420 currently
are you trying to add a seperate SSD drive after purchase?
yes
the correct speed for you is 200 mb per second for the write speed, and 250 for the read speed for the Msata drive
that is correct
hopefully this is the information that you are looking for
no. I need the right info
and we do not sell these on our current machine
I am glad I could make this a pleasant experience for you

 

^^^

I know how frustrating it can be to get some solid answers (I think I'm the only one on NBR with an E425) but you're going to have to continue to try with Lenovo support, keep complaining, and hope that one of your fellow E420 owner's answers you. Unfortunately, my E425 does not come with an mSATA port like the E420 as I was hoping it would so i could use an mSATA SSD. That was one of my questions prior to purchasing my E425. Someone told me it might, and the manual said it did so I figured it would when it arrived. Well it doesn't and no one ever truly answered my question. I've noticed not much traffic goes through the Lenovo threads let alone the "ThinkPad Edge" threads. I think this is simply due to the fact that its not a very popular model or people simply do not know the answer because they haven't tried it themselves.

An alternative would be to try out what you're asking. Its a big risk, but at this point you don't have any other options but to continue to ask here, the Lenovo Community forums, or continue to try with Lenovo Support. I would complain and try for supervisors and managers. I know this isn't what you want to hear right now but the reality is hard to swallow. Otherwise if you do go that route, your mSATA 6Gb/s SSD should still work at 3Gb/s which is still plenty fast for an OS and apps. Plus, you could use that 6Gb/s mSATA SSD in a future computer.

Another option would be to go with a 2.5" SSD and/or 2.5" SSD/HDD in the CD/DVD bay using one of those adapters (this port is usually a 3Gb/s connection as it is in my E425). Or use the mSATA SSD for additional storage and use a much faster 2.5" SSD for your OS/apps.

Good luck and keep me updated.

 

99% is does not.

 

Is this SSD compatiable? Seems like a good price. Micro Center - Patriot 60GB 2.5" SATA III 6Gb/s Pyro Solid State Drives (SSD) with SandForce 2281 Controller PP60GS25SSDR

 

99% sure it does.

 

My fan is constantly running and the exhaust is hot.
How do I lower the temperature of my E420?

Still waiting to hear if the Lenovo E420 can utilize the 6 Gg/s speed of the new mSATAs.

Thanks

 

clean up the vent might help. my E420 is very cool

 

Recently my 2 yrs old e420 complained that the window 7 installed is not genuine, something never happened before. Anyone has similar experience?

 

I bought an SSD, is there anything I should know about replacing the HDD? Seems pretty straight forward, just make a bootable image of the recovery partition I assume.

 

This laptop comes with a built in program to make restore dvds. Just click on the Recovery Q drive and follow directions.

 

Everyone is suggesting a I do a clean install of Windows 7 on my new Micron C400 mSATA that I am installing in my Lenovo E420.

Where do I get the clean clean copy of Windows 7 and how do I install in on the new mSATA drive and how do I get everything I need on the mSATA to run my E420 (drivers, etc)?
Miscrosoft already was paid for a Windows7 license on this machine.

Thanks.

 

Get your clean copy of Windows 7 SP1 here, you can use my Windows 7 Installation Guide to aid you on performing the procedure.

 

FYI: I can confirm that the NEW 6 G b/s speed mSATA drives from Micron/Crucial DO work in the Lenovo E420 and they are on sale now !!!!


Crucial is the retailer fore the Micron "C400" mSATA that is OEM only.
This thing boots up in 10 seconds. Its' awesome !!!!



Hearst-

THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting that info. I couldn't have done this without you.

 

I have put my laptop for sale on craigslist in my area. After one year of use I look at this laptop... it has not been bad. This laptop stays very cool and runs quiet even when I play Civ 5 for 3 hours. My screen has a cluster of about 5 pixels that are bright white, but only on a white screen. The keyboard is the best. This laptop is good if you want durability, quiet and cool operation, and a great keyboard. Unfortunately I want a great screen and gaming capabilites, so this one has to go.

 

Excuse me, can I ask some questions? I hear someone say that after in in use about 6 months, the button of keyboard will quiver( especially right and left buttons). Anybody who owned e420 can confirm that?

 

I still have the E420, keyboard is the best thing about it, no problems with build quality on the laptop. Just screen and GPU not very good on the first, and not very powerful on the second.

 

just reviving this thread a bit. anyone with the 6630m model? and how or where to install drivers. . got e320 with 6630m and old drivers.

 

another happy E420 owner here. The screen is the only thing that needs to be improved, and I did that with an 24" external monitor.

 

go to start menu type in update in search, and it should have the windows update and lenovo update, click on the lenovo update. Or go to Lenovo.com and get the drivers under the support page.

 

LOL i wouldnt be talking about an update without having not checked. the reason i asked is because i wondered if there was any other sources that had driuvers other than lenovo which hasnt updated them. theres obviously intel and amd drivers. just non for hybrid as the latest ones are 2011. the e520 drivers are more current but i feel out of date.

 

Lenovo makes drivers for their laptops, you can't use generic drivers, without some significant changes to your laptop. The only drivers you will find are from Lenovo, unless you want to start using some custom bios. Lenovo has no reason to keep updating drivers, they update their laptops instead, so people have a good reason to buy a new laptop every year.

 

yes generally they expect people to nbuy new products but t hey aalso no a load of customers dont upgrade for years. i miay of upgraded had the e330 had at least the 620m gt inside tho i expected the 630m in it. the 610m is a step backwards from 6630m. i brought an extra year warranties onsite. the upgrade from i3-i5 and the gpu. so that means if parts are obsolete i should get a free upgrade. should my parts die off. but hell do i want a 610m. id rather them add a 3210m with my 6630m if the ran out of i5 SB instead of replace the whole the whole unit with a 610m. maybe unless i it was the s430 with 620m.

 

Has anyone upgraded their e420 to windows 8? I did and am having over-heating problems that I didn't with 7. I'm not sure I'm going about the upgrade process right vis a vis what software I need from Lenovo.

 

Maybe your problem is hardware related, not software? Fan, cpu paste, motherboard?

I have the e425 with W8 and I did notice a decrease in battery life according to the system battery meter. However, I have not experienced any overheating.

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

The overheating was not exclusive to W8, I found out it did it on 7 too-- was getting up to 80 degrees on games but I found that's somewhat normal.

I'm still hesitant about upgrading again because I want everything working, and for one I couldn't get the wifi working.

 

Well driver support is not all there yet. What do you expect? For example, Lenovo hasn't released Power Manager for W8 officially so I'm using the W7 version in Compatibility Mode. Most "key" drivers are available for the e425 and id imagine its the same for the e420, including wireless card drivers. I'm assuming you checked the Lenovo drivers and software download page for your e420?

I would suggest dual boot 7 and 8 like I'm doing as it gives you the best of both worlds and you don't give up anything but some room on your storage drive.

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

Well, I bent and cracked my Lenovo E420 screen at my desk.
I have been using the E420 strictly with an external monitor because 1080p was NOT an option when I ordered it from Lenovo.

IF I am going to replace the screen, I wanted to know if there is a 1080p replacement screen available for the Lenovo E420, where I can get it, and what's the best price.

Thank you.